How the mighty have fallen.
Five games into his rookie season with the then-St. Louis Rams, running back Todd Gurley already had provided evidence that he was going to be next to enter the pantheon of great Rams running backs—joining Lawrence McCutcheon, Steven Jackson, Eric Dickerson and Marshall Faulk.
Now his potential is being shoved aside in favor of a back that started 2016 as the fourth-string option on his own team.
NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison created an NFL All Under 25 Team (h/t turfshowtimes.com) that included an 11-man offense, 11-man defense and kicker, punter and special teams returner.
Some of the players included on the team were no-brainers, such as Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Houston Texans defensive end/outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and Kansas City Chiefs returner Tyreek Hill.
But the other running back to make the team was the Chicago Bears’ Jordan Howard, who started last season behind Jeremy Langford, Ka’Deem Carey and Jacquizz Rodgers (whom the Bears released and ended up with Tampa Bay). Because of injuries and other circumstances, Howard vaulted into the starting lineup in Week 4 and posted 1,313 rushing yards with six touchdowns. He also caught 29 passes for 298 yards and another score.
Gurley’s struggles last season are well-documented: 885 yards and six TDs in 16 starts with 43 receptions for 327 yards.
Harrison’s rationale for taking Howard over Gurley:
Went with Howard, despite the fact that Gurley might be more gifted in terms of physical measurables. As fantastic as Gurley was during his rookie year, Howard was better. He ran for more yards, caught more passes and averaged more yards per carry than Gurley. Howard was an every-down, productive back — in an offense that struggled through the air.
Harrison may not have seen many Rams games. The Bears averaged 248.1 yards per game through the air, the Rams 184.1. Chicago was 15th in the league in total offense at 356.5 yards per game while Los Angeles was dead-last at 262.7.
The Bears used three quarterbacks, and ironically, only veteran Jay Cutler failed to produce a 300-yard passing game. Brian Hoyer had four 300-yard games, and Matt Barkley had two.
By comparison, Case Keenum had one 300-yard passing game in nine starts and Jared Goff had none in seven starts. Defenses stacked the line of scrimmage to prevent Gurley—really the only Ram capable of making big plays—from hurting them.
But if Gurley is going to get the blame, maybe that will help with his motivation in 2017 to get back to the production he had in his first four starts—all over 100 yards rushing.
For the record, Goff was not on the All Under 25 Team, either, but that hardly was a shock.
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