Gurley, Anderson form dynamic rushing tandem for L.A. Rams
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Todd Gurley never had a true running partner during his first four regular seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.
The superstar running back took most of the carries and grinded out most of the tough yards while his backups played only sparingly.
When he suited up with C.J. Anderson for the first time this past weekend during the Rams’ divisional playoff win over Dallas, Gurley truly shared the big carries for one of the first times in his NFL career.
As the New Orleans Saints have already noticed, the tandem was pretty much unstoppable.
“I guess it was a good thing I got hurt,” Gurley said with a laugh.
Gurley’s knee injury last month led the Rams to sign Anderson, a sixyear veteran who had been released by three NFL teams in the previous eight months. Anderson hit the ground running with 299 yards in the Rams’ final two regularseason victories while Gurley sat out.
When Gurley and Anderson suited up together against the Cowboys, their contrasting styles and similar relentlessness made history. Anderson went for 123 yards and two touchdowns, while Gurley rushed for 115 yards and another score as they propelled the Rams to a franchise playoff-record 273 yards rushing and on to the NFC championship game this Sunday.
The Saints have already watched video of this partnership’s debut, and they know what’s coming to the Superdome.
“Being able to split time with (Anderson) and Gurley, it does good things for them,” Saints linebacker A.J. Klein said. “It gets Gurley some rest and gets him some carries, and vice versa. It keeps them fresh. And obviously you can tell when they’re running the ball, they’re not tired. They’re fresh and they’re running hard.”
The Rams’ dynamic duo presents a remarkable contrast at the position.
Gurley is a powerful, majestic runner capable of injuring would-be tacklers as easily as breaking past safeties for a length-ofthe-field TD sprint.
Anderson is 5-foot-8 and a self-described “fat kid running.” While he hits holes and linebackers ferociously, he isn’t planning to break away from any defensive backs anytime soon.
“From the 40 in. That’s it,” he said Sunday when asked to imagine his longest possible TD run. “Can’t go 70. Todd can go 70, 80 if he wants to. Me, from the 40 in, man. When they say the 40 at the combine matters, that’s where it matters.”
Gurley and Anderson present a stark contrast in running styles, but they already looked like good teammates against the Cowboys. Gurley and Anderson largely substituted themselves, each waving the other on or off the field, depending on whether they were tired or felt they had the metaphorical hot hand.
Anderson, who won a Super Bowl with the Broncos three years ago, still seems a bit surprised to be deep in the playoffs just a few weeks after he was unemployed. He understands his place in the Rams’ larger picture, and he willingly defers to Gurley.