It would be tough to narrow down just one problem from the Los Angeles Rams’ 2019 season. There was an issue of inconsistency all year, and the Rams stars did not play up to the levels they had in the past.
One particular player that saw a dip in production was running back Todd Gurley as he failed to surpass 1,000 rushing yards for just the second time in his five-year career.
Rams general manager Les Snead feels that Gurley’s quiet 2019 is a result of not only his doing but also defenses keying in on him, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“What we all know in sports, if we were so successful at those explosive runs in 17 and 18, and we saw people start trying to calm it down in 18, you’re not just going to sit back and do the same thing,” Snead said. “It’s a combination of what we have going on (and) what we need to fix. And give the enemy credit for trying to take Gurley away. That’s obviously a compliment to him.”
Of course teams saw Gurley’s film from the 2017-18 seasons and took that into considering when game planning against the Rams, but there was certainly more going on than just pesky defenses. The star running back’s production dipped early and head coach Sean McVay felt it was his own fault. He actively tried to get him more touches in the latter half of the season.
Although Gurley and the Rams have consistently said that he was not being hampered by injuries, it is hard not to wonder how true that was. Gurley was reportedly diagnosed with arthritis in his left knee last offseason, which is a chronic issue. Whether the injury slowed him down this year or not, it will be carefully watched moving forward in Gurley’s career.
Despite all that, Snead feels that 2020 will be a bounce-back year for Gurley:
“You take his 17 and 18, there’s an element of, ‘Wow, how are you going to keep that up?’ Not many players are going to be able to do that,” Snead said. “But majority of the time, if you go back and look at the data, players do come back and and can get to a higher level than they were in their down years.”
Gurley will be a key for the Rams’ offense moving forward as if he can return to his previous form, then L.A. has a good chance to get back into postseason contention in 2020. Hopefully, having a longer offseason will allow him to get healthy and prepared to have a better year.
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