This is such a cool quote about how he felt in the LSU game last season before he was injured:
“That game, I felt perfect,” Gurley said with a hint of bitterness in his tone. “I felt perfect running and I was the right size and [had the right] speed. I felt like I was going to have one of the best games of my life…”
To have his kind of physical gifts and to feel that confident – man, what a combination.
Hope he feels like that again this season.
Get The Picture 
He and Marshall were both in the zone in that game. Gurley could have gone over 180 and maybe 200 in the game. After Gurley’s injury, Marshall was solid with 97 yards on 20 attempts. Oh, what might have been …
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What might have been…
Dammit. 250-300 yards on the ground was a distinct possibility in that game. Gurley had 9 touches for 86 yards early in the second quarter. He looked incredible.
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With both of them seemingly “in the zone” for that game, we might want to look at what the OL was doing differently because neither running back would have had that type of performance without there being improved line play.
I am not trying to take away from the point of this post but the incredible highs and lows we have seen from the OL recently may indicate where the answer is to better OL play. Was it the combination of players on the field, the defensive alignment, better game plan, players amped, etc? Why did we run the ball so effectively against them in that game, or at the end of the SC game and fail so miserably against Vandy?
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Excellent point, Macallan. The o-line was dominant early because of the real threat of balance with the receivers and running game up to the 3rd quarter of the Tennessee game. By the Vandy game, we had zero threat down the field. The difference in the game was o-line play in the red zone (and some officiating):
1st drive of the game – 1st and goal on the VU 7
1st down – JJ Green 1 yard run fumble recovered on the VU 10
2nd down – A Murray 4 yard run to VU 6
3rd down – A Murray 2 yard pass complete to C Conley to VU 4
4th down – M Morgan 22 yard FG
2nd drive of the 2nd half – 1st and goal on the VU 7
1st down – JJ Green 1 yard run to VU 6
2nd down – B Douglas 1 yard run to VU 5
3rd down – A Murray pass incomplete to C Conley (I think a drop)
4th down – M Morgan 23 yard FG
Loss of Gurley & Marshall hurt bad on these two possessions. Two TDs on those possessions make the game 35-14 entering the 4th quarter if nothing changes.
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I’d say a big part of it was the OL just had a good week of preparation, and came to play. They’ve had a few ‘moments’ the last several years. And, of course, balance always factors in.
~~~
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Both of your replies are spot in, imo. We know LSU as excellent, physical defensive players so it may have been just a great job of scouting and preparation. Also eet’s comment about the difference in our ability to stretch the field after the TN game is true regarding Vandy but athletically we should have been able to move the ball on the ground against their defense front.
I still feel we are very inconsistent with our OL in recent years and feel the inability to keep the same group on the field is responsible for that. I recall when Bama lost their best OL before the Sugar Bowl against Utah they looked like a totally different group.
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Macallan, I guess my point is JJ Green or Brendan Douglas between the tackles on 1st-and-goal compared to Gurley or Marshall in the same situation is a big drop-off. We gained a total of 3 yards in the non-passing downs in these two goal-to-go series. Some of that was the line, some the running backs in the game, and some the play-calling.
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He reminds me of a bigger, faster, stronger Tim Worley with twice the moves. What i admire most is that wicked stiff arm. DB’s lose their manhood after one of those!
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+1
Gurley is a crazy talent. His balance is elite. Well, pretty much every aspect of his game is elite but I’ve never seen balance like his.
I hope he can stay healthy…he will be fun to watch for years to come…if his body holds up.
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if Marshall comes back strong, which I am sure he will, and he has learned the balance of TGII….whap pow Batman!!
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