ST coach John"Bones"Fassell to join Dallas' staff

[tempests]

Even though the last couple years weren't up to the standard we'd come to expect, I'll always be appreciative of him.

Our special teams were bottom of the barrel when he took over. Remember Patrick Peterson in 2011. That year the Rams were gashed for a ghastly 552 yards in punt return yardage over the season. By 2013 the Rams set a new NFL record for fewest punt return yards allowed in a season, just 79 over 16 games. And in 2017 when the Rams finally ended their long postseason drought, I thought their special team unit was the best in the NFL. McQuaide, Pharaoh Cooper, John Hekker and Greg the Leg all went to the Pro Bowl that year.

 

[EasyE]

typical management move....make people uncomfortable with their job security....

 

[den-the-coach]

John Fassel is an excellent special teams coach and he has been the best ST Coach the Rams have had in quite a long time. Even this year with the regression, the Rams still did not give up a punt or kickoff return or fumble one away and that speaks volumes.

However, the Rams empowered Bones, he was responsible for the Nick Scott pick and apparently called a fake punt on their own 15 yard line on 4 & 7 without running it through the Head Coach or having the Head Coach call it. Again, it happens, but IMO, Fassel has an excellent opportunity in Dallas and I'm sure is getting top dollar and maybe McVay has his eye on someone else as the Los Angeles Rams move forward.

 

[Kevin]

does this looks like the face of a man who wants to stay under the same roof as his father when he can get his own double wide, binge on his own Natty Lite, and have an 82 Trans Am on blocks in his own front lawn? I didn’t think so.

View attachment 33230

Zak Galifanakis after spending too much time on the Mediterranean diet.

 

[Ellard80]

One bad year, out of what, 6? No redemption?

People think because johnny hekker is good at faking punts we are good at special teams. We often were good at about 1/2 of things on special teams. Rankings usually put is in the middle of the pack.. Dude is on TV all the time and talked about, which has caused this false perception with fans that he is better than he really is.

 

[FrantikRam]

People think because johnny hekker is good at faking punts we are good at special teams. We often were good at about 1/2 of things on special teams. Rankings usually put is in the middle of the pack.. Dude is on TV all the time and talked about, which has caused this false perception with fans that he is better than he really is.

To be fair we were UNBELIEVABLY good on special teams in 2017.

Kick return TD - check
Punt returns - multiple in Seattle and one all the way to the 1 yard line
Punt blocks - more than I can count, several for TDs
Field goals - lead the NFL before the injury
Punts - tops in the NFL in net yards
Coverage - nothing given up
Penalties - not sure but I'd guess this was the only category we weren't elite in

In 2018 we took a step back. In 2019 they were actually below average. While 2017 isn't sustainable (and I'm surprised it's not spoken of as one of the best units of all time), going from that to below average makes no sense when the ST coordinator is given that much roster input, and a lot of the key cogs (GZ, Hekker, Littleton) were the same, and he chose Natson over Cooper.

 

[thirteen28]

1:06


View: https://youtu.be/XcxKIJTb3Hg?t=66

 

[OregonRamsFan]

This thread:

I’d like put 5 ROD dollars on Spongebob for the win.

 

[iamme33]

I must be the only one that thinks this is a good move. for several years I have wondered why we could seldom return a kick without a hold or block in the back. also the leg could not be counted on from 40 to 50 yrds and hecker seemed to shank 1 punt a game althought he would hit a 60 yarder. ok let me have it but i'm just not impressed with teams the last few years.

 

[Loyal]

The taxes and CoL are much lower in Dallas. Even if the Rams matched his salary, he'd be making far more money in Dallas. I'd live in Dallas long before I lived in LA.

YOUSONOFA! ~Gavin Newsome

 

[Loyal]

This thread:

That's me and OldSchool.... @OldSchool

 

[Rabid Ram]

I guess this decision to not do what it took to keep Bones, is yet another sign from this season that McVay has been making mistakes and is not perfect. I thought he was deceptive about Gurley all year. We could see Todd wasn't a 100%, although he had a few games that were good near the end of the year.
I was screaming about keeping Saffold before the season, but we were assured that everything would be good on the Oline with the young guys. Kromer and Whitworth had schooled everyone up to speed. But it wasn't ok, until it was too late.

Say what you want about Wades Defense, his defense was the only reason why the Rams were at all competitive in last years Super Bowl. His defense was more responsible than the offense for a winning record this year. As for Bones, he was off because his kicker had issues and KR/PR had issues. It was a off year for his unit, but now we dump a mainstay on the team and go fishing in the dark for some college coach to replace him? We have run out of the many FOS (Friends of Sean) who are on other teams..... Hopefully we are not screwing the next season

Do I want to dump McVay? Hell no. But I'm also not buying anymore in soley the "In McVay I Trust," mantra

I'm personally not in the camp of oh it wasn't wade or bones it was the players struggling that was the problem camp. Is it not the coaches job to spot problems in their players and work to resolve them?

 

[pmil66]

McVay enjoys a 35-17 record, a .673% in his first 3 years as a head coach. He has earned the right to choose his own staff going forward. A couple of his chosen offensive assistants are already head coaches.
Feel very confident he will choose wisely.

 

[Ellard80]

To be fair we were UNBELIEVABLY good on special teams in 2017.

Kick return TD - check
Punt returns - multiple in Seattle and one all the way to the 1 yard line
Punt blocks - more than I can count, several for TDs
Field goals - lead the NFL before the injury
Punts - tops in the NFL in net yards
Coverage - nothing given up
Penalties - not sure but I'd guess this was the only category we weren't elite in

In 2018 we took a step back. In 2019 they were actually below average. While 2017 isn't sustainable (and I'm surprised it's not spoken of as one of the best units of all time), going from that to below average makes no sense when the ST coordinator is given that much roster input, and a lot of the key cogs (GZ, Hekker, Littleton) were the same, and he chose Natson over Cooper.

Yeah 2017 was great.... I'm not saying he has done a bad job.

I just think he is more of a name that people know.

 

[Loyal]

I'm personally not in the camp of oh it wasn't wade or bones it was the players struggling that was the problem camp. Is it not the coaches job to spot problems in their players and work to resolve them?

How do you know that didn't happen? Ultimately, it's on the players to provide results on the field. If they don't, people get fired, whether rightly or wrongly...

 

[oldnotdead]

Allowing him to walk is perhaps the biggest surprise so far of this offseason. No question that Fassel is one of the best STs coaches in the league. If the replacements for Wade and Fassel aren't announced this week it could mean they are on teams still playing.

 

[T-REX]

View: https://twitter.com/JHekker/status/1214938859101769729?s=20

 

[LesBaker]

Allowing him to walk is perhaps the biggest surprise so far of this offseason. No question that Fassel is one of the best STs coaches in the league. If the replacements for Wade and Fassel aren't announced this week it could mean they are on teams still playing.

I'm surprised as well and I agree with you that if they don't fill the spots fast it means they are waiting on someone. Maybe they already have a deal worked out with an agent or two.

This one is a mystery. WP you could kind of see coming but not this.

 

[den-the-coach]

I'm surprised as well and I agree with you that if they don't fill the spots fast it means they are waiting on someone. Maybe they already have a deal worked out with an agent or two.

Rams like to make their announcements all at once, so I'm sure they are waiting on the staff to complete, then announce.