Rams Running Back Todd Gurley Likely A Glass Half Full

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley will need a ‘bounce back’ season in 2017. Can the one time ROY return to the promise he showed two seasons ago?

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley looked to be the centerpiece of the team’s offense last year, as he hoped to add to a season that saw him earn a ROY award in 2015. It seemed logical. It seemed a lock. But that reality quickly faded as did hopes of a winning season in year one in Los Angeles.

The Rams need him to be better in 2017, which may be the most obvious statement heading into his third NFL season.

A better offensive line will go a long way in Gurley being more of what we saw his rookie season than what we bore witness to last fall. The trainwreck of a rookie offensive coordinator, inconsistency at the quarterback position, and the issues up front played out early last year. The fact that the Rams boasted a 3-1 record at the quarter pole hid the issues we’d all see by mid-season.

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A retooled O-line will go a long way in helping the cause, but the straw that will stir the drink in Los Angeles will be the development of quarterback Jared Goff. If Goff can take some of the heat from Gurley, it becomes a “win-win” for the team and fans alike. The sooner defenses are forced to defend a passing game that was absolutely anemic last season, the better Gurley can be.

But how good?

For those who listen to the Simms And Lefkoe Podcast over at Bleacher Report, the question came up about what Rams fans might expect from Gurley in 2017. It’s good analysis and probably is an indication of where this Rams offense is likely headed not just this coming season, but in seasons to come.

Having watched head coach Sean McVay in Washington is to know the Rams offense won’t be predicated on “as Gurley goes, so go the Rams.”

That’s a good thing Los Angeles.

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I was certainly tough on Todd last season. He too often seemed to disappear and seldom looked able to create anything on his own. But the assessment that his rapid decline from the promise he showed his rookie year was his issue alone is unfair. It was a perfect storm of a bad offensive line, bad quarterback play, and a bad OC that made the running back’s “Sophomore Slump” all but predictable.

Fair or unfair, Gurley was appointed the face of an organization relocating to a familiar home and fanbase in Los Angeles. He was also looked to for offensive production that in hindsight was an impossible reach. As bad as things were last season, the do-over the Rams will get this season with new coaching personnel will have a short shelf life for Gurley if he can’t help find his way back. He doesn’t have to be the 2015 Todd Gurley, but he certainly has to be dramatically better than the 2017 version.

Something somewhere in between will work just fine for this Rams offense. It’ll also answer if the glass is half full or half empty with Todd.

Let’s hope for him it’s the former.