It started as one of the most exciting moves of the Falcons' offseason, bringing RB Todd Gurley back home. The former Georgia Bulldogs star joined the Falcons on a one-year deal worth $5 million.
The former Rookie of the Year's tenure in Atlanta has not been as many had hoped. He's scored nine touchdowns, and while it's an impressive number, his impact on the team's chances to win has been largely non-existent.
Of course you can go back to the loss to the Lions when Gurley's mental mistake directly cost the Falcons the game.
Well, he did it again on Sunday, with an assist to offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, when Gurley lost yards and ran backwards when he simply couldn't afford to.
It's certainly not Gurley alone that has put the Falcons in these positions. But it's all too easy to feel the lack of an impact he has on the offense.
Falcons analyst Dave Archer took a look at Gurley's struggles when talking with John and Hugh on Monday morning and evaluated the minor and mostly negative impact Gurley has had on the offense.
"Gurley gets in the game and makes a really nice run and then Gurley makes a horrible decision to dance in the backfield and lose a couple of yards,” says Archer. “He’s made a few plays, but more often than not he’s tackled behind the line of scrimmage because he’s just not outrunning anybody.”
To hear all of Dave Archer's comments, click here.
The biggest frustration regarding Gurley is that isn't not really his fault. We all knew he had knee issues and that he wasn't the same guy as he was with the Rams. But then-GM Thomas Dimitroff decided to bring him in anyways.
Gurley has directly or indirectly costs the Falcons two games (Lions and yesterday vs. Saints) and costs the team $5 million. He's also held back the chance that the team finds out if Brian Hill, Ito Smith, or Qadree Ollison is a viable option for the future.
It's likely that Koetter calls plays for Gurley that he likely wouldn't force with the other running backs.
It's not that the Falcons would be any better if they had never signed Gurley, but at least you'd have saved some money and would have found out a little more about the rest of the running backs on the roster.