The Facts: New HC Sean McVay was in the process of putting together his coaching staff and was getting ready to sit down with the incumbent RBs coach, Skip Peete, when he got a call from an unrecognized North Carolina phone number. It was Gurley. He wanted Peete back. He wanted another chance to work with him. McVay obliged. "When you've got a key player like that," McVay said, "I think you want to be able to try to demonstrate that you're going to listen to your players. Their opinion matters."
Diehards Line:
Peete inherited Gurley as the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year. He finished that 2015 season with 1,106 rushing yards -- third in the NFL -- despite coming off the torn ACL he suffered at Georgia and starting only 12 games. But Gurley dropped off considerably in 2016, gaining only 885 yards (lowest ever for a running back with more than 275 carries) and averaging only 3.18 rushing yards per attempt (41st among 42 qualified running backs in 2016). Gurley ascended quickly, totaling 566 rushing yards in the first four starts of his NFL career. But then defenses began to pick up on his tendencies and game-planned around stopping him, and the Rams were never able to adjust. Gurley has now rushed below 100 yards in 23 of his past 24 games. This past season, he broke off runs of 20 or more yards only two times, 10 fewer than in 2015. When holes didn't open up early, Peete noticed Gurley getting impatient and going away from the play call. "I think sometimes he pressed, and he wanted to make more things happen," Peete said. Gurley talked about becoming more patient in the running game, becoming more disciplined with his footwork and becoming more physical in pass protection; we'll all be watching to see if Peete can help him get there between now and the regular season.