Rams vs. Colts: Winners and losers from Week 2

Rams Loser: Punting unit responsible for gifting fumble touchdown

The LA Rams punting unit is becoming scary. Scary as in it’s tough to watch them when they go onto the football field. That is particularly true now that the punting unit gifted a touchdown to an opponent in a very close game.  And it’s just Week 3.

The LA Rams are 2-0 despite the nearly three-stooges-like performance from the punting team, but that won’t be the case in the weeks ahead. The Rams’ next three opponents are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Seattle Seahawks.  The punting units of the Bucs, Cards, and Seahawks are ranked 11th-best, 2nd-best, and 23rd-best respectively. The LA Rams punting unit? It’s ranked 31st in the 32 teams NFL.

Remember when the LA Rams were stuck in a tough spot between two NFL starting-caliber punters? Well, the Rams ended up trading away Corey Bojorquez because no team wanted to take on the excessive contract of punter Johnny Hekker.  But even after concessions on his contract to lower the price, and after the commitment to perform better, there could be an argument made that the LA Rams traded away the better player.

Sure it’s early. But the trend of special teams, and specifically the punter performance, has been downward in the past several years. Giving up a touchdown on a fluke play was a bit embarrassing.  The Rams are improving across the board in many areas. It’s time for the punting coverage unit and the punt return unit to show some positive progress too.