A Todd Gurley bounce-back year is 'going to take everybody'

A Todd Gurley bounce-back year is 'going to take everybody'

Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES -- Todd Gurley fell off as a second-year running back in a way few ever have, from 1,097 yards in 12 starts to 885 yards in 16 of them.

His new coach sees it more as a system-wide failure.

"The run game," Los Angeles Rams rookie head coach Sean McVay said from the owners meetings last week, "takes all 11 -- whether it’s getting it targeted up front the right way with your linemen, having receivers that are willing to come down and block safeties when they bring an eighth guy down in the box, if you’ve got some run-pass options with the quarterback where you want to run it versus a two-safety look and throw it versus single-high. I think it takes all 11. And the back has to do a great job pressing it or reading out his keys, because everybody is tied together."


Todd Gurley averaged just 3.18 yards per carry and 1.59 yards before first contact last season. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
Gurley went from being named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2015 to amassing the fewest rushing yards ever for someone with at least 275 attempts in 2016. He averaged 3.18 yards per carry and 1.59 yards before first contact, both of which trailed only Doug Martin for the worst among qualified rushers.

Throughout the year, most of the blame was pinned to the circumstance, because the Rams' inability to scare teams with their passing attack allowed defenses to stack the box and cheat against the run. But at the end of the season, young guard Jamon Brown called for the running backs and offensive linemen to get on the same page. The Rams' running backs coach, Skip Peete, talked about how Gurley "pressed" when the initial results didn't come and often times went away from the play.

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