Rams' Gurley upbeat despite his disappearance in NFC title game

ATLANTA - If Todd Gurley is thinking about his disappearance in the NFC title game in New Orleans, he's not going to admit it.

The Rams' running back was obviously warned prior to arriving in Atlanta that his five touches against the Saints were going to be a focus of all the hype leading up to Super Sunday, and it's hard to imagine anyone handling it any better than he has.

Basically, it's not something Gurley is going to talk about, he says, because his team won the game and that's all that matters.

Ask him how he's handled C.J. Anderson showing up and stealing some of his thunder and he'll tell you, "I guess you can put that, in part, it's just a combination of everything growing up, coaching, how you were raised all that stuff, man. But I look at everything as the bigger picture.

"God blessed me my whole life. I've been able to make Pro Bowls, All-Pro, so I just look at it like when you've got a guy like that and he's been able to do the exact same thing, I embrace everyone that comes with this team, you know you can never hold out on anyone.

"You've got to support everyone, especially your teammates so you've got to embrace that and you know just keep them moving and that's what we've been doing.

"He can teach us ways to become a Super Bowl champion, he's been there. To have him on the team is pretty cool."

If I were just reading those quotes, I'd probably be thinking, "yeah, sure ..."

But look this kid in the eye when he says it, and it's hard not to believe he's telling the truth.

Gurley seems to genuinely love this Rams team.

"... I mean, we've got special players, and when you've got a great coach like (Sean McVay), the sky's the limit.

"Obviously we're here in the Super Bowl, and being able to play with him it's pretty cool being able to play with a guy like Coach McVay."

Gurley even says he loves the Patriots. Asked about fellow Georgia alum Sony Michel, Gurley, with a gleam in his eye, starts with, "I'm still his role model, don't forget that.

"No, it's cool, it's so cool just being able to do stuff like that. Just being able to play with a guy, I mean that's what life is about just to be able to have stories like this.

"I'm excited for him and all my (college) teammates that are over there; it's super exciting.

"Obviously, we both got a chance to play at the same school and you know he was just there last year. So, I think it's pretty cool - two star running backs both from Georgia back playing here in Atlanta.

"It's pretty dope."

Beyond his sunny disposition, Gurley has been preparing for this moment for a while. Asked what he knows about the Super Bowl, Gurley stroked his long dreads and said, "I mean, when you ask me that, a couple of plays popped into my head.

"Like Percy Harvin, what did he have a kickoff return touchdown?

"I remember watching one of my first Super Bowls. It was the Ravens vs. the Giants, and they had like the back-to-back kickoff returns?

"James Harrison, 100 yards and who was it, was it Santonio and that catch? Santonio Holmes, David Tyree ...

"It's like at least every year there's definitely one play that needs to be made and that's kind of like the deal-breaker.

"So I might just have to make one of them plays."

Maybe he's the only one in Atlanta, but Gurley just isn't worried about what happened in his last game.

"You know you go to the Super Bowl and you see your friends, it's not something you get used to.

"For me to be able to be here doing this and playing in this game Sunday, it's amazing.

"I'm super excited for it man, definitely, definitely can't wait.

"It's definitely a blessing to have been able to watch the Super Bowls in the past and then be able to play in it this year."

•  Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.