Frustrated on the ground, Rams' Gurley works on his receiving skills

Frustrated on the ground, Rams' Gurley works on his receiving skills

By Gary Klein

Todd Gurley catches footballs before, during and sometimes long after Rams practices.

He requests extra pass routes with quarterbacks, and grabs ball after ball after ball shot out of a machine.

The work paid off for the running back in last week’s victory over Arizona. He caught five passes, including one that set up the game-winning touchdown.

“Man, I only caught like three balls and I guess I’m the best receiver now,” he said, laughing, when asked Friday about his progress. “Showing you can be a threat somewhere else, I think, that definitely can help us out a lot.”

Of course, the best way for Gurley to help the Rams would be a return to the form he showed last season as a rookie, when he rushed for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns.

So far, there have been only glimpses.

With defenses loading up near the line of scrimmage to stop him, Gurley has averaged 54 yards rushing a game, and only 2.6 yards per carry. He has scored two touchdowns.

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