Rams' Kick Return Duties up for Grabs/Wagoner

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RamBill

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Rams' kick return duties up for grabs
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/9439/rams-kick-return-duties-up-for-grabs

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- With no obvious solution in place last season, the St. Louis Rams turned their kick returner job over to rookie Tavon Austin in week 6 against Houston.

To that point, the Rams had used the likes of running backs Benny Cunningham and Isaiah Pead in the role with solid, if unspectacular results. Cunningham seemingly had claimed the job as his own, but when he suffered an ankle injury against the Texans, it cost him two weeks and, until an injury to Austin, his return duties.

But the Rams didn't necessarily intend for Austin to handle anything beyond his role in the offense and the punt returning job. They put him at kick returner as a matter of necessity, a move they apparently intend to course correct this year, according to special teams coach John Fassel.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got great candidates that can do it that can maybe take a couple reps off him per game from a kickoff return standpoint,” Fassel said.

Based on that response, it sounds as though Austin could still do some kick returning, but the Rams would like to pick their spots when to put him in there.

In reality, the job of a kick returner doesn't come with the opportunity that it once did. While it's hard to argue against any scenario in which Austin gets his hands on the ball, kick returns didn't provide many chances for him.

As the primary kick returner for the seven games after Cunningham's ankle issue, Austin found himself watching the ball sail out of the back of the end zone or kneeling 8 yards deep into it on most kickoffs. He finished with just 18 returns for 398 yards, an average of 22.11 per attempt with a long of 32 yards.

When Austin suffered a late-season ankle injury against Arizona, Cunningham reclaimed the job and fared just as well. Cunningham averaged 23 yards on his 13 attempts. And, believe it or not, Pead actually performed the best of the three, though on a smaller sample size, with an average of 27.60 yards on only five attempts.

For those keeping score, that adds up to 36 kick return attempts for the season. Rams opponents booted 39 touchbacks. Factoring in a couple of squib kicks, Rams' opponents had a touchback rate of exactly 50 percent in 2013.

Considering the lack of opportunity the job provides, it makes sense for the Rams to seek a more consistent alternative and choose their spots with Austin as his role in the offense expands. Quietly, the team added a few more options in the offseason, including rookie cornerback Greg Reid and running back Tre Mason.

In Tuesday's organized team activity, the Rams took a look at many of their kick returner applicants, a vetting process that will extend well into the preseason. After all, you can't tell much of anything about a kick returner until an actual game.

"I think Pead back there give us some great burst and ball-handler, (receiver Chris) Givens, (receiver Justin) Veltung, Reid, a couple young guys that you can throw into the mix," Fassel said. "Mason did it at Auburn. So everybody will get a couple cracks at it. I’m very optimistic about our kickoff returner, whoever that might be.”
 

Alaskan Ram

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From an excitement stand point...I wasn't a big fan of the NFL kickoff being moved to the 35 yard line. But I understand. I hate kickoff coverage when I played in high school. There really isn't any "sport" to running full speed down the field just to collide with another dude running full speed.
 

HE WITH HORNS

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Tavon didn't exactly wow us as a KR. He's much better suited for handling punts. Let's see what one of the other guys can do.
 

jap

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Tavon didn't exactly wow us as a KR. He's much better suited for handling punts. Let's see what one of the other guys can do.

Kick returning calls for more for speed and team discipline in that the KR is almost always depending on his lead blockers. Punt returning depends more on quickness and open field improvisational skills. Tavon has both elite speed and quickness, an exceedingly rare combo not seen since the heyday of Barry Sanders and Gale Sayers. However, since Tavon is probably gonna be used all over as the ultimate matchup nightmare, it is a little unfair to expect him to handle both KR and PR duties.
 

HE WITH HORNS

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Kick returning calls for more for speed and team discipline in that the KR is almost always depending on his lead blockers. Punt returning depends more on quickness and open field improvisational skills. Tavon has both elite speed and quickness, an exceedingly rare combo not seen since the heyday of Barry Sanders and Gale Sayers. However, since Tavon is probably gonna be used all over as the ultimate matchup nightmare, it is a little unfair to expect him to handle both KR and PR duties.

Kick returns are less about making people miss, which is his specialty. Let someone else handle that.
 

A55VA6

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I think Reid gets KR and Tavon gets PR. I have a feeling Reid might be one of those guys that comes in and impacts the game.
 

CGI_Ram

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I think Reid gets KR and Tavon gets PR. I have a feeling Reid might be one of those guys that comes in and impacts the game.

If you are right; that would be huge.

This roster is getting harder and harder for an UDFA to make.
 

DCH

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I would love to see Reid make the team as KR and punt/kick coverage. He had a fantastic skill set and translating it to the NFL would be the best kind of surprise. Although it seems to me that Mason or Lead, whichever loses out on being in the top three RB rotation, is most likely to get the first opportunity.
 

-X-

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I would love to see Reid make the team as KR and punt/kick coverage. He had a fantastic skill set and translating it to the NFL would be the best kind of surprise. Although it seems to me that Mason or Lead, whichever loses out on being in the top three RB rotation, is most likely to get the first opportunity.
Yeah, Reid is someone I'd like to see get the opportunity too. There are, like you said, quite a few candidates for those duties.
And that's a far cry from the days of Chase Daniels being the only option.
 

BigRamFan

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I would love to see Reid make the team as KR and punt/kick coverage. He had a fantastic skill set and translating it to the NFL would be the best kind of surprise. Although it seems to me that Mason or Lead, whichever loses out on being in the top three RB rotation, is most likely to get the first opportunity.
Welcome aboard @DCH ! Good to see you over here. There were only a handful of posters at Rams Stalk whose opinions I respected but you were definitely one of those few.
 

ReddingRam

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I would love to see Reid make the team as KR and punt/kick coverage. He had a fantastic skill set and translating it to the NFL would be the best kind of surprise. Although it seems to me that Mason or Lead, whichever loses out on being in the top three RB rotation, is most likely to get the first opportunity.
Not to mention, he is a pretty damn good CB too!. Once he knocks the rust off ... man our CB depth is much better!
 

CoachO

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I think Reid gets KR and Tavon gets PR. I have a feeling Reid might be one of those guys that comes in and impacts the game.

I think Reid has a lot of rust to shake off before he is considered a lock to make this team. Apparently, McGee is being given a serious look and from most reports has improved quite a bit.

While Reid obviously is a talented player, just not sure he is going to be able to overcome missing such a significant amount of time, and be the player people remember him being.
 

BigRamFan

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I think Reid has a lot of rust to shake off before he is considered a lock to make this team. Apparently, McGee is being given a serious look and from most reports has improved quite a bit.

While Reid obviously is a talented player, just not sure he is going to be able to overcome missing such a significant amount of time, and be the player people remember him being.
Yeah, that's got to be tough, coming off of 2 years of not playing on top of the 2 surgeries. I wish him the best but IMO for him to make this roster it's going to be an uphill battle.
 

Selassie I

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I want the most sure handed ball security specialist back there fielding kickoffs. Having a player who is very aware of his exact location on the field when fielding the catch and what that location means is more important to me than hoping for a jaw dropping spectacular return of 30+ yards.

Protect the ball and field position... starting at the 20 yard line is A-OK.

I don't want anybody back there fielding kickoffs with a history of fumbling, butterfingers, or brain farts on the field.
 

BonifayRam

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Yes agree Greg Reid has a large amount of work to do to make this current Ram team. Rust ? why yes large chunks of rust should be flying off for the rest of this off season.

The Rams have one bona fide CB over 6 ft. its full of undersized corners....adding another very sort undersized CB is no great need here. Reid will compete (1st) with 2nd yr CB Brandon McGee who is our fastest/quickest Ram DB period. McGee also has 3 inches on Reid. GR has failed to recover his one time speed before the the 2 knee surgeries timed @ 4.4 to where he ran a 4.69 in his pro day 40. GR has to fight off (2nd) Rookie drafted 6th rd Bargain E.J. Gaines has 2 inches & is much faster & quicker than Reid currently. Another (3rd) like 2nd yr CB Woodard who has a Fisher full TC, pre season & a full season on the PS under his belt. Woodard has 3 1/3 inches on Reid and is also faster & much quicker than Reid. Finally he has rookie Marcus Roberson who has 4 1/4 inches of height on him trying to make the team.

IMO Reid must show some of his past return skills & being a top gunner on ST's to make this team & show he can play the Nickle. Fisher & Williams have got several contenders for the Nickle now like McGee/Joyner/Gaines & McLeod so that will be a very hard climb too. Looks gloomy.
 

DCH

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Not to mention, he is a pretty damn good CB too!. Once he knocks the rust off ... man our CB depth is much better!
True that.

FWIW, I meant 'Pead,' not 'Lead' in my first post. Stupid Android auto-correct.
 

VegasRam

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Bonifay brings up a lot of good points, (about CBs), but what's hidden in his post is how much Fisher and Snead have improved the team's DEPTH in just two years.
QB, check. RB, check. OL, check. WR (ok-iffy) DL doublecheck. LB, work-in-progress. CB check. Safetys' pretty weak, but has been addressed. STs, doublecheck.
I would say it could be argued that our current back-ups are better than our starters 3 years ago.

Kroenke said he wanted to pattern this organization after the Patriots, (who have maintained their status partially by always having someone able to step in when a starter goes down), and so far he's on track to do just that.
Very far cry from the Showgirl and her Henchmen. A lawyer and an accountant running an NFL Team:jerkoff: - I STILL can only shake my head in amazement. Thank God those days are forever behind us.:cheers: