RamsWire: Rams in lose-lose situation with Todd Gurley's mystifying disappearance
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Rams in lose-lose situation with Todd Gurley's mystifying disappearance
By: Cameron DaSilva 2-4-2019
If Sean McVay was trying to do his best Bill Belichick impression on Sunday night in Super Bowl LIII, he did a pretty darn good job. A year after Belichick mysteriously benched Malcolm Butler in the final game of the year against the Philadelphia Eagles – a game in which the Patriots couldn’t stop Doug Pederson’s unit – McVay did almost the same thing to Todd Gurley.
No, McVay didn’t bench the All-Pro running back, but he didn’t use him the way he said he would. He single-handedly kept him at bay, giving him just 10 carries in a game that was within reach for the Rams until the very end.
McVay’s usage of Gurley on Sunday night is truly one of the great mysteries in Super Bowl history, considering the fact that everyone is saying the running back is fully healthy – including Gurley, himself. McVay said last week that he’s “a hundred percent,” indicating that this would’ve been a game where Gurley was heavily involved.
Gurley’s 14 carries in the last two games and limited playing time have both and diehard fans puzzled, while media members are also searching for answers. Regardless of the reasoning for Gurley’s limited role the last two games, the Rams are in a lose-lose situation.
Say he really is 100 percent healthy, unbothered by the knee injury at all. It’s definitely possible, given he hit a top speed of 19.78 mph Sunday – the fastest ball carrier in the game. Against the Cowboys, he also showed no signs of being hampered by knee soreness, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, ripping off his most runs of 15-plus mph in any game this season.
If the injury was a non-factor, McVay has some explaining to do. He already told reporters that it was a “lack of opportunities” by the offense that limited Gurley’s involvement Sunday, but that’s a bogus explanation. The Rams were within one score of the Patriots until 1:12 was left in the game, yet Gurley only got three carries in the first half.
Going 3-for-13 on third down doesn’t help, but there’s no excuse for a player of Gurley’s caliber to go more than 20 minutes of game time between his first and second carries of the game. McVay needs a better explanation than that, because in a 13-3 game, there should be no lack of opportunities for the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
The alternate reason is that Gurley truly is hurt. This is also very possible, given the nature of the injury. Inflammation can be a lingering issue and cause soreness and discomfort, something Gurley may have been playing through since the playoffs started. If he is hurt, fine. That takes McVay off the hook for inexplicably giving him 14 carries in the last two games.
What it doesn’t do is get McVay out of the woods with the league. If Gurley was hurt, the Rams would’ve been required to list him on the injury report, which they didn’t do for the last three weeks. The Dolphins were fined this past season for their handling of Ryan Tannehill’s injury, as were the Raiders. The league also looked into the Seahawks’ handling of Richard Sherman’s MCL injury, warning the team for not disclosing the issue.
Here’s how the NFL rulebook reads on the matter:
The intent is to provide full and complete information on player availability. It is NFL policy that information for dissemination to the public on all injured players be reported in a satisfactory manner by clubs to the league office, the opposing team, local and national media, and broadcast partners each game week of the regular season and postseason (including for the two Super Bowl teams between the Championship Games and Super Bowl).
The information must be credible, accurate, timely, and specific within the guidelines of the policy, which is of paramount importance in maintaining the integrity of the game.
A violation of the policy may result in Commissioner discipline, which may include a fine on the involved club, fines or suspensions of involved individuals, as well as the possible forfeiture of draft choices by the involved club.
If the Rams did violate the injury report policy, they’re unlikely to be docked draft picks, possibly just facing a fine. But regardless, it’s not a good look for McVay if he was indeed hiding Gurley’s knee injury for several weeks.
Weighing all the circumstances, there’s no way for McVay or the Rams to come out of this looking good. Either he mismanaged Gurley in the biggest game of the year by giving him just 10 carries, or he hid an injury for about a month.
[theramswire.usatoday.com]
By: Cameron DaSilva 2-4-2019
If Sean McVay was trying to do his best Bill Belichick impression on Sunday night in Super Bowl LIII, he did a pretty darn good job. A year after Belichick mysteriously benched Malcolm Butler in the final game of the year against the Philadelphia Eagles – a game in which the Patriots couldn’t stop Doug Pederson’s unit – McVay did almost the same thing to Todd Gurley.
No, McVay didn’t bench the All-Pro running back, but he didn’t use him the way he said he would. He single-handedly kept him at bay, giving him just 10 carries in a game that was within reach for the Rams until the very end.
McVay’s usage of Gurley on Sunday night is truly one of the great mysteries in Super Bowl history, considering the fact that everyone is saying the running back is fully healthy – including Gurley, himself. McVay said last week that he’s “a hundred percent,” indicating that this would’ve been a game where Gurley was heavily involved.
Gurley’s 14 carries in the last two games and limited playing time have both and diehard fans puzzled, while media members are also searching for answers. Regardless of the reasoning for Gurley’s limited role the last two games, the Rams are in a lose-lose situation.
Say he really is 100 percent healthy, unbothered by the knee injury at all. It’s definitely possible, given he hit a top speed of 19.78 mph Sunday – the fastest ball carrier in the game. Against the Cowboys, he also showed no signs of being hampered by knee soreness, rushing for 115 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, ripping off his most runs of 15-plus mph in any game this season.
If the injury was a non-factor, McVay has some explaining to do. He already told reporters that it was a “lack of opportunities” by the offense that limited Gurley’s involvement Sunday, but that’s a bogus explanation. The Rams were within one score of the Patriots until 1:12 was left in the game, yet Gurley only got three carries in the first half.
Going 3-for-13 on third down doesn’t help, but there’s no excuse for a player of Gurley’s caliber to go more than 20 minutes of game time between his first and second carries of the game. McVay needs a better explanation than that, because in a 13-3 game, there should be no lack of opportunities for the highest-paid running back in the NFL.
The alternate reason is that Gurley truly is hurt. This is also very possible, given the nature of the injury. Inflammation can be a lingering issue and cause soreness and discomfort, something Gurley may have been playing through since the playoffs started. If he is hurt, fine. That takes McVay off the hook for inexplicably giving him 14 carries in the last two games.
What it doesn’t do is get McVay out of the woods with the league. If Gurley was hurt, the Rams would’ve been required to list him on the injury report, which they didn’t do for the last three weeks. The Dolphins were fined this past season for their handling of Ryan Tannehill’s injury, as were the Raiders. The league also looked into the Seahawks’ handling of Richard Sherman’s MCL injury, warning the team for not disclosing the issue.
Here’s how the NFL rulebook reads on the matter:
The intent is to provide full and complete information on player availability. It is NFL policy that information for dissemination to the public on all injured players be reported in a satisfactory manner by clubs to the league office, the opposing team, local and national media, and broadcast partners each game week of the regular season and postseason (including for the two Super Bowl teams between the Championship Games and Super Bowl).
The information must be credible, accurate, timely, and specific within the guidelines of the policy, which is of paramount importance in maintaining the integrity of the game.
A violation of the policy may result in Commissioner discipline, which may include a fine on the involved club, fines or suspensions of involved individuals, as well as the possible forfeiture of draft choices by the involved club.
If the Rams did violate the injury report policy, they’re unlikely to be docked draft picks, possibly just facing a fine. But regardless, it’s not a good look for McVay if he was indeed hiding Gurley’s knee injury for several weeks.
Weighing all the circumstances, there’s no way for McVay or the Rams to come out of this looking good. Either he mismanaged Gurley in the biggest game of the year by giving him just 10 carries, or he hid an injury for about a month.
[theramswire.usatoday.com]
