Rams Sign Punter Corey Bojorquez

Rams sign punter Corey Bojorquez

www.therams.com

Very interesting

 

[RamFan503]

I said last year. And don't post that shit like I'm a moron. Go look at Hekker in 2019. He sucked too. We will get along better without the insults.

You'd also get along better without saying a current Ram player sucks or is a pecker. Refer to our "Terms and Rules" if you need clarification.

 

[RamFan503]

I've always been a Hekker fan and still am. But whatever it takes to make the team better is more important. And if Johnny is too expensive for what he brings, then a move should be made if available.

To the point of this thread... This guy was available for a reason. Yes he had a better average net yards than Johnny last season. But net yards doesn't necessarily make him a better punter. Pinning teams inside the 20 is far more important in my eyes. Notice when Bourganwhatever had shitty net yards, he had a pretty high percentage inside the 20 and vice versa. Same with Johnny.

We had a one and done ST coach for a reason. I realize Hekker didn't look all that great but was there any aspect besides long snapper and Gay late in the season that DID look great? When you're giving up return yards like we were, is that all on the punter?

How ever it shakes out, it shakes out. I hope we keep Johnny. He's another former Beav and I watched him in college and was excited for him becoming a Ram.

Getting old? Come on. He's a freaking punter.:facepalm:

 

[Selassie I]

I've always been a Hekker fan and still am. But whatever it takes to make the team better is more important. And if Johnny is too expensive for what he brings, then a move should be made if available.

To the point of this thread... This guy was available for a reason. Yes he had a better average net yards than Johnny last season. But net yards doesn't necessarily make him a better punter. Pinning teams inside the 20 is far more important in my eyes. Notice when Bourganwhatever had shitty net yards, he had a pretty high percentage inside the 20 and vice versa. Same with Johnny.

We had a one and done ST coach for a reason. I realize Hekker didn't look all that great but was there any aspect besides long snapper and Gay late in the season that DID look great? When you're giving up return yards like we were, is that all on the punter?

How ever it shakes out, it shakes out. I hope we keep Johnny. He's another former Beav and I watched him in college and was excited for him becoming a Ram.

Getting old? Come on. He's a freaking punter.:facepalm:

Long Snapper you say?

Well now... I have a tip on that one.

One of my son's good friends just graduated from UF and has been their long snapper. UF's punter was apparently one of the highest ranked in college. Maybe his long snapper had something to do with that!

I'm not trying to be funny... I'm serious.

A well known NFL announcer Charles Davis knows this long snapper from UF too. In fact, he said on air in the last few days that he would Bang The Table to draft this kid or at minimum make him the top UDFA if he was working for an NFL team. Now he did say it was personal for him because he's known this kid since he was 4 years old. But he really is a master at the craft.

The kid's name is Brett DioGuardi. According to my son (Brett)... he is also the only person alive who has ever come slightly close to shot-gunning a beer as fast as him. Apparently my son is known as the fastest shot-gunner at both FSU and UF. Obviously I'm so proud LOL. But this longsnapper is #2.

Anyway... this kid is available now and I know he's the real deal.

 

[Psycho_X]

Even though our newly signed punter Corey Bojorquez stunk in 2019, the young lad shot up the charts in 2020 as was the number one ranked punter.

Was it a fluke? Bojorquez punted a lot less than your average NFL punter in 2020. Only 41 total punts.

Why was Bojorquez not signed by the Bills or any other NFL teams until the Rams recently signed him is quite concerning. (red flags?)

Hekker was not himself in 2020.

Maybe Johnny has lost some strength and velocity on his punting skills?

Maybe Hekker will never be as good as he was in his prime. Nobody knows for sure.

what we all know is the number one punter in 2020 was Corey Bojorquez.

The Bills and no other team wanted him until the Rams just signed him. Head Scratcher???

Bojorquez 24 years old. 2020 41 punts ranked #1 avg per punt 50.8
Hekker 31 years old. 2020 67 punts ranked #17 avg per punt 45.6

Average per punt is maybe the third most important statistic to me for a punter. First would be ability to get them downed inside the 20 and 10 yard lines and the next would be hang time. As long as the average punt is staying above 44-45 it's probably fine if other statistics are good.

For inside the 20 they are both almost equal in 2020... Bojo is 44% and Hekker is 43% of his punts.

For hang time, I can't seem to find specific numbers by season but fair catch percentage is probably a fair, albeit not perfect, statistic to gauge that.
Fair catch... Bojo = 15% where Hekker blows him out with 29% of his punts last year were fair catches.

How often do punters get touchbacks? Again Hekker's favor.
Touchback chance per punt 2020... Bojo = 17% Hekker = 7%

And of course you have Hekker's trick play ability, intelligence, leadership, and energy which is hard to match. Makes me hope we keep him and see if he can rebound in 2021 his average a little bit. Hekker has literally been a top three, arguably best overall, punter in NFL history most of his career. So I think people maybe got spoiled a bit when he started having a few less than stellar punts that killed his average for the year.

Ok, I've dug out stats for punters... I've officially wasted too much time on this subject.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Good stuff from Psycho.

Another poster pointed out the weather/stadium factors. Heckker has punted most of his career indoors or under excellent outdoor weather conditions. Whereas Bojorquez punted in Buffalo.

 

[nighttrain]

see ya
train

 

[Soul Surfer]

You'd also get along better without saying a current Ram player sucks or is a pecker. Refer to our "Terms and Rules" if you need clarification.

Hey!

Are you guys ready for the draft or WHAT!?!? : )

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

On a side note, and I don’t know much about Dallas, but why would they be looking for a punter? The kid they have, Niswander, kicked the 2nd half of the year for a 47.2 avg and is under contract for cheap the next 2 years.

​

Many good punters in the league nowadays

 

[Tano]

its one thing if the punts were all high punts designed to help the coverage - but they were not.. many were line drives ect.

I blame that on having to change his form as well.

All I know is if I am changing my golf swing to hit a shorter ball because I was too lazy to walk back to the golf cart to get a different club (yes I am that lazy once in awhile - plus I suck at golf), I will always screw up and hit a crappy ball. I think punting is similar in that you are screwing up your form. And if you are arguing that he is okay when he is punting short on the end zone punts, I still say that is a different mind set.

 

[Corbin]

This is where we disagree.

I don’t think it’s as simple as the best three TEs are the game-day actives. I think it’s the three TEs the coaching staff believes will provide the best chance to win.

The third TE only plays in case of injury or in short yardage situations. Mundt was the better blocker and a well-regarded special teams player, so he would get the nod over Hopkins.

Again, this is not a pro-Hopkins post. I have no idea if the guy can play. I have never seen him play.

Well where I come from it's an insult. I've been a Rams fan 42 years and was just looking for a place to talk football. If that's a problem, I'll go find another one.

Again do what you will, I can't control your sense of getting aggressed against. There is several people I agree with almost all the time in this response I'm disagreeing with here. I talk to everybody like an established friend for years on here with maybe a bit of teasing and humor which could be a problem to some.

Hekker has been mediocre and not worth the money for two years now, but it was really bad last year.

This is the same org that moved on from Gurley and Goff. Getting rid of an overpaid punter would be an easy decision comparatively.

We usually agree but man I don't see how you come to this conclusion with Hekker being in the top 3 as per usual in 2019? I can hear our ST's were not as good as a whole in 2019 which eventually lead to Bones being let leave but Hekker was pretty damned good in 2019.

So improving from year to year is a negative? And going the other way is now a positive?

Hmmmm I don't think you understood what was being discussed bro. Others were stating that Hekker was very bad the last 2 years which isn't statistically true.

Of course improving is good but I really think we've gotten to the point as spoiled fans that if Hekker isn't #1 in net yards every year he is slipping. (also compounded by our absolutely horrible ST coach and overall unit)

So out of curosity, if AD isn't #1 in sacks every year is he somehow horrible and we should trade him or release him? I never once heard anybody state we should trade Ramsey because he didn't have the most INT's in the league since we've gotten him. Even though both Ramsey and AD are at the top of salary at their respective positions and that's their primary stat that casuals look and judge by.

He's also the highest paid punter in the league which for a team fighting to stay under the cap is a luxury. I think this front office and head coach has proven that any move is a possibility. Hekker along with the special teams have declined a few years in a row now as well so who knows what they'll do.

See I can hear this this argument at least. The reason I think think it's probably is because the minuet amount of money we'd save as compared to having a guy like Hekker on our team.

 

[Psycho_X]

Good stuff from Psycho.

Another poster pointed out the weather/stadium factors. Heckker has punted most of his career indoors or under excellent outdoor weather conditions. Whereas Bojorquez punted in Buffalo.

Yeah it certainly something to consider as well. Bojo is an intriguing prospect for sure and I hope the Rams hold a true competition in training camp as it will benefit Hekker as well I think.

Going and looking at Hekker's stats in 2020 doesn't show a direct correlation to outside games but he did have some below average games outside such as @Washington (i think it was raining too if I remember correctly), @Tampa, @Seattle which can be very windy stadiums. But he also had a couple stinkers @LA especially against Seattle.

 

[dieterbrock]

Hekker is a character, and I'd love to see a guy like him on the team until he retires. That said, he's a punter. And while he may be amongst the best at it, I think the "value" of a punter is a bit over rated here.
For years, from Donnie Jones to Hekker, the punter was the only "Pro-Bowl" caliber player on the team, and when the team is bad, and punts a whole lot, the punter becomes a heck of a lot more important and popular.
At the end of the day, I cant recall many games (if any) where a game was won or lost because of the punter.
Love to keep him around, but if they can replace him and upgrade elsewhere with the $$ saved? Worth it

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Again do what you will, I can't control your sense of getting aggressed against. There is several people I agree with almost all the time in this response I'm disagreeing with here. I talk to everybody like an established friend for years on here with maybe a bit of teasing and humor which could be a problem to some.

We usually agree but man I don't see how you come to this conclusion with Hekker being in the top 3 as per usual in 2019? I can hear our ST's were not as good as a whole in 2019 which eventually lead to Bones being let leave but Hekker was pretty damned good in 2019.

Hmmmm I don't think you understood what was being discussed bro. Others were stating that Hekker was very bad the last 2 years which isn't statistically true.

Of course improving is good but I really think we've gotten to the point as spoiled fans that if Hekker isn't #1 in net yards every year he is slipping. (also compounded by our absolutely horrible ST coach and overall unit)

So out of curosity, if AD isn't #1 in sacks every year is he somehow horrible and we should trade him or release him? I never once heard anybody state we should trade Ramsey because he didn't have the most INT's in the league since we've gotten him. Even though both Ramsey and AD are at the top of salary at their respective positions and that's their primary stat that casuals look and judge by.

See I can hear this this argument at least. The reason I think think it's probably is because the minuet amount of money we'd save as compared to having a guy like Hekker on our team.

You twist the argument. This isn’t AD showing signs that he is nearing a decline. You are comparing a first ballot hall of famer to a punter. It’s not as if teams triple teamed Hekker to cancel him out.

But eventually AD will start tailing off. If the Rams could get a first rounder for him like the Patriots did with Seymour then so be it. By then they will likely be in a rebuild of sorts.

Regarding Bojorquez he did perform close enough to Hekker to make me think if they swapped divisions and home fields they likely could swap stats. I doubt the Rams brought him in just to help at practice. It’s likely competition and to see if he competes closely enough to Hekker to replace him and his cap hit.

 

[Rams4life]

You twist the argument. This isn’t AD showing signs that he is nearing a decline. You are comparing a first ballot hall of famer to a punter. It’s not as if teams triple teamed Hekker to cancel him out.

But eventually AD will start tailing off. If the Rams could get a first rounder for him like the Patriots did with Seymour then so be it. By then they will likely be in a rebuild of sorts.

Regarding Bojorquez he did perform close enough to Hekker to make me think if they swapped divisions and home fields they likely could swap stats. I doubt the Rams brought him in just to help at practice. It’s likely competition and to see if he competes closely enough to Hekker to replace him and his cap hit.

Exactly

 

[Corbin]

You twist the argument. This isn’t AD showing signs that he is nearing a decline. You are comparing a first ballot hall of famer to a punter. It’s not as if teams triple teamed Hekker to cancel him out.

But eventually AD will start tailing off. If the Rams could get a first rounder for him like the Patriots did with Seymour then so be it. By then they will likely be in a rebuild of sorts.

Regarding Bojorquez he did perform close enough to Hekker to make me think if they swapped divisions and home fields they likely could swap stats. I doubt the Rams brought him in just to help at practice. It’s likely competition and to see if he competes closely enough to Hekker to replace him and his cap hit.

The conversation that switching Bojorquez fields is not valid. Why? Because he was ranked second to last in 2019 and first in 2020. In 2020 did Buffalo see LA weather throughout the winter?

It's not twisting the argument it's comparing two players that are widely regarded as the top player and financial earners at their respected position in recent years. The problem comes when you don't want to hear an argument that makes it ridiculous to discredit Hekker without considering that Hekker, as opposed to AD, is more affected by having a poor unit (and coaching) he's on than AD is since he get's double and tripled teamed anyway.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

The conversation that switching Bojorquez fields is not valid. Why? Because he was ranked second to last in 2019 and first in 2020. In 2020 did Buffalo see LA weather throughout the winter?

It's not twisting the argument it's comparing two players that are widely regarded as the top player and financial earners at their respected position in recent years. The problem comes when you don't want to hear an argument that makes it ridiculous to discredit Hekker without considering that Hekker, as opposed to AD, is more affected by having a poor unit (and coaching) he's on than AD is since he get's double and tripled teamed anyway.

It is twisting it. Donald’s sacks went down because he was being double and triple teamed. Hekker didn’t have extra guys coming at him.

And Bojorquez gets some better coaching maybe and has a great year. It happens. Learning new techniques can make a lot of difference for a player. They don’t all have the best coaches at their position at every college. The higher you go the better the coaching. Having a former MLB player coach my kid in baseball has been a game changer. I’m sure they want to really look at this guy and see if he can continue his success.

Nobody here dislikes Hekker btw. We all love having him on the Rams. But there have been a lot of very good punters entering the league. I’m sure at #10 he’s looking overpaid as the #1

 

[Ram Ts]

he is also the only person alive who has ever come slightly close to shot-gunning a beer as fast as him. Apparently my son is known as the fastest shot-gunner at both FSU and UF. Obviously I'm so proud LOL.

Lol. Back in the day, I was known for that myself. Being a smaller guy, the big dudes always laughed it off until they got shamed when presented with a dual. Almost got pummeled one party by these huge jocks when they embarrassedly lost and I celebrated a little too much. A few hours later we all were like brothers and they became my new best drinking friends. Good times.

 

[oldnotdead]

I still say this about a possible pending trade, depending upon the board in the middle of the second round. Sure Hekker had a down year, but so you draft a punter and let him compete to see if he can get back on track. But this feels totally different. They still might draft a punter. When Bojorquez's contract is made public that will tell you all you need to know. But I think they won't release that info until after the draft. That is one of the oddities of this signing. If he was a FA signed for one year at vet minimum to try to beat out Hekker I would think that would be known. Keeping his contract info withheld seems to suggest it's more than vet minimum and they don't want to reveal their draft strategy.

I think it's pretty much a done deal that Hekker is gone.

 

[dieterbrock]

That is one of the oddities of this signing. If he was a FA signed for one year at vet minimum to try to beat out Hekker I would think that would be known. Keeping his contract info withheld seems to suggest it's more than vet minimum and they don't want to reveal their draft strategy.

He only signed 2 days ago. Do we know what Hurst, Gallman or Key got? Probably not.
Who knows, he may not have even taken a physical yet so its not official yet

 

[Corbin]

It is twisting it. Donald’s sacks went down because he was being double and triple teamed. Hekker didn’t have extra guys coming at him.

And Bojorquez gets some better coaching maybe and has a great year. It happens. Learning new techniques can make a lot of difference for a player. They don’t all have the best coaches at their position at every college. The higher you go the better the coaching. Having a former MLB player coach my kid in baseball has been a game changer. I’m sure they want to really look at this guy and see if he can continue his success.

Nobody here dislikes Hekker btw. We all love having him on the Rams. But there have been a lot of very good punters entering the league. I’m sure at #10 he’s looking overpaid as the #1

@Rams4life see this is a good example.I don’t agree with @Elmgrovegnome on this particular topic even though he’s a cool guy dude and and good poster I generally agree with. Don’t take into consideration he’s a filthy Buckeye fan .

The thing is Hekker doesn’t have extra guys coming at him but his stats are accrued and judged generally on what 10 other guys do on the field with him. If they give a returner just 4 more yards each return, 16 or 20 yards in a game that might not seem like much but in regards to kickers that’s the difference of being on the bottom of the NFL and the top.

But hey, they just reset the Sportbook money so I’ll bet you who wins the starting job come the beginning of the season? Bragging rights for a year on the winner gets to be called Bones for a year ya savvy?