THOUSAND OAKS — NFL running backs, in recent years, have adopted a celebratory gesture after a long run. They raise their hands to their facemask and pantomime spooning food into their mouths.
Todd Gurley needs to eat. Really, he does. Gurley said that, for whatever reason, he can’t bring himself to down a full meal before a game. By the end, he must be starved. Unfortunately for Gurley, he can’t eat the football, because the Rams have been feeding it to him this season at an extraordinary rate.
Gurley has totaled 86 carries and 20 receptions this season for 106 touches, the highest total in the NFL this season. Gurley also has received 53.5 percent of the Rams’ touches this season, this highest percentage of any player in the league. Gurley also leads the NFL with 596 yards from scrimmage.
“You work too hard in the offseason not to be on the field,” Gurley said. “You definitely don’t want to regret anything and go into the (next) offseason and be like, `I wish I would have been able to play a couple more snaps.’ That’s why I work so hard, to be in the position that I’m in today.”
Gurley’s resurgence, after a dreadful 2016 season, is a major reason the Rams take a 3-1 record into Sunday’s game against Seattle, but too much Gurley might be a dangerous thing for him and the team.
There’s a theorem in the NFL known as the “Curse of 370,” centered around the idea that a running back who carries the ball 370-plus times in a season essentially will be ruined for the rest of his career.
Gurley is on pace for 344 carries this season, but given that he’s also the Rams’ most-prolific receiver, he’s on pace for 424 touches. An NFL running back hasn’t had that many touches since 2014.
That’s the year Dallas’ DeMarco Murray had 449 touches and 2,261 total years. Murray moved to Philadelphia in 2015 and dropped to 237 touches and 1,024 total yards. Murray isn’t an anomaly. Some stat-based websites have multi-page breakdowns about the dangers of too many carries.
The Rams can look back to Steven Jackson, who had a team-record 436 touches in 2006, and 2,334 yards. Jackson had a solid career after that but never again totaled more than 1,738 total yards.
“You do want to make sure that you have a long-term, big-picture perspective in mind with Todd because of how important he is to us,” Coach Sean McVay said. “You want him to be able to be fresh as the season progresses. So, whether we tailor that back or not is going to be predicated on how he feels.”
The Rams are trying to develop other options. Backup running back Malcolm Brown returned from a hamstring injury last week against Dallas and had only one carry, but the Rams increasingly are using receiver Tavon Austin (a running back in high school) out of the backfield.
There is, of course, an enormous flip side to all of this. McVay can’t coach based on the fear that something bad might happen in the future. And while more touches increase the likelihood of an injury, the hits Gurley takes as a receiver generally are less severe than those from carrying the ball.
Then there’s the fact that Gurley has flat-out been good. He finished 2016 without a single 100-yard rushing game, but he totaled 113 yards against San Francisco and 121 yards against Dallas.
Gurley also totaled 51 carries in those two games, a pace that probably isn’t sustainable. This week, Gurley expressed confidence in his overall fitness, but his answer also contained some worrying words.
“I’m always tired after the game,” Gurley said, “because I can never eat before games. I’m mostly like super-drained. But for the most part, I’m fine. And some days I can’t walk, but it takes a couple days. I’ll be right back. It’s all good.”
INJURY REPORT
Starting right guard Jamon Brown was limited in Friday’s practice at Cal Lutheran. Brown’s status is “questionable,” but McVay expressed optimism that Brown will play Sunday. Safety Lamarcus Joyner missed the full week of practice and his game status is “doubtful.” All other Rams are expected to be eligible to play.
