Getty Images Todd Gurley rushing against the Green Bay Packers.
The Los Angeles Rams are currently the hottest team in the NFL. As they are the only team left unbeaten in 2018, they have a ton of players all around, who are performing on a whole other level. Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, to name a few. Everybody on that team is giving an A-plus effort as they attempt to make a run for it all this year.
While the Rams entire team is doing well, it’s evident that their star running back Todd Gurley is arguably the best player on their offense right now. He can do it all. Currently, Gurley leads the NFL in rushing yards with 800. The next guy behind him, Ezekiel Elliott has 619. Gurley reached the end zone 11 times on the ground, and four times through the air. It’s only week nine.
At this point, it’s quite apparent that Todd Gurley is the best running back in 2018. And although quarterbacks typically win MVP, Gurley has a realistic shot of taking home the award himself in February. Or does he? Bleacher Report writer Mike Freeman suggests that even though Gurley is having an MVP-worthy year, he shouldn’t be the MVP.
How Does That Make Sense?
Statistics are only half the battle when it comes to MVP consideration. It’s almost like if a player has to be the “Most Valuable Player” they have to be outstanding on a mediocre/bad team. No, that doesn’t mean a good player on a non-playoff team should always win it. But it should be clear that the winner of the award should be the player that has single-handily led their team to a successful season.
The Rams are the NFL’s most successful team right now. And Todd Gurley is definitely one of their keys to success. But on paper, the Rams have talent all around. When you think about it, guys like Gurley, Goff, and even Donald are all somewhat, considered to be playing at an MVP level. Once that factors in, the chances of Gurley winning take a hit. Freeman goes into details to put everything into perspective so this makes more sense.
Freeman’s Explanation
If you removed Aaron Rodgers from the Packers, they’d win three games. If you removed Tom Brady, the Patriots would collapse. If you removed Drew Brees, the Saints wouldn’t be a playoff team.
If you removed Gurley, it would hurt the Rams, but quarterback Jared Goff is so good now, and the passing game and defense are so stout, that the team would still win 10 or 11 games. In other words, the Rams aren’t great because of Gurley; he is great because of the Rams.
This is a fair assumption as to why Gurley most-likely shouldn’t win MVP. The Rams are a complete all-around team. Nowadays, running backs are more of an exquisite luxury to have, rather than a necessity. We’ve seen Gurley play on the Rams while they weren’t a playoff team and it wasn’t anything over the top.
Now that the Rams are at the top of the NFC, Gurley is playing out of his mind. It’s unfortunate that the team’s success as a whole will factor into his personal gains, but it’s probably not even a big deal to Gurley at all. After all, this is the guy who decided to not score a touchdown in order to just ‘ice’ the game. That’s the most selfless move you can do as a running back. It speaks volumes about Gurley’s focus on winning the teams game.