There's no question that "teams knowing they have to face a strong running attack..."
| December 14, 2019 03:01PM |
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zn
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Suh-weet!
But "dominant"? He's certainly not dominating statistically, and I don't think he's dominating even in light of the opportunities his OL does/doesn't afford him.''Quote
JamesJM
and by 'reconsider' I mean drastically. That may not show up in stats... just like AD won't get credit when triple-teamed teamed and doesn't make the tackle.... but it's working... and I have no problem with the word 'dominate'. - JamesJM
Well with all due respect to James--whose point I completely agree with--it's probably true that "dominant" is not the right word. My point was that while he may no longer be elite, mostly because he does not have the elite burst he used to have, he is still a very capable, productive RB. There have been highly successful lead backs in the NFL who did not have as much as Gurley still has now. Among other traits he carries over from his "vintage" self () to his present self is a red-hot determination in the redzone.
So I would say he is dominant-ish. (Yuck yuck, kidding, just having fun with the whole semantics thing).
He's a strong back, though I don't mean that in the "physically strong" sense, I mean that in a productive asset you want on your side sense.
I am not one of those who thinks Gurley is done...far from it...and I agree with James that teams knowing they have to face a strong running attack play the Rams differently which creates a little breathing room for their 2-point-oh version of the 2019 OL.
I agree with this comment too:Quote
CraigMatson
Todd at 90% of his apex is still a better than average RB.
Though I would even say "a lot better."
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"... play the Rams' differently." Of course they do. That's true for every team, but especially for a team, like the Rams, that likes to do so much play-action.
But, first, I wouldn't say the Rams have a "strong running attack." I'd call it credible.
More important in re the assessment of Gurley, is it a STRONGER attack w/Gurley in there vs. Brown (healthy) or Henderson?
Hard to say as an empirical matter. But as I've said many times, this year I've rarely seen a successful Gurley running play and thought, nope, Henderson/Brown couldn't have done that. (The one recent possible exception: the stiff arm Gurley scored on last week.) OTOH, I have seen both Henderson and Brown do good things that Gurley, IMO, wouldn't have done.
And I've definitely seen Gurley go thru big holes for 10 and WISHED it was Henderson w/the opportunity cuz the players might have gone for 30.
