Todd Gurley: Rams are ‘a lot more locked in’ with Sean McVay as head coach
Cameron DaSilva
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
The Rams are transitioning to a new scheme in 2017 under coach Sean McVay He's expected to bring much more creativity and explosiveness to the offense, which is needed That has Todd Gurley excited and poised for a breakout season “Being with Fish last year, the environment was real cool and laid-back. It was player-friendly. With our new coach, Coach McVay, it’s different. . . . People are a lot more locked in." Goff and Gurley are the centerpieces of Los Angeles and have the team on the upswing
It was a busy offseason for the Los Angeles Rams, completely overhauling their coaching staff and receiving corps. The changes to the former will ultimately be more impactful, especially if 31-year-old Sean McVay can live up to the hype that he’s generated in L.A.
He was hired by the Rams after the team fired Jeff Fisher – a defensive-minded coach with a history of .500 football. Now, Los Angeles is transitioning to an offense-first approach with McVay, who helped elevate the play of Kirk Cousins in Washington.
All eyes will be on his development of Jared Goff, but the way he utilizes Todd Gurley will be a focal point in 2017. Gurley struggled mightily last season, averaging a measly 3.2 yards per carry, failing to surpass the 1,000-yard mark despite playing all 16 games.
He’s excited about McVay taking over the offense, and believes his presence has already had a profound effect on the entire team.
“Being with Fish last year, the environment was real cool and laid-back. It was player-friendly,” Gurley said, according to Jason Reid of The Undefeated. “With our new coach, Coach McVay, it’s different. It’s more detail-oriented. People are a lot more locked in.
“We’re running a lot of different stuff out of different formations. I love his philosophy of being a ‘situational master.’ He just wants us to master every situation, take advantage of every matchup, to be the best we can be.
Fisher was a major point of blame for Gurley’s regression last season. He was criticized for not being creative enough with his play calling, running an all-too simple offense with basic plays. McVay is essentially the opposite of that, installing a more diverse set of plays for his skill players.
Additionally, McVay plans to use Gurley a lot more in the passing game.
“And he’s also functional in the passing game. He can catch the ball,” McVay said. “You can move him around the formation. It’s not exclusive to just lining up in the backfield. You’ll see that this year. He’s a special player with the ball in his hands, so it’s our job to get him as many touches with some space that we can.”
McVay called Gurley the Rams’ “best player,” which is a strong statement to make with No. 99, Aaron Donald, on the other side of the ball. Perhaps the head coach was exclusively talking about the offense, but there’s no doubt Gurley is one of the best players on the Rams’ roster. As a result, they’ll use him “a lot,” which will hopefully take pressure off of Goff and make his life easier this season.
