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St. Louis Rams: Throwing To RBs Very Rare Indeed...

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Don't you just LOVE to HATE statistics? I know I do, especially since some of them make no sense to me at times. Take this link for example. There's wide receivers galore, with a few running backs in there with tight ends as you go down the list. Keep going down the list... No, keep going even further... Something popped into my mind, after noticing wide receiver Tavon Austin all the way down at #95. I kept going - sliding by tight end Jared Cook at #100,  - until I  finally found at St. Louis Rams running back who'd actually caught a pass: Benny Cunningham, at #108... Next stop? After clicking on those tiny numbers at the bottom of the page for a while longer, - all the way down at #272 - I found Todd Gurley, followed by Tre Mason at #272 (yes, they're actually TIED for receptions at #272)...

I get it! Handing the ball off - instead of throwing to a running back - must have the 'ol percentages thing going for it, right? I mean, it's can't be that Rams running backs have ham hocks for hands, or they aren't able to find their way into the flats, or bubble screens...? Seriously, what's the deal? There's that guy in Atlanta tearing up fantasy Football right now with like a ka-jillion receptions for touchdowns, right? Come to think of it, the Atlanta Falcons are actually doing pretty well to, with a 5-1 record?

So, why hasn't St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. dipped into his playbook to find ways to have quarterback Nick Foles throw a couple passes to his running backs? They aren't long passes, and may even help him from getting smacked around by defenses if he can simply dump the ball off from time to time? I'm just sayin'...

During his career at Georgia, Gurley ran for 3,285 yards/36 touchdowns, but he also caught 65 passes for an additional 625 yards, adding six touchdowns fpr a resume that saw him taken #10 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft. So Gurley can catch the ball, eh?

See what statistic do to you, or I guess me? In this case, it makes me wonder why Gurley's offensive repertoire hasn't been expanded to include being part of a Rams passing attack that's ranked #31 in the NFL? Couldn't hurt, right?