So I guess we’re sticking with Blackburn as ST Coordinator?

[HX76]

Powell was the last real returner we had. And before that?

Pharoh Cooper?

 

[JimY53]

a far cry from 2017

Rick Gosselin’s 2017 NFL Special Teams Rankings
First crown for Rams special teams coach John Fassel
By Rick Gosselin Last updated Jul 31, 2022 0

(Published February 2018)

The Rams brought in Sean McVay as head coach to change the direction of the NFL’s worst offense. McVay hired Wade Phillips to transform the 4-3 defense of Fisher into a 3-4 scheme with some teeth in the pass rush. But the Rams elected to stand pat on special teams, keeping John Fassel as the kicking-game coordinator.

Plenty went wrong for the Fisher Rams in 2016 on the way to a 4-12 finish. But special teams was not a part of the problem – and McVay clearly saw the kicking game as a part of his solution. The Rams finished fourth in the NFL in special teams in 2016, and the decision to keep Fassel on staff paid immediate and immense dividends.

Fassel’s special teams played a huge role in the dramatic turnaround by Los Angeles – the first winning season and playoff berth by the Rams since 2004 and their first NFC West title since 2003. Fassel coached a special-teams effort for the ages, with his Rams finishing first in the NFL special teams rankings compiled annually by Rick Gosselin for the last 39 years.

Here’s the formula for the rankings: The league’s 32 teams are ranked in 22 kicking game categories and assigned points according to their standing – one for best, 32 for worst. In the 14 years the ranking has expanded to include 22 categories, no team had ever amassed fewer than 200 total points.

Until the 2017 Rams.

The Rams finished first with 196.5 points for a 30-point edge over the runnerup Kansas City Chiefs. Rounding out the Top 5 were the AFC-champion New England Patriots at 231.5 points, the Baltimore Ravens at 233 and the Dallas Cowboys at 250.5 points.

How dominant were the Rams? All four of their specialists were selected for the Pro Bowl – kicker Greg Zuerlein, punter Johnny Hekker, return specialist Pharoh Cooper and deep snapper Jake McQuaide.

The Rams finished first in six of the categories and runnerup in five others. The Rams had three other Top-5 finishes and four more Top-10 finishes. So the Rams were a Top-10 finisher in 18 of the 22 categories in these special-teams rankings. That’s dominance.

“It was a team effort by guys respecting and trusting each other and wanting to do it together,” Fassel said. “It was fun to be in the meetings Monday through Saturday because that’s where you build your production and confidence on game day. The attentiveness and the work ethic showed up all season really without any let down. And we stayed healthy, which was critical. It just came down to a lot of guys doing their jobs and respecting the work of their teammates and believing in each other.”

Fassel also credited the success of his special teams to the the emphasis placed on the kicking game by the youngest head coach in NFL history, the 31-year-old McVay.

“When I had my exit meeting at the end of the season, I commended Sean, as an offensive guy, for having that kind of respect for special teams as far as roster decisions,” Fassel said, “Not only who makes the team but who dresses on game days. He had a huge amount of respect for that aspect of the game.

“I told him a critical factor for success on special teams is having the right fits in dressing (the) 43, 44, 45 and 46 (players on game day) and having them as your special teams go-to guys. He really did take all those things into consideration. He let us know early in the week, `These guys are going to dress. Put your plan together and have some fun.’ To have that kind of appreciation for the big picture was pretty amazing (for such a young coach). It was a huge factor in our success.”

Zuerlein led the NFL in scoring with 158 points despite spending the final two games of the season on injured reserve with a back injury. He kicked an NFL runnerup 38 field goals, including a pair of 56-yarders.

Hekker finished second in the NFL with a net punting average of 44.3 yards. Thirty of his punts pinned the opposition inside the 20.

Cooper averaged 27.4 yards on kickoffs with a 103-yard touchdown against Jacksonville. He also led the NFL in punt returns with a 12.5-yard average.

The Rams blocked a league-high five kicks. There were only 11 punts blocked league-wide this season, and the Rams had three of them. Corey Littleton was the only player in the NFL to block two punts.

The Buffalo Bills charted the best single-season improvement under new head coach Sean McDermott, a leap of 17 spots from 24th in 2016 to seventh in 2017. The signing of free-agent kicker Stephen Hauschka paid dividends for the Bills. He kicked 29 of 33 field goals, including a league-high seven from 50 yards or more.

The 2017 runner-up Chiefs were particularly strong in the kicking game, leading the NFL with 41 field goals and becoming one of only seven teams not to miss a conversion kick. The Patriots, with Pro Bowl special teams ace Matthew Slater, were particularly strong in coverage, finishing third in the NFL in kickoff coverage (18.8 yards) and fourth in punt coverage (4.56 yards).

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Rank Team Score
1 LA Rams 196.5
2 Kansas City 229.5
3 New England 231.5
4 Baltimore 233
5 Dallas 250.5
6 Detroit 274
7 Buffalo 309.5
7 Oakland 309.5
9 Indianapolis 310
10 Carolina 324
Showing 1 to 10 of 32 entriesPreviousNext
Here’s a breakdown of the 22 categories:
KICKOFF RETURNS
Best: Baltimore 27.5 yards

Worst: Detroit 18.2 yards

PUNT RETURNS
Best: Detroit 14.0 yards

Worst: NY Jets 4.5 yards

KICKOFF COVERAGE
Best: Baltimore 18.63 yards

Worst: Atlanta 26.2 yards

PUNT COVERAGE
Best: Dallas 4.17 yards

Worst: Houston 12.4 yards

KICKOFF STARTING POINT
Best: Baltimore 27.8-yard line

Worst: LA Chargers 22.9-yard line

OPPONENT STARTING POINT
Best: Miami 23.0-yard line

Worst: Cleveland 26.5-yard line

PUNTING
Best: Tennessee 49.7 yards

Worst: Minnesota 42.16 yards

NET PUNTING
Best: Tennessee 44.5 yards

Worst: NY Giants 36.7 yards

INSIDE THE 20 PUNTS
Best: Baltimore 40

Worst: (tie) Green Bay, NY Giants 19

OPPONENT PUNTING
Best: Kansas City 42.6 yards

Worst: Tennessee 48.2 yards

OPPONENT NET PUNTING
Worst: Houston 42.8 yards

FIELD GOALS
Best: Kansas City 41

Worst: (tie) Cleveland, Green Bay 15

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: Carolina 96.6 percent

Worst: LA Chargers 66.6 percent

OPPPONENT GIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Best: LA Rams 67.6 percent

Worst: Houston 94.3 percent

EXTRA POINT PERCENTAGE
Best: 6 Teams tied at 100 percent (Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Denver, Kansas City, NY Jets)

Worst: NY Giants 86.9 percent

POINTS SCORED
Best: Chicago 18 points

Worst: 17 teams tied with 0 points

POINTS ALLOWED
Best: 15 teams tied with 0 points: Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Carolina, Dallas, Detroit, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Kansas City, LA Rams, New England, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Tennessee

Worst: Tampa Bay 18 points

BLOCKED KICKS
Best: LA Rams 5

Worst: 8 teams tied with 0 blocked kicks: Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Houston, Minnesota, NY Jets, San Francisco, Tennessee

OPPONENT BLOCKED KICKS
Best: 9 teams tied with 0 blocked kicks: Buffalo, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, LA Rams, Miami, New England, Seattle

Worst: NY Giants 6 blocked kicks

TAKEAWAYS
Best: Tampa Bay 4

Worst: 11 teams tied with 0 takeaways: Baltimore, Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, LA Chargers, Miami, NY Giants, NY Jets, Pittsburgh, Washington

GIVEAWAYS
Best: 13 teams tied with 0 giveaways: Arizona, Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, LA Chargers, Minnesota, New England, NY Giants, Seattle, Tampa Bay

Worst: (tie) LA Rams & Washington 4 apiece

PENALTIES
Best: Minnesota 11 penalties, 98 yards

Worst: Jacksonville 26 penalties, 203 yards

 

[dpjax]

Pharoh Cooper?

…until he wasn’t

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

I don’t think for a second that I’m smarter than McVay but the ST’s conundrum over the last 3 years amazes me he doesn’t see it’s shit with his analytical eye. I mean even if that phase was 50% better in the league that would be huge. IDK.

It hasn't been enough of a priority........and we've got to change that. We picked up a lot of UDFA before last training camp...some guys I believe would have given us better special teams, but they didn't make the squad. Some of our depth on the active roster simply aren't the type of guys who make for good special teams players...outside of Ben Skow.... With our full set of draft picks, and the young talent we have, this is a fixable problem.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

Anytime you can get better you do.

Trammel earned the job & it’s his to lose.I don’t necessarily think he’s all that bad. At least Cooper Kupp wasn’t returning punts.

Chilli Davies should be an interesting Special teams coach.

Trammel wasn't a productive returner at all. We were last in the category. I think he earned the job by not fumbling....too much. I really wish at some point we would have gotten Xavier Smith off our practice squad and given him a shot. He's just a more explosive player with the ball.... We've kept him on the practice squad, so we'll see...

I honestly think we should move on from both Trammel, and Tutu.... We need a return man.

 

[OldSchool]

Guess I'll change my avatar to Blackburn this year. I seem to be the only one curious what the guy can do if McVay actually gives him players. Something McVay has admitted to not doing.

 

[Tano]

I personally feel this is a terrible move.

The special teams was absolutely horrible in punt coverage.

I don't care that we had not great special teams players.

You can still coach them up to not be terrible. Coaching should be able to make the players even average on coverage.

The only reason that the kickoff coverage unit wasnt terrible is because Evans usually kicked it out of the end zone.

I will say that I don't blame him for our fg kicking unit. We just didn't have good kickers.

 

[rdlkgliders]

 

[oldnotdead]

I hope this doesn't come back and bite the Rams in the ass...but somehow I think it will. STs lacked the discipline you expect from a well coached unit. He blamed the players, which only reinforces my negative opinion of him. IMO Blackburn was the worst coach on the team last year. He better be on a very short leash.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Powell was the last real returner we had. And before that?

Horn

 

[Faceplant]

Hard to defend this one. The special teams were really hard to watch last season. Can't blame Blackburn for all of that, considering they had limited resources, but sheesh. Hoping for a complete culture shift there this season. We need guys who want it and are confident in themselves. I didn't see that last year.

 

[Faceplant]

Horn

I was thinking the same thing, Tony Horne was a certified soul stealer.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I was thinking the same thing, Tony Horne was a certified soul stealer.

Back when Horn was a returner, you were at the edge of your seat.
Now you go to the bathroom or get a snack.

 

[Faceplant]

Back when Horn was a returner, you were at the edge of your seat.
Now you go to the bathroom or get a snack.

I go to the bathroom to prevent from pissing myself watching our guys try to execute a punt return without calamity..

Too harsh? Maybe, but it wasn't good last season..

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

Horn

Tavon Austin was a legit punt returner. Too bad literally every one of his returns got called back.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Tavon Austin was a legit punt returner. Too bad literally every one of his returns got called back.

He ran side to side too much for my liking, but definitely better than what we’ve had lately

 

[Cjcinec]

First year special teams coach replacing PK, P and LS isn’t a recipe for success. Add in the fact that the team is cash strapped and lacks NFL depth especially on the defensive side of this ball and you have a recipe for disaster.
Coverage units were sufficient on kickoffs because the punter can put the kickoff into the end zone 98% of the time. Kickoff returns are minimal due to the rule changes. Punt coverage was terrible mostly due to missed tackles. Punter needs to improve his directional kicking and use the sideline as a defender. Better quality backups playing special teams should improve tackling and coverage. Definitely need a punt returner.