My parents are in the golden years of their lives right now entering their 60’s. My mom just retired after 25 years working for the government and my Dad is less than a year away from retirement. I guess that you could say that my dad is already semi-retired, because he works remotely during the winter in a condo that they bought down South. Now that they spend their winters away from the cold, they see no reason to maintain their home in the Midwest so they are down-sizing to condo here as well. Down-sizing has it’s perks, but it also comes with the burden of getting rid of the amount of unnecessary things that they have acquired and put into storage over the years.
Some of the stuff there is mine from when I lived with them up until my early 20s. Stuff I didn’t have room for in an apartment. Stuff that I had forgotten even existed until very recently. As an excuse to go down memory lane with me, my mom has been inviting me over to go through my things and see if I want to keep anything before it’s basically inaccessible forever. There’s baseball and football cards, posters, model cars, yearbooks (yuck), and childhood pictures that I might want to show or give to my kid who is now 10.Â
I’m not the hoarder type, but I was surprised with how much I didn’t want to get thrown away. My kid will like such and such or I would definitely hang this team flag in my basement by the dart board and TV. My point is that even if you’ve forgotten or written off something that is old, you’d be surprised what can bring a smile to your face when it’s presented in different circumstances.
The powers that be in the fantasy football community love nothing more than to throw old toys into the fire in favor of the toys that are fresh out of the package. Some of them are deserving of the treatment. I, myself, want nothing to do with David Johnson going into the 2020 season. But it turns out that I have a renewed excitement for Todd Gurley because of his new situation in Atlanta.Â
I’ve been excited about Todd since he signed with the Falcons and this video that I ran across reinforced a lot of what I previously believed. Bill Belichick figuring out the Rams’ offense in the Super Bowl was a big part of the struggles for the Rams in 2019. The Super Bowl tape gave the Rams’ opponents a blueprint to slow them down.Â
In 2017 and 2018, Gurley was averaging almost 5 yards per carry and combined for 40 touchdowns. Gurley was also doing a lot of damage in the passing game. The offensive line was fantastic in Los Angeles for those two seasons as well. In 2019, the Rams lost a lot of their power on the offensive line and finished 21st in adjusted yards. Gurley was constantly running into a brick wall and his role in the passing game was drastically reduced. His reception total was cut in half in comparison to his average from the previous two seasons.Â
The offensive line in Atlanta wasn’t spectacular in 2019. Statistically, it performed about as well as the Rams’ did last season. The Falcons didn’t make any splash moves in the off season but they did add depth by grabbing Justin McCray and a center in the 3rd round. But what gets me excited about Gurley in Atlanta is the prospect of him being really involved in the passing game. Gurley fits a skill set that the Falcons have been missing since Tevin Coleman left.Â
I understand that knee arthritis isn’t ideal, but it is baked into the discount. Right now, you can grab Gurley in the mid to late 30’s in drafts. It’s common knowledge that Gurley’s condition is manageable and he is only 25 in a season that he needs to prove that he is a top tier back. Coming home to Atlanta might just be the spark that he needs and I’m willing to push my chips in at his current price.Â
