Greg Zuerlein being placed on IR with back injury. Wow...

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Hope GZ can make a full recovery for next year, he’ll certainly be missed. But I’m confident in our team’s ability to have backups step up and contribute for us. This Ficken guy looks like he might be pretty good.
 
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This sucks!!! Thought it was a trolling attempt, checked the date to see if it was April 1st. Totally caught me off guard.

I thought he may have pulled a hammy vs Seattle because he usually boots the kicks out of the EZ. This really sucks for GZ because he was going to set a nice high scoring record and participate in the playoffs and SB.

Ficken looks like Forrest Gump from the side, hopefully he can kick it like a mule. We've been so spoiled wirth Greg Mr. Automatic, I can't bear to see the Rams miss a FG and waste a drive with no points now, I'm so not used to that! ARGHH!!!!
 
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GZ was having about the best season I've ever seen. Accurate. Long.

He'll be missed.

It sounds bad losing him so suddenly... but particularly with the decision to shut him down for the rest of the season. No hesitation.
 
This is not the first time the Rams have lost their place-kicker. Jeff Wilkens hurt himself on the opening kickoff back in '01 or '02 and the Rams had to go for 2 after every TD because they had no one who was experienced at EXP.

I think they set an NFL record for scoring 2 point conversions in a game. Maybe one of you stat folks will know which game and what year that was.

Oct 15, 2000 vs Falcons
 
At least he gets two reg season games to get the butterflies out.

Also, maybe better to happen now.... can you imagine if his back flared up during a playoff game??? Plus as I said the kid gets a few games to show something.
 
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...reg-zuerlein-out-for-season-with-back-injury/

Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein out for season with back injury
Posted by Michael David Smith on December 20, 2017

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One of the best teams in the NFL has just lost one of the best kickers in the NFL.

Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein is being placed on injured reserve with a back injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. The Rams are signing Sam Ficken to be his replacement.

That’s a huge loss. Zuerlein leads the NFL with 38 field goals this season and is 7-for-8 from 50 yards and beyond. He also leads the NFL with 73 touchbacks on kickoffs, and when he kickoffs have been returned, they’ve been returned for an average of just 20.6 yards.

Ficken, who kicked in college at Penn State, has played in the preseason for the Jaguars and Chiefs but has never appeared in an NFL regular-season game. Now the Rams will be counting on him to kick in the regular season and the postseason.
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that is a bigger injury than people will admit

you go from a lock down tight known commodity to a complete unknown
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Tough loss for Rams.
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He didn’t look right vs Seattle. Had a kickoff go out of bounds, missed an extra point. Very uncharacteristic.
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You wont need him against the titans they cant score enough anyways
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Huge loss…Automatic on FGs and touchbacks. We just became a little more normal on special teams. Offense going to have to start converting more red zone opportunities.
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That is a bummer, and a huge loss for the Rams.
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This is so sad. A kicker could be the difference between moving in the playoffs or going home early. Tough loss for the Rams.
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Rams are toast! But hey, at least it’s still sunny in LA in January!
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Well there goes the fairy tale season
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Poor Ficken hasn’t even suited up yet and ppl are writing him off. He’s already better than the Seahawks kicker.
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I wouldn’t trade Zuerlein outside of a handful of QB’s and LT’s.

Kicking is huge these days. When I was a kid, a 38 yarder was a knee knocker. Now we got 50 as a benchmark for good not even great kickers.

Thus the 2nd round pick Aguayo, made no sense as he never made one from 50. He probably wouldn’t have been drafted. Just like the Jets panicked with Hackenberg. He didn’t look draftable to me either.

Bad teams continue to make bad decisions. Then one day, they get lucky (New England) and all is well. Rams got lucky this time, with their new head coach.

I hope the Rams well and Zuerlein good health, down the road.
 
Terrible loss for the team. It will change fundamental strategy in crucial game situations.

And I feel bad for GZ, losing a chance to finish off a record breaking season.

Hope Fickens is mentally tough. For all our sakes.
 
Los Angeles Rams Mobile: Practice Report: Week 16 Injury Update, Cooper & Hekker Discuss Pro Bowl Honors http://yi.nzc.am/2rqHZ

INJURY UPDATE

Los Angeles had some major injury news to report on Wednesday.

Kicker Greg Zuerlein — who was on pace for a historic season and had just been named to the 2018 Pro Bowl — has been placed on the injured/reserve list with a herniated disk. As such, he will be out for the remainder of the season.

McVay said Zuerlein will undergo back surgery on Thursday, according to the LA Times’ Lindsey Thiry. Although the back injury was something that had been an issue throughout the year, McVay reportedly said the staff was hoping to deal with it at the end of the season.

I hope all goes well and GZ comes back next year even stronger.
 
Only one way to spin this in the positive:
If our kicking game gets weird, we can yell "What the Hekker they Ficken doin' !?"
 
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I see a few fake FG's coming up soon
 
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As a big Penn State fan I'm not crazy about Ficken . His first year was horrible including missing 4 out of 5 in a 1 point loss . Let's hope he figured it out or the Rams score TD's from now on . GZ was the man this year and will be missed .
 
I saw on Fickens draft profile that he kicks with a low trajectory. And though he seems to be accurate, 4 of his 5 misses his last year in college came on blocks. Hope he has improved this part of his kicking.
 
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I have to get these out my system:

That's what happens when you go from worst to first in points scored. You blow out your kicker.

GZ should have worked on his conditioning in the offseason. McVay needs to hold him accountable.

But...

It's better than losing Wentz.
 
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