Ito Smith has been running as the team’s top back for weeks now. He’s either matched or exceeded Todd Gurley’s carry count in each of the past four weeks, and he has 167 yards on the ground and 20 yards receiving from Weeks 12-15 compared to 60 yards rushing and 34 yards receiving for Gurley in Weeks 11, 13, 14 and 15. While there was nothing official to indicate that Ito was the lead back for Atlanta and Gurley had been demoted, in practice that’s exactly what has happened, even after Gurley returned from injury.
With two games left, though, Raheem Morris has decided to make it official.