5 events causing LA Rams finish last in NFC West

Reason 4 – LA Rams special teams play as the worst in the NFL

The LA Rams may be in the early stages of deciding upon a new kicker, but they continue to boast one of the best punters in the NFL in Johnny Hekker.  While the LA Rams had fallen from top-5 special teams ranking in the NFL to 23rd, the team has a bit of a floor where they will remain, thanks to Hekker’s ability to punt the ball so high and so far.

But that won’t be the case if the Rams are to lose 10 games in 2020. In fact, the Rams’ entire special teams will need to fall apart for the Rams to finish that poorly in 2020.  After all, the Rams field goal unit had one of the worst accuracies in the NFL in 2019, pulling the entire special teams ranking down to 26th in the NFL, the Rams felt it was time to make a change in special teams. So the team hired a special team specialist in Coach John Bonamego.

What if.. it takes time?

One of the real challenges that the LA Rams face in 2020 is how quickly can the team turn around the special teams play? While it’s most certainly a high priority for the team, the course for a complete turnaround has many different checkpoints where the team could slip up.  The team has added three kickers to the roster, and must now determine who to retain for 2020.  The team has also added over 30 new faces, many of whom are depending upon their special teams play to earn a spot with the team. Will they all get a fair shake? And if so, will they all deliver a better result as Rams players in 2020?

Coach Bonamego has a game plan, but has that plan ever faced the wackiness which is the 2020 NFL offseason before? Virtual meetings, social distancing, no direct contact.  Old methods of shaking hands, holding eye contact, and hearing a voice is obsolete in 2020. Now it’s analytics, virtual dialogues, and PowerPoint presentations combined with video footage to highlight training points. While it’s highly unlikely these factors derail the team’s efforts to improve at special teams, it’s another possibility.