5 reasons why LA Rams will overcome odds and return to playoffs

IV- Rams special teams will return to among the NFL’s top ten in 2020

Special teams play in the NFL is approximately one-third of the team’s performance. So why is there not a lot of discussion about it? It’s a complex category in the NFL, a catch-all category of “all other”.  While it’s the oft-overlooked part of the game, it’s performance frequently determines the outcome.

A missed field goal, a short punt, bad kickoff coverage, failure to cross the 50-yard line on any returns in a football game are all examples of the impact of special teams on the outcome of any contest. And yet, fans are taught early on that “if the team had played better overall, it shouldn’t matter”. And yet, by the end of each NFL season, we all see evidence to the contrary.  The playoff teams make the game-winning field goals. They punt more accurately within the opposing team’s 20-yard line. Successful teams kickoff with more touchbacks.

And over the past three seasons, the LA Rams had become one of the worst teams in the NFL at special teams play. In 2019, the LA Rams fell to 23rd ranking on special teams per FootballOutsiders.com ranking. In 2018, the Rams ranked 17th. However, in 2017, the Rams stood as the second-best in the NFL, just behind the Baltimore Ravens.

The Rams newly hired ST Coordinator John Bonamego’s first task? He needs to make the Rams special teams special once more. And he has a resume chock-full of examples where he did that over and over. You can see his influence all over the Rams day three draft selections, and all over the UDFA signings. He is looking for players who excel at tackling, blocking, catching and running. After the Rams lost kicker Greg Zuerlein, the Rams signed two non-NFL kickers and drafted a third to ensure the Bonamego gets accuracy, power, and consistency at the kicker position. For special teams, you can expect a pretty good number of player turnover, as it is quite clear that Bonamego wants to amp up the intensity.  Look for the Rams special teams to recover dramatically in 2020.