Yahoo Sports Todd Gurley: Rams playing on Thursday is 'dumbest thing ever'
In the “Battle of L.A.” between the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, the Rams emerged victorious. And after beating the Chargers 35-23, the Rams don’t have to look too far ahead to find their next game: it’s just four days away, a Thursday night matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
But with the Rams banged up after a physical game against the Chargers, and only a few days to recover, one of their players is not thrilled with his team’s short week.
Todd Gurley isn’t a fan of Thursday games
Running back Todd Gurley didn’t hold back after the Rams’ win on Sunday. When USA Today‘s Jarrett Bell asked Gurley how he felt about the Rams playing the Vikings on Thursday, he let it all hang out.
“Nah, it’s probably the dumbest thing ever. But, whatever, we’ve got a game and Minnesota’s got a game as well. So, we’ve both got to show up and play.”
Tell us how you really feel, Todd.
It’s unclear if he’s unhappy that the Rams have to play on Thursday after such a physically punishing game against the Chargers, or if he’s just not fond of Thursday games in general.
Regardless of why Gurley is unhappy, he’s justified either way. Playing Thursday after a Sunday game is difficult. Normally, physical recovery for players are stretched out to accommodate a full week between games. But with just four days to prepare, everything is on an accelerated schedule. While Gurley was talking to USA Today, there were 12 massage tables set up in the locker room with players being worked on, the strength and conditioning coach was standing in the middle and giving orders, and players were told to keep their interviews short so they could pay attention to recovery.
The Rams could be missing several key players
While Sunday-to-Thursday games will almost always be tough, the timing couldn’t be worse for the Rams. On Sunday, two of their elite defensive players got knocked out of the game with injuries, and those injuries could keep them out of Thursday’s game.
Cornerback Marcus Peters left the game in the second quarter due to a calf injury, and had to be helped off the field and into the locker room. And then cornerback Aqib Talib left with an ankle injury in the third quarter. While it appears that both players have avoided the dreaded (and season-ending) Achilles injury, the severity of both ailments is unknown. That’s not great news for Thursday’s game.
The Rams face a Vikings team that got steamrolled by the Buffalo Bills. The Vikes will be looking for redemption after being embarrassed at home, so the Rams have their work cut out for them.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher.
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