This offseason, theRams.com will be taking a look around the internet for the top Rams headlines of the day. Here's a look at what's out there for Friday, Feb. 16th about your Los Angeles Rams:
Gurley Earns NFL Alumni Player of the Year
After taking home the AP and PFWA Offensive Player of the Year Titles, the FedEX Ground Player of the Year Award and the Pro Football Focus Comeback Player of the Year, Rams' running back Todd Gurley has earned yet another designation for his incredible 2017 campaign.
On Friday, the NFL Alumni organization announced that that it had voted Gurley the "NFL Alumni Player of the Year." This season, the Georgia product led the league with 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns.
Joyner Excelled in Coverage in 2017
Safety Lamarcus Joyner was another of the Rams players to have a breakout season in 2017. Joyner excelled in coverage in his first season as a true safety, earning a 92.2 overall coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.
In addition to recording 61 tackles, three interceptions, and seven pass breakups, the Florida State product also ranked within the top-five in several coverage statistics — passer rating allowed (31.8), yards allowed after the catch (49), and catch rate allowed (42.9%).
Five Stats that Explain the Rams' Unprecedented Points Rise
The Rams completed one of the best turnarounds in modern NFL history, going from a league-worst 14.0 points per game in 2016 to a league-best 29.9 points per game in 2017.
On Friday, ESPN.com writer Alden Gonzalez took a look at the five key team stats that help illustrate how the Rams pulled off their miraculous and unprecedented turnaround:
Interception rate: "In 2017, with Goff taking almost every snap for the first 15 regular-season games, the Rams had a 1.4 percent interception rate that was tied for the NFL's best."
First-down yardage: "In 2016, they averaged an NFL-worst 4.50 yards on first down. In 2017, they averaged 5.54 yards on first down, seventh in the league.'
Rushing yards before contact: "The Rams accumulated 683 rushing yards before contact in 2016, the lowest in the NFL. In 2017, they nearly doubled that with 1,206 yards before first contact, ranked fifth."
Yards after the catch: "Rams receivers averaged 5.18 yards after the catch per reception in 2016, which ranked 12th. Not bad, right? Well, in 2017, it was 6.60 average yards after the catch, the most in the NFL by a wide margin."
Average starting position: "The Rams forced 28 turnovers in 2017, fifth most in the NFL and 10 more than the previous season. averaged 27.41 yards per kickoff return (first in the NFL) and 12.47 yards per punt return (second). Thanks to all that, the Rams, on average, began their offensive drives 67.8 yards away from the end zone, second best in the NFL."
