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Bonsignore: In a refreshing twist, Rams GM Les Snead opens up about team's woes
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 46 Replies
ams tackle Greg Robinson (73) has "been a little slower to develop than we all would have liked. He's got some skills that we can make successful," Rams general manager Les Snead said. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Bonsignore: In a refreshing twist, Rams GM Les Snead opens up about team's woes
By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF COLUMNIST
Near the end of a 45-minute interview with reporters to end one of the toughest 14-day stretches in the new history of the Los Angles Rams, Les Snead, the club’s general manager, glanced toward Rams public relations man Artis Twyman.
Normally in these circumstances, the gesture would serve a very specific purpose.
As in: Hey man, get this wrapped up and get me the heck out of here.
Instead, Snead told Twyman to cool his heels and chill out.
Then he looked back at the reporters and urged them to keep asking away.
After going nearly a full season without officially talking to reporters while suffering through another season gone sideways and his head coach maybe, or maybe not, taking a shot at him while they both clung to whatever remains of the rope on their Rams career, Snead had plenty to say Friday.
And apparently all the time to say it while touching on everything from his relationship with Coach Jeff Fisher, who a source in the Rams front office described to reporter Albert Breer this week as “toxic,” the Rams inability to spring Todd Gurley free, the inevitable process of growing a team with a rookie quarterback to how his kids have taken to Google lately to figure out who else the the Rams could have drafted with the second overall in the 2014 draft .
Instead of the guy they did take: Left tackle Greg Robinson who, to date, has performed anything like anything a second overall pick.
(My) 15-year-old actually wants to get in my business. I (tell him), it doesn’t happen that way,” Snead said laughing. “With that said, we took Greg for a reason, and he’s been a little slower to develop than we all would have liked. He’s got some skills that we can make successful. We now have to go back to the drawing board and go, in our plan for success, where have we gone wrong? Where have we gone right? And keep getting him better. Greg, on the other hand, has got to meet us halfway, too.”
In between all of that, Snead gave his take on his long-term future in Los Angeles, which could hinge on how the Rams finish up over the last four games regardless of the two-year contract extension he signed. In the meantime, he’ll keep plugging away trying to get things right.
“Here’s what … We’re in that microscopic phase,” Snead said. “So, what I’m confident about is, I’m preparing to – We’re in draft meetings. And I’m doing that this week. That was on the schedule. I’m confident we’re playing Atlanta. And I think all of those decisions should and always be put off to the end of the season. So, I always say, that’s my confidence. And my passion is – hey, not where we want to be. And I’ve got a job to do, a role to do, lead a staff to do, to get us where we want to be. And that’s how you have to work in this league. That’s your focus.”
It was, to say the least, a no-holds-barred and frank, 45-minute conversation in which Snead took on all comers.
What it lacked in hard answers – Snead’s future with the Rams is essentially out of his hands, although he obviously hopes to be back – it certainly made up for in candidness.
As in Snead refuting reports that his relationship with Fisher is toxic. But did concede it’s troubling that someone else in the organization interprets it as such, and it’s on Snead and Fisher to fix that.
“I think what we need to work on is what’s been said. What are those frustrations? Why are those frustrations occurring?” he said. “Because what’s been said hasn’t been Jeff and I. It’s been other people within the building. And we have to accept responsibility. But I think the biggest thing is let’s fix those frustrations. And really fix what’s causing those frustrations. So I’m not going to sugarcoat any of that, but I can tell you the relationship is really, really good.”
Or that the Rams absolutely misfired on some personnel decisions and need to dig into why that happened and what they can do moving forward to make sure they minimize those mistakes in order to finally get going offensively.
“What bothers me is we’ve had some good decisions in personnel; we’ve had some not good decisions in personnel. My staff will tell you that is where I lose sleep at night, is on those ones we haven’t done so well on and what can we learn going forward,” he said “That’s how we learn, that’s how we evolve. We’ve got to look at that subset and how do we get better. How do we not repeat, if that’s a mistake, and also look this, because I think we all have to work together when you bring in players, be on the same page. You have a plan for success for each one, so those are the things that bother me is we haven’t got the results we wanted and the decisions that hadn’t gone well for us. How do we improve those?”
The frankness was refreshing, especially after spending the past 12 weeks listening to thinly veiled excuses for the Rams 4-8 record and empty promises to fix problems that linger week after week after week.
Snead, unlike Fisher, is owning his mistakes and laying out ideas and changes to limit them moving forward.
It might not be enough to save his job. Snead, like Fisher, has been on the scene for five years and while they lifted the product from morbid to competitive they haven’t been able to turn the corner from competitive to consistent winner.
He understands that. And no matter what the Rams do down the stretch, it won’t change the fact this has been an unacceptable season.
“You are who you are. Right? We’re 4-8 right now. Now we still have four games left but again however it ends, trust me, we want to go play good every single game and win every one, but no how matter good it is you’ll look at it and go, ‘That’s not where we want to be.’ And what do you gotta do to contend?” Snead said. “And we’ve been competitive, I think, that’s the first thing, probably, been competitive too long a stretch of competitive and that’s probably taking the last two games out. We weren’t competitive there, that’s obvious; the scoreboard said it. But I think we have been competitive, so we just have to go from there.”
It doesn’t make anything about this season all right.
But at least there is some accountability.
[www.ocregister.com]
What I want to see in Today's Game vs the Falcons!!
- By DaveFan'51
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 14 Replies
I can't Sleep thinking about the importance of Todays game, so here is what I want to see, Followed by what I Know I'll see!!
I WANT TO SEE:
* Jared Goff Play 60 minutes Like he did in his 1st 30 minutes of his 2nd game!!
And Pass for 4 TD's!!
* I want to see Todd Gurrley Rush for 150+ Yards and 2 TD's!!
* I want to see Our "D" Play "No Huddle Defense" against the Falcon, like in the Old days, and just be standing their at the LS waiting for them on every down! Scare the Crap out of them!!
Man-Handle them!!
* I want to see Donald Do his Best imitation of Merlin Olsen!!
"Be right in Ryans Face before he know what hit him!!
WHAT I KNOW I"LL SEE:
GO RAMS!!
I WANT TO SEE:
* Jared Goff Play 60 minutes Like he did in his 1st 30 minutes of his 2nd game!!
And Pass for 4 TD's!!
* I want to see Todd Gurrley Rush for 150+ Yards and 2 TD's!!
* I want to see Our "D" Play "No Huddle Defense" against the Falcon, like in the Old days, and just be standing their at the LS waiting for them on every down! Scare the Crap out of them!!
Man-Handle them!!
* I want to see Donald Do his Best imitation of Merlin Olsen!!
"Be right in Ryans Face before he know what hit him!!
WHAT I KNOW I"LL SEE:
GO RAMS!!
We'll Find the Leak
- By MTRamsFan
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 33 Replies
Jeff Fisher is on the hunt for the source of the Rams’ anonymous leaks
By Jake Russell
A rift between Rams legend Eric Dickerson and head coach Jeff Fisher last week was the icing on top of a season in which the latter declared, “I am not f—ing going 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7” to his team during training camp on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” Fisher has notoriously won either seven or eight games 10 out of 20 years as an NFL head coach.
Now, after signing two-year extension along with general manager Les Snead, Fisher is having to refute reports of discord between he and Snead, saying on Friday, “We’ll find out where it’s coming from.”
The issue stemmed from comments Fisher made Tuesday about the team’s roster, which were construed as criticizing the Rams front office.
[Wondering why the Rams gave Jeff Fisher an extension? Here’s one good reason.]
“I’m so busy here, I was honestly unaware he was extended. I’m being honest with you, we’re just working here,” Fisher said, per The MMQB. “I look at this as being my responsibility, the win-loss record. We need to do a better job from a personnel standpoint. We’ve had some unfortunate things take place with some high picks in Stedman Bailey and Tre Mason and those kinds of things you don’t anticipate.”
That statement rubbed at least one Rams employee the wrong way, especially considering Fisher wanted final say over personnel when taking the Rams job in 2012.
“It pissed me off because I knew it was meant as a shot,” an unnamed Rams source told The MMQB’s Albert Breer. “You see it under that umbrella —’We need to do a better job in personnel.’ OK, but you want everyone to think that you have full control. You can’t have it both ways, and it can’t always be the talent. Look at the roster, 2012 to now. In ’12, Jeff did a masterful job with what he was given. But we’ve gotten more talent, and we’ve gotten worse.”
“It’s always good to have healthy tension between the coach and GM, but that shouldn’t hurt the team or cause finger-pointing,” another team source told Breer. “Over five years, [Tuesday] was the first time you saw public comments. That should never happen. … The organization has given them a long leash. And given that they’ve had time, they have to win, and they have to be able to work together.”
[Jeff Fisher simply couldn’t figure out which pocket he’d put the challenge flag]
Fisher attempted to extinguish any lingering flames when talking to reporters on Friday.
“When you’re 4-8, people are frustrated, you know, they’re frustrated,” Fisher said.
“Honestly, I don’t know where this came from,” Fisher said. “Les and I have been on the same page since Day One. We communicate all the time. We work together. We make some decisions together. … There’s no issues between Les and I, by no means. We agree to disagree, and we’ve had a fun run. We’re certainly disappointed in the outcome and where we are, and we’ve got work to do, but we’re doing it together.”
Snead, who joined the Rams in 2012 along with Fisher, also disputed the notion of a relationship that Breer described as “toxic.”
“(The) relationship is really good,” Snead said. “We’ve worked together from the start, in every decision. Every decision that’s made, especially from a personnel standpoint.”
[Jeff Fisher ties Tom Landry for second-most losses by an NFL coach]
Snead also said he takes no issue with Fisher being unaware of his contract status.
“I let those guys concentrate on football,” Snead said of the coaches. “I go do my role. I think from that standpoint, I didn’t blow it out of proportion in any way at all. I was aware that we both were in the same boat, in terms of getting an extension. At that point in time, didn’t know the details of each other’s (contracts). I didn’t know his details, and vice versa.”
Fisher took exception with a section of The MMQB story indicating that front-office personnel “question how hard the team is pushed, with a lack of in-season padded practices being an example of the perceived problem.”
“Somebody said that we don’t pad our practices,” Fisher said. “We padded on Wednesday. So whoever is talking obviously has not been out to practice or does not understand the CBA. Enough is enough, Les and I are good, we’re all good. Our focus is on Atlanta right now.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-rams-anonymous-leaks/?utm_term=.6f9396c426c5
Regurgitation of all the drama from the past few days. However, I think I found someone who can help Fisher find the leak.
By Jake Russell
A rift between Rams legend Eric Dickerson and head coach Jeff Fisher last week was the icing on top of a season in which the latter declared, “I am not f—ing going 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7” to his team during training camp on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” Fisher has notoriously won either seven or eight games 10 out of 20 years as an NFL head coach.
Now, after signing two-year extension along with general manager Les Snead, Fisher is having to refute reports of discord between he and Snead, saying on Friday, “We’ll find out where it’s coming from.”
The issue stemmed from comments Fisher made Tuesday about the team’s roster, which were construed as criticizing the Rams front office.
[Wondering why the Rams gave Jeff Fisher an extension? Here’s one good reason.]
“I’m so busy here, I was honestly unaware he was extended. I’m being honest with you, we’re just working here,” Fisher said, per The MMQB. “I look at this as being my responsibility, the win-loss record. We need to do a better job from a personnel standpoint. We’ve had some unfortunate things take place with some high picks in Stedman Bailey and Tre Mason and those kinds of things you don’t anticipate.”
That statement rubbed at least one Rams employee the wrong way, especially considering Fisher wanted final say over personnel when taking the Rams job in 2012.
“It pissed me off because I knew it was meant as a shot,” an unnamed Rams source told The MMQB’s Albert Breer. “You see it under that umbrella —’We need to do a better job in personnel.’ OK, but you want everyone to think that you have full control. You can’t have it both ways, and it can’t always be the talent. Look at the roster, 2012 to now. In ’12, Jeff did a masterful job with what he was given. But we’ve gotten more talent, and we’ve gotten worse.”
“It’s always good to have healthy tension between the coach and GM, but that shouldn’t hurt the team or cause finger-pointing,” another team source told Breer. “Over five years, [Tuesday] was the first time you saw public comments. That should never happen. … The organization has given them a long leash. And given that they’ve had time, they have to win, and they have to be able to work together.”
[Jeff Fisher simply couldn’t figure out which pocket he’d put the challenge flag]
Fisher attempted to extinguish any lingering flames when talking to reporters on Friday.
“When you’re 4-8, people are frustrated, you know, they’re frustrated,” Fisher said.
“Honestly, I don’t know where this came from,” Fisher said. “Les and I have been on the same page since Day One. We communicate all the time. We work together. We make some decisions together. … There’s no issues between Les and I, by no means. We agree to disagree, and we’ve had a fun run. We’re certainly disappointed in the outcome and where we are, and we’ve got work to do, but we’re doing it together.”
Snead, who joined the Rams in 2012 along with Fisher, also disputed the notion of a relationship that Breer described as “toxic.”
“(The) relationship is really good,” Snead said. “We’ve worked together from the start, in every decision. Every decision that’s made, especially from a personnel standpoint.”
[Jeff Fisher ties Tom Landry for second-most losses by an NFL coach]
Snead also said he takes no issue with Fisher being unaware of his contract status.
“I let those guys concentrate on football,” Snead said of the coaches. “I go do my role. I think from that standpoint, I didn’t blow it out of proportion in any way at all. I was aware that we both were in the same boat, in terms of getting an extension. At that point in time, didn’t know the details of each other’s (contracts). I didn’t know his details, and vice versa.”
Fisher took exception with a section of The MMQB story indicating that front-office personnel “question how hard the team is pushed, with a lack of in-season padded practices being an example of the perceived problem.”
“Somebody said that we don’t pad our practices,” Fisher said. “We padded on Wednesday. So whoever is talking obviously has not been out to practice or does not understand the CBA. Enough is enough, Les and I are good, we’re all good. Our focus is on Atlanta right now.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-rams-anonymous-leaks/?utm_term=.6f9396c426c5
Regurgitation of all the drama from the past few days. However, I think I found someone who can help Fisher find the leak.
Johnny Hekker is the punter every punter wants to be...
- By WestCoastRam
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 0 Replies
http://deadspin.com/johnny-hekker-is-the-punter-every-punter-wants-to-be-1789931094
Johnny Hekker Is The Punter Every Punter Wants To Be
Dom Cosentino
Yesterday 2:25pm
Filed to: JOHNNY HEKKER
59.2K
9218
Jeff Roberson/AP Images
The best thing about the Los Angeles Rams isn’t Aaron Donald and the defensive line, or laughing at Jeff Fisher and his endless quest to perfect mediocrity. Nope. The best thing about the Rams is their punter.
The Rams are 4-8 and losers of seven of eight. They have the NFL’s lowest-ranked offensive DVOA. They somehow lost to the 49ers by four touchdowns, which ought not to be possible. But they have Johnny Hekker, and Johnny Hekker is having maybe the best season of any punter, ever. It was easy to chortle when Fisher declared the other day that the Rams are “on a record-setting pace with our punt team.” But he wasn’t wrong. Hekker, an undrafted free agent in 2012 and two-time All-Pro, really is that good.
Hekker’s average of 47.5 yards per punt ranks seventh in the league, but that’s a meaningless stat: Punters are often charged with landing punts inside the 20 (touchbacks are bad for punters), kicking high enough to help their coverage, and angling the ball directionally, sometimes to keep it away from returners. The goal is to maximize field position; it isn’t always just to blast the ball out of the stadium. Though Hekker can damn well do that, too.
Any way you look at, Hekker has been sensational this year. His net average, which takes returns and touchbacks into consideration, is 45.8 yards. How good is that? As Pro Football Talk noted the other day, the league record—set by Hekker in 2013—is a mere 44.2 yards. And that total is still the only time a punter has finished a season with a net average greater than 44 yards.
Hekker also has 40 punts inside the 20-yard line, nine more than any other punter this season, and just six shy of the NFL record. Football Outsiders provided even more context by noting that Hekker has landed 56 percent of his punts inside the 20, and that Andy Lee of the Panthers is the only other punter above 50 percent. Not only that, but Hekker has just one touchback, and his touchback rate is a minuscule 1.4 percent. By way of comparison, the Colts’ Pat McAfee, the league leader in yards per punt at 50.0, has a touchback rate of 18.2 percent.
Hekker can seemingly put the ball wherever he wants.
“To have both distance punting and directional punting—some guys have one or the other, but it’s somewhat rare to see both on a very high level,” former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe told me. “He has the ability to hit that 50-, 55-yarder with 5.0 (second) hang time, which is key; that’s obviously a very handy skill to have. He’s also one of those guys in that he can directional punt while he’s doing it. In terms of being able to just put it over by the numbers, with hang time, that makes it easier for his coverage guys to get down there and get the ball.”
This, too, can be quantified: The Rams have given up an average of just 3.7 yards per punt return this season, the best total in the league. Only the Patriots (96) have given up fewer total punt return yards than the Rams (101)—and the Pats have punted 20 fewer times than the Rams.* The Rams’ opponents’ start their drives with an average line of scrimmage of the 25.49; only the Colts’ (25.46) and Patriots’ opponents (24.33) start with worse field position. And wouldn’t you know it: Bill Belichick is a huge Hekker fan. In the run-up to last week’s Rams-Pats game, Belichick wouldn’t stop gushing about Hekker:
“Hekker is a tremendous weapon,” Belichick said, unprovoked. “I mean, this guy is as good a player as I’ve ever seen at that position. He’s a tremendous weapon in his ability to punt the ball, punt it inside the 20, directional kick it, involved in fakes, can throw, can run, very athletic … He’s dangerous. Absolutely. He’s like a quarterback. He can throw. He can run. You gotta defend him like you defend one of those guys.”
That athleticism Belichick was referring to? Hekker is a former high school quarterback who two years ago was involved in one of the ballsier fake punts in recent memory. Interestingly, Hekker also won the job at Oregon State after walking on, beating out a punter who later transferred to Louisiana Tech. That punter was Ryan Allen, an eventual two-time Ray Guy Award winner who’s been with the Patriots since 2013.
Hekker ranks third in the league with 27 fair catches on his punts. He’s tied for fifth with eight punts out of bounds, and tied for seventh with nine punts downed. That means 61.1 percent of his punts have not been returned. But even when they have been returned, Hekker hasn’t made it easy. Here’s more Belichick on Hekker, via CSN New England:
“Another part of the problem is just catching the ball. He kicks it so far and makes the returner move for it. They run over there, they mishandle it, or it hits the ground and rolls for another 20 yards. It’s a tough ball to catch because you’re not just shagging flies out there. He’s making you run, and he’s kicking it over your head.”
[...]
“It changes field position [in] one play. You think you’re going to get the ball with good field position and you’re at the 15-yard line.”
Punting often seems like a routine play, so it’s remarkable to see what this looks like when a master does it. Belichick got a first-hand glimpse on Sunday, long after the outcome was no longer in doubt, when Hekker belted a 76-yard punt in the fourth quarter that sent return man Cyrus Jones scurrying some 25 yards backward to get it. It was Hekker’s third punt of 70 or more yards this season:
View attachment 17974
In Week 10, the Rams and Jets spent three hours farting into their hands until Hekker, with the line of scrimmage at his own 17, did this. That’s a 78-yard punt, entirely through the air, in case you were wondering:
View attachment upload_2016-12-10_11-0-46.gif
Instead of decent field position, the Jets took over at their own 15. They promptly went three-and-out, and instead it was the Rams who got the ball at midfield. Within minutes, L.A. kicked a field goal that proved to be the final margin in a 9-6 win.
Hekker directly affected a win in Week 2, when the Rams upset the Seahawks, 9-3. He averaged just 39.5 yards per punt that day, but all six of his kicks landed inside the 20. And during the the third quarter of a tie game in Week 7, when Fisher had the Rams punt from the Giants’ 41—that weird no man’s land where teams will often go for it because punts from there usually only net a couple dozen yards—Hekker dropped the ball at the 3, and got it to bounce straight up:
View attachment upload_2016-12-10_11-0-46.gif
I asked Chris Kluwe how hard that was. Kluwe, who spent eight seasons in the league, was a traditional-style punter because that’s how he learned. But Aussie-style punters like Hekker have become increasingly common in recent years, at every level. With the Aussie style, punters drop the ball vertically when making the kick, with the nose facing the ground. According to Kluwe, Aussie-style punters “definitely have an advantage” with situational punts because of the way those kicks tend to get the ball to bounce backward upon landing.
Also: “Even if you hit it as hard as you can, the ball is never going to go more than, like, 44 yards or so,” Kluwe said.
And this can be more effective than trying to angle a punt toward the sideline, which requires less leg power; Kluwe estimated that the so-called “coffin corner” approach uses just 60-to-70 percent leg power, but that by not swinging through the ball, it increases a punter’s chances of making a mistake.
With the Aussie approach, Kluwe said, punters connect with the ball at “not quite full speed, but close enough,” and that they can “swing through, just like a normal punt.” Hekker, Kluwe added, has “obviously mastered that very well, to where he’s calibrated it in to drop it right around the 9-, 8-yard line. That either forces a fair catch, or if he’s hitting it toward the sidelines, he can just hit it, and trust that the ball with either bounce backwards, or it’ll hit and go out of bounds if he’s hitting it in the right direction.”
The Rams’ offensive ineptitude has also helped Hekker. In addition to being dead last in offensive DVOA, they average just 24.51 yards per drive, which ranks dead last and is well short of the league average of 32.04. They’re also dead last in third-down efficiency (32.5 percent). As a result, Hekker has attempted 72 punts—tied for most in the league with the Niners’ Bradley Pinion—and he’s getting a lot of long-field opportunities.
“That’s definitely helping his numbers this year,” Kluwe said, “to know that they’re going three-and-out on their own 30 or their own 20, so he can just crush it.”
Johnny Hekker Is The Punter Every Punter Wants To Be
Dom Cosentino
Yesterday 2:25pm
Filed to: JOHNNY HEKKER
59.2K
9218
Jeff Roberson/AP Images
The best thing about the Los Angeles Rams isn’t Aaron Donald and the defensive line, or laughing at Jeff Fisher and his endless quest to perfect mediocrity. Nope. The best thing about the Rams is their punter.
The Rams are 4-8 and losers of seven of eight. They have the NFL’s lowest-ranked offensive DVOA. They somehow lost to the 49ers by four touchdowns, which ought not to be possible. But they have Johnny Hekker, and Johnny Hekker is having maybe the best season of any punter, ever. It was easy to chortle when Fisher declared the other day that the Rams are “on a record-setting pace with our punt team.” But he wasn’t wrong. Hekker, an undrafted free agent in 2012 and two-time All-Pro, really is that good.
Hekker’s average of 47.5 yards per punt ranks seventh in the league, but that’s a meaningless stat: Punters are often charged with landing punts inside the 20 (touchbacks are bad for punters), kicking high enough to help their coverage, and angling the ball directionally, sometimes to keep it away from returners. The goal is to maximize field position; it isn’t always just to blast the ball out of the stadium. Though Hekker can damn well do that, too.
Any way you look at, Hekker has been sensational this year. His net average, which takes returns and touchbacks into consideration, is 45.8 yards. How good is that? As Pro Football Talk noted the other day, the league record—set by Hekker in 2013—is a mere 44.2 yards. And that total is still the only time a punter has finished a season with a net average greater than 44 yards.
Hekker also has 40 punts inside the 20-yard line, nine more than any other punter this season, and just six shy of the NFL record. Football Outsiders provided even more context by noting that Hekker has landed 56 percent of his punts inside the 20, and that Andy Lee of the Panthers is the only other punter above 50 percent. Not only that, but Hekker has just one touchback, and his touchback rate is a minuscule 1.4 percent. By way of comparison, the Colts’ Pat McAfee, the league leader in yards per punt at 50.0, has a touchback rate of 18.2 percent.
Hekker can seemingly put the ball wherever he wants.
“To have both distance punting and directional punting—some guys have one or the other, but it’s somewhat rare to see both on a very high level,” former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe told me. “He has the ability to hit that 50-, 55-yarder with 5.0 (second) hang time, which is key; that’s obviously a very handy skill to have. He’s also one of those guys in that he can directional punt while he’s doing it. In terms of being able to just put it over by the numbers, with hang time, that makes it easier for his coverage guys to get down there and get the ball.”
This, too, can be quantified: The Rams have given up an average of just 3.7 yards per punt return this season, the best total in the league. Only the Patriots (96) have given up fewer total punt return yards than the Rams (101)—and the Pats have punted 20 fewer times than the Rams.* The Rams’ opponents’ start their drives with an average line of scrimmage of the 25.49; only the Colts’ (25.46) and Patriots’ opponents (24.33) start with worse field position. And wouldn’t you know it: Bill Belichick is a huge Hekker fan. In the run-up to last week’s Rams-Pats game, Belichick wouldn’t stop gushing about Hekker:
“Hekker is a tremendous weapon,” Belichick said, unprovoked. “I mean, this guy is as good a player as I’ve ever seen at that position. He’s a tremendous weapon in his ability to punt the ball, punt it inside the 20, directional kick it, involved in fakes, can throw, can run, very athletic … He’s dangerous. Absolutely. He’s like a quarterback. He can throw. He can run. You gotta defend him like you defend one of those guys.”
That athleticism Belichick was referring to? Hekker is a former high school quarterback who two years ago was involved in one of the ballsier fake punts in recent memory. Interestingly, Hekker also won the job at Oregon State after walking on, beating out a punter who later transferred to Louisiana Tech. That punter was Ryan Allen, an eventual two-time Ray Guy Award winner who’s been with the Patriots since 2013.
Hekker ranks third in the league with 27 fair catches on his punts. He’s tied for fifth with eight punts out of bounds, and tied for seventh with nine punts downed. That means 61.1 percent of his punts have not been returned. But even when they have been returned, Hekker hasn’t made it easy. Here’s more Belichick on Hekker, via CSN New England:
“Another part of the problem is just catching the ball. He kicks it so far and makes the returner move for it. They run over there, they mishandle it, or it hits the ground and rolls for another 20 yards. It’s a tough ball to catch because you’re not just shagging flies out there. He’s making you run, and he’s kicking it over your head.”
[...]
“It changes field position [in] one play. You think you’re going to get the ball with good field position and you’re at the 15-yard line.”
Punting often seems like a routine play, so it’s remarkable to see what this looks like when a master does it. Belichick got a first-hand glimpse on Sunday, long after the outcome was no longer in doubt, when Hekker belted a 76-yard punt in the fourth quarter that sent return man Cyrus Jones scurrying some 25 yards backward to get it. It was Hekker’s third punt of 70 or more yards this season:
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In Week 10, the Rams and Jets spent three hours farting into their hands until Hekker, with the line of scrimmage at his own 17, did this. That’s a 78-yard punt, entirely through the air, in case you were wondering:
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Instead of decent field position, the Jets took over at their own 15. They promptly went three-and-out, and instead it was the Rams who got the ball at midfield. Within minutes, L.A. kicked a field goal that proved to be the final margin in a 9-6 win.
Hekker directly affected a win in Week 2, when the Rams upset the Seahawks, 9-3. He averaged just 39.5 yards per punt that day, but all six of his kicks landed inside the 20. And during the the third quarter of a tie game in Week 7, when Fisher had the Rams punt from the Giants’ 41—that weird no man’s land where teams will often go for it because punts from there usually only net a couple dozen yards—Hekker dropped the ball at the 3, and got it to bounce straight up:
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I asked Chris Kluwe how hard that was. Kluwe, who spent eight seasons in the league, was a traditional-style punter because that’s how he learned. But Aussie-style punters like Hekker have become increasingly common in recent years, at every level. With the Aussie style, punters drop the ball vertically when making the kick, with the nose facing the ground. According to Kluwe, Aussie-style punters “definitely have an advantage” with situational punts because of the way those kicks tend to get the ball to bounce backward upon landing.
Also: “Even if you hit it as hard as you can, the ball is never going to go more than, like, 44 yards or so,” Kluwe said.
And this can be more effective than trying to angle a punt toward the sideline, which requires less leg power; Kluwe estimated that the so-called “coffin corner” approach uses just 60-to-70 percent leg power, but that by not swinging through the ball, it increases a punter’s chances of making a mistake.
With the Aussie approach, Kluwe said, punters connect with the ball at “not quite full speed, but close enough,” and that they can “swing through, just like a normal punt.” Hekker, Kluwe added, has “obviously mastered that very well, to where he’s calibrated it in to drop it right around the 9-, 8-yard line. That either forces a fair catch, or if he’s hitting it toward the sidelines, he can just hit it, and trust that the ball with either bounce backwards, or it’ll hit and go out of bounds if he’s hitting it in the right direction.”
The Rams’ offensive ineptitude has also helped Hekker. In addition to being dead last in offensive DVOA, they average just 24.51 yards per drive, which ranks dead last and is well short of the league average of 32.04. They’re also dead last in third-down efficiency (32.5 percent). As a result, Hekker has attempted 72 punts—tied for most in the league with the Niners’ Bradley Pinion—and he’s getting a lot of long-field opportunities.
“That’s definitely helping his numbers this year,” Kluwe said, “to know that they’re going three-and-out on their own 30 or their own 20, so he can just crush it.”
Warm-Up for Tomorrow's Atlanta Game!
- By DaveFan'51
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 5 Replies
It's "Drizzling" right now here in So. Cal. and may be the same Tomorrow!! But I thought you might like to look Back at a Little Rams vs Falcons Trivia for Fun and bring back Fond Memories!!
* The Rams are 47-27-2 against the Falcons in Regular Season Play!
* The Falcons Beat us once in Post Season Play, It was the Last time we where in the Playoff in 2004!
" Bitches!!"
* Fisher is 0-1 against the Falcons as Rams HC!
The Rams Lost to them 31-24 in 2013!
** BIG TRIVIA Point!
Tied for the Biggest Shut out in NFL History. On Dec. 4th 1976 The Rams Blew-Out the Falcons 59-0!!
*** The Rams used 3 QB's in the Game, Haden-Harris and Jaws! the combined for 369 Yards Passing.
*** The Rams Rushed for 6 TD's in the game!
**20 Years later, on Nov. 10th 1996, the Rams " Stepped-On" the Falcons 59-16! In this game the Rams had 1 Punt return for a TD and 1 Int. returned for a TD. Plus Harold Green Rushed for 2 TD's. Tony Banks was our QB!
** NOW it's 20 Years Later, and tomorrow, Dec. 11th 2016 we meet-up in L.A. again!!
" I'm NOT SAYING WE WILL PUT UP 59 POINTS ON THEM .. BUT ... STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED!
THOUGHTS ANYONE!?
* The Rams are 47-27-2 against the Falcons in Regular Season Play!
* The Falcons Beat us once in Post Season Play, It was the Last time we where in the Playoff in 2004!
* Fisher is 0-1 against the Falcons as Rams HC!
The Rams Lost to them 31-24 in 2013!
** BIG TRIVIA Point!
Tied for the Biggest Shut out in NFL History. On Dec. 4th 1976 The Rams Blew-Out the Falcons 59-0!!
*** The Rams used 3 QB's in the Game, Haden-Harris and Jaws! the combined for 369 Yards Passing.
*** The Rams Rushed for 6 TD's in the game!
**20 Years later, on Nov. 10th 1996, the Rams " Stepped-On" the Falcons 59-16! In this game the Rams had 1 Punt return for a TD and 1 Int. returned for a TD. Plus Harold Green Rushed for 2 TD's. Tony Banks was our QB!
** NOW it's 20 Years Later, and tomorrow, Dec. 11th 2016 we meet-up in L.A. again!!
" I'm NOT SAYING WE WILL PUT UP 59 POINTS ON THEM .. BUT ... STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED!
THOUGHTS ANYONE!?
Legarrette Blount: I think Fisher knows us now
- By lockdnram21
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 0 Replies
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ount-i-think-jeff-fisher-knows-our-names-now/
Getty Images
Plenty of people were amused last week when Rams coach Jeff Fisher made references to “Brandon” and “Danny” while discussing the Patriots’ running backs because Brandon Bolden usually only plays special teams and there hasn’t been a Danny at running back in New England since Danny Woodhead left town.
The Rams said Fisher was referring to wide receiver Danny Amendola, but he already knew LeGarrette Blount from a brief time when Blount played for Fisher with the Titans. Blount was joined in the backfield by Dion Lewis and James White in a 26-10 Patriots victory on Sunday and he referenced Fisher’s comments by mentioning them after the game.
“He already knew my name,” Blount said, via the Boston Herald. “I think he knows James and Dion now for sure, though.”
Blount ran 18 times for 88 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, leaving him with 230 carries for 957 yards and 13 touchdowns. The attempts and touchdowns are already career highs and he’s 51 yards away from another one during a year that’s left Blount well known around the league.
Plenty of people were amused last week when Rams coach Jeff Fisher made references to “Brandon” and “Danny” while discussing the Patriots’ running backs because Brandon Bolden usually only plays special teams and there hasn’t been a Danny at running back in New England since Danny Woodhead left town.
The Rams said Fisher was referring to wide receiver Danny Amendola, but he already knew LeGarrette Blount from a brief time when Blount played for Fisher with the Titans. Blount was joined in the backfield by Dion Lewis and James White in a 26-10 Patriots victory on Sunday and he referenced Fisher’s comments by mentioning them after the game.
“He already knew my name,” Blount said, via the Boston Herald. “I think he knows James and Dion now for sure, though.”
Blount ran 18 times for 88 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, leaving him with 230 carries for 957 yards and 13 touchdowns. The attempts and touchdowns are already career highs and he’s 51 yards away from another one during a year that’s left Blount well known around the league.
Report: Luke Fickell accepts head coaching role at Cincinnati
- NFL DRAFT / COLLEGE FOOTBALL
- 1 Replies
If you're a fan of Ohio State or Cincinnati, you've probably been following closely to all the talk surrounding Buckeye co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell and the Bearcats.
Rumors began a few days back that Fickell was interested in the head coaching vacancy before reports were that he interviewed and Friday morning that he was in contract talks with Cincinnati. Now that speculation may be over as reports are coming out that Fickell has accepted the job to take over as the Bearcats' next head coach.
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Jordan Strack
✔@JordanStrack
I'm told Ohio State's Luke Fickell has been named Head Football coach at Cincinnati. Official announcement will come tomorrow.
http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Bolt...pts-head-coaching-role-at-Cincinnati-49691504
Rumors began a few days back that Fickell was interested in the head coaching vacancy before reports were that he interviewed and Friday morning that he was in contract talks with Cincinnati. Now that speculation may be over as reports are coming out that Fickell has accepted the job to take over as the Bearcats' next head coach.
Follow
Jordan Strack ✔@JordanStrack
I'm told Ohio State's Luke Fickell has been named Head Football coach at Cincinnati. Official announcement will come tomorrow.
http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Bolt...pts-head-coaching-role-at-Cincinnati-49691504
Trumaine Johnson, Todd Gurley fined for Week 13 infractions
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 11 Replies
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...on-todd-gurley-fined-for-week-13-infractions/
Trumaine Johnson, Todd Gurley fined for Week 13 infractions
Posted by Josh Alper on December 9, 2016
Getty Images
A couple of Rams players heard from the league this week about fines that will add some financial losses to the on-field one they suffered against the Patriots last weekend.
Cornerback Trumaine Johnson has been fined $18,231 by the league for a facemask on Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount. Johnson yanked Blount down by the facemask on what looked to be an intentional grab at the tail end of a run late in the first half of the game.
Blount was already down when Johnson pulled on the facemask, although that wasn’t enough to give the game’s officials cause to penalize Johnson on the field.
Rams running back Todd Gurley was fined $9,115 for a chop block on Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower that was penalized. Hightower was shaken up on the play, but returned to help the Patriots finish off a 26-10 win.
Trumaine Johnson, Todd Gurley fined for Week 13 infractions
Posted by Josh Alper on December 9, 2016
A couple of Rams players heard from the league this week about fines that will add some financial losses to the on-field one they suffered against the Patriots last weekend.
Cornerback Trumaine Johnson has been fined $18,231 by the league for a facemask on Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount. Johnson yanked Blount down by the facemask on what looked to be an intentional grab at the tail end of a run late in the first half of the game.
Blount was already down when Johnson pulled on the facemask, although that wasn’t enough to give the game’s officials cause to penalize Johnson on the field.
Rams running back Todd Gurley was fined $9,115 for a chop block on Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower that was penalized. Hightower was shaken up on the play, but returned to help the Patriots finish off a 26-10 win.
