Todd Gurley wanted another chance with Rams RB coach

Todd Gurley wanted another chance with Rams RB coach

By Alden Gonzalez

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay was in the process of putting together his coaching staff and was getting ready to sit down with the incumbent running backs coach, Skip Peete, when he got a call from an unrecognized North Carolina phone number. It was Todd Gurley. He wanted Peete back. He wanted another chance to work with him.

McVay obliged.

"When you've got a key player like that," McVay said, "I think you want to be able to try to demonstrate that you’re going to listen to your players. Their opinion matters."

Peete inherited Gurley as the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year. He finished that 2015 season with 1,106 rushing yards -- third in the NFL -- despite coming off the torn ACL he suffered at Georgia and starting only 12 games. But Gurley dropped off considerably in 2016, gaining only 885 yards (lowest ever for a running back with more than 275 carries) and averaging only 3.18 rushing yards per attempt (41st among 42 qualified running backs in 2016).

Peete pointed to frequent miscommunication between Gurley and the offensive line, something young guard Jamon Brown alluded to the day after the season.

"Everybody has to be cohesive and be on the same page," said Peete, heading into his second season with the Rams. "The key is the timing of the block, you as the runner setting the front for the linemen, so when they come off the double team, the back is in a certain position so he can come off the block. You can’t predetermine and say, ‘OK, I’m going to make it look like I’m going to do this, and then I’m going to go over here.’ It’s got to naturally happen that way; you can’t predetermine. It’s kind of a combination between all of that."

Read Complete Article
[www.espn.com]