time for a new return man.... and probably new ST coach overall.

[Ellard80]

Loving the win - but we need to reconfigure this unit.

Last time I checked he was averaging about 5 yards a punt return - which was hardly doable but then he fumbled today.

Holding penalities about every kick... jefferson not downing the ball against the 49ners might have cost us the game.

This shit really needs to change moving forward.

 

[hotanez]

Loving the win - but we need to reconfigure this unit.

Last time I checked he was averaging about 5 yards a punt return - which was hardly doable but then he fumbled today.

Holding penalities about every kick... jefferson not downing the ball against the 49ners might have cost us the game.

This shit really needs to change moving forward.

Its really bad right now. I kept thinking when will the Offense and Defense play good at the same time, they finally do and STs shits the bed. Fire the coach and let Calais return both Kickoffs and punt returns.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

I'm not going to hate our PR after one fumble, if it becomes a problem, then okay. But its more of a scheme problem. At least our kicker isn't a huge liability anymore.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Belichick will find a way to exploit our poor ST's. The good news i guess is that he only has 4 days to prepare rather than 2 weeks.

Yeah our ST's are weak. M.Gay has stabilized the Kicker problems somewhat though.

 

[Ellard80]

I'm not going to hate our PR after one fumble, if it becomes a problem, then okay. But its more of a scheme problem. At least our kicker isn't a huge liability anymore.

It's not just the fumbles... out of qualified punt returners he is like 29 out of 32.

Does he feel like a threat to you?

I said the coach needs to go also.. but when webster does have a seam its not like he ever hits it with explosion and he spends a lot of time running not so fast side-ways.

 

[Memento]

There is nothing that Bonamego has done that has gone right. Let me list the reasons:

1 He gets a rookie who is a threat to take it the distance any time he touches it (Calais)...and he sits him every game, only bringing him out for a game that he does well in...but sitting him on the bench for the rest.

2. He brings in two kickers (Sloman and Forbath) and they're terrible, but he continues going to them. Sloman at least had the excuse that he was a rookie and at least had some semblance of a leg. What was Forbath's excuse? He had no leg strength for kickoffs, and yet Bonamego continued going to him?

3. He decides to have his kickers kick it off so that the other teams return it, and his coverage is terrible. That long kickoff that the Arizona kicker had would've been a touchdown, had it not been for Gay slowing him down, and it led to a touchdown against our defense.

4. His choice for returners is ridiculous. If I see Cooper Kupp out there, potentially getting injured on a punt return, I will scream. Very. Loudly. And Webster is not a dynamic returner. He fumbled the ball and that led to a touchdown against our defense: a defense that basically held Arizona to nothing on that drive.

5. Even Hekker and McQuaide are struggling in this scheme. Something is not working.

I know some may say, "But he brought in a good kicker in Gay to stabilize the situation!" But who brought up the idea of taking a chance on Gay? Hekker. We can thank Hekker for our kicking situation being stabilized, not Bonamego. Bonamego would've gone with Austin MacGinnis (no offense to the guy, but he couldn't beat out Sloman, for fate's sake!), and we'd likely have lost even more games.

I want a new special teams coordinator, someone who can innovate the special teams the same way Staley has innovated our defensive unit. Who can make the fake punts that Hekker's so famous for (have we seen one fake punt this year? I'm asking because I don't remember.) happen again (not in situations like the last fake punt, but...well, you know, right?). Who can continue to teach Gay, who can find a successor for McQuaide, who can get our fucking return game dangerous again, who can help cure what ails us in coverage.

Bonamego is not -and will never be - a special teams coach like that. Hell, I can't even call him a good coach.

This game was too close only because of special teams. And that falls under Bonamego. I'm not one for axing coaches who have bad games, but this has been a clear pattern all season long, and I do not want him back next season.

 

[Ramlock]

Hekker for ST coordinator!

 

[den-the-coach]

I'm truly hoping that McVay does go in another direction in 2021, there should be plenty of decent ST coaches available with all the changes coming, so hopefully, Bonamego does McVay a favor and retires instead of being let go.

 

[MachS]

Loving the win - but we need to reconfigure this unit.

Last time I checked he was averaging about 5 yards a punt return - which was hardly doable but then he fumbled today.

Holding penalities about every kick... jefferson not downing the ball against the 49ners might have cost us the game.

This shit really needs to change moving forward.

ST coordinator sucks ass and he will be gone next year 100%. Doubt we make a change there mid season though. At least we got FG kicker fixed, Gay kicks a good ball and solid on kick offs. But the coverage unit and return units are complete and utter trash. Just hope they dont lose us a game.

 

[RhodyRams]

We are 75% thru the season, not counting playoffs...we won't see a change there until 2021

 

[LA_vision]

Bona needs to go, fast. ST use to be our strong suit, now its a complete liability. Im trying to remember when ST made a game changing block punt, run, etc. A win these days with the ST is that the returner didnt fumble and maybe got 10 yards. Letting go of Bones was a big mistake.

 

[PhillyRam]

Bring back Matt Daniels...Lets see what has he learned from Bones.

 

[Reddog99]

I hope the Rams part ways with Bonamego in the offseason. He's brought nothing to the table and he's hurting the rest of the team. I'm sure he's a good guy but I'm ready to move on.

I'm not gonna criticize Webster too much because today was the first fumble (I believe) he's had. I'm more concerned with ball security than having big returns. With that said he doesn't do anything special and he's not elusive by any means. He's got some nice speed once he gets going but he lacks acceleration IMO. Rams should probably upgrade this position tbh.

 

[TexasRam]

The thing that really bothered me about the punt return fumble is the fact that we had the win in the bag.

In that situation you have to tell your returner to get what he can and get down. Or fair catch it. Or don't touch it.

There is a time to try to make something happen and a time to be smart. We were idiots there.

I feel better with Webster back there than Kupp due to possible injury to Kupp. Also, I like Webster better than Natson, who made me cringe every time he got tackled due to his size and potential for fumble.

I get that Webster can't do squat, but he's been good with ball security until this game. Most punt returners don't take more than 1 return to the house every year on average. It really is about ball security and feild position. Knowing when to fair catch or let it go.

4 more games to iron out the wrinkles then its go time. At least we got Gay nailing most kicks and putting the ball out of the end zone.

 

[Ellard80]

The thing that really bothered me about the punt return fumble is the fact that we had the win in the bag.

In that situation you have to tell your returner to get what he can and get down. Or fair catch it. Or don't touch it.

There is a time to try to make something happen and a time to be smart. We were idiots there.

I feel better with Webster back there than Kupp due to possible injury to Kupp. Also, I like Webster better than Natson, who made me cringe every time he got tackled due to his size and potential for fumble.

I get that Webster can't do squat, but he's been good with ball security until this game. Most punt returners don't take more than 1 return to the house every year on average. It really is about ball security and feild position. Knowing when to fair catch or let it go.

4 more games to iron out the wrinkles then its go time. At least we got Gay nailing most kicks and putting the ball out of the end zone.

I bet we are probably near at at the bottom of the nfl in field position gained on returns

 

[HX76]

Bonamego seemed like a bit of a left field choice. Not quite sure how he got the gig.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

My what a blood thirsty group some of us appear to be

Never been a fan of 14 but right now he’s the best option

 

[FrantikRam]

It's a tricky situation.

In 2017, we had arguably the best special teams unit in NFL history, and our returner, who was the best in the NFL during the season (Cooper) was the reason we lost in the playoffs.

In 2018, we were coming back against the Eagles, and our returner (Natson) muffed the punt, which ultimately snuffed out our comeback attempt.

In 2019, our kicker cost us a win against Seattle, and missed more makeable kicks (40-50 yards) than any other kicker in the NFL last year, AND our ST coordinator ran a fake punt against the Cardinals without McVay's approval.

In 2020, we've missed a ton of kicks, had two turnovers on ST, a punt returned on us for a TD and several long kick returns allowed - the only game that ST potentially cost us was Miami, but the offense contributed to that loss as well. Yesterday they singlehandedly turned a 41-14 blowout into a 38-28 win that was somewhat stressful in the fourth quarter.



McVay probably feels like he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Even with a better ST coach, it cost us at least one game every season, and arguably cost us the two most important games of 2017 and 2019 (ended up being why we didn't make the playoffs).

I think McVay has to get involved. Right after the Patriots game, especially if it costs us the game, which is a very real fear with how good NE always plays on special teams. Let everyone have that weekend off after the game except for the core special teams guys. Focus on it all week and let O'Connell do all the game planning for the Jets - that would give McVay a week and a half to live with the ST unit and get this shit show together.

 

[Jacobarch]

Webster is not a very good return man. He's 30th in PRY and I can see why. He's thinking too much instead of running the ball up the field, maybe he's always trying to look for that "homerun". Either way he ends up getting crushed on most plays because he spends too much time dancing around sideline to sideline. I wouldn't say he's our biggest problem but it's something we should be looking to upgrade come the offseason. I wouldn't mind finding a burner WR that can also handle kickoff duties. Either way Wester has to get better and better fast if wants to remain a ram.

I've also been watching Long Jr as a gunner. The kid cannot block, he gets beat so fast ever time it's easy to see why we aren't doing well in return category. There has to be someone better suited to gun instead of Long. Just my observation.