Bubba Ventrone knows Rams can trust Joe Cardona to right special teams ship

The Los Angeles Rams shot themselves in the foot multiple times last season with repetitive special-team miscues. From blocked field goals to muffed punts to penalties, special teams carried a Charlie Brown aura throughout the year. The "you're hopeless" reputation finally resulted in something fans had seldom seen when the Rams overhauled the entire special teams unit midseason.

That overall was just step one in a two-step process. This offseason, Los Angeles made more permanent changes by bringing in a new special teams coordinator, veteran coach Bubba Ventrone. One of the first roster moves Ventrone signed off on was the addition of long snapper Joe Cardona.

"I mean, Joe Cardona epitomizes what you want in a leader, in everything he does, from being vocal in the meetings to how he trains," Ventrone said Tuesday via team reporter Stu Jackson. "I have all the trust in the world in that cat, and (I'm) really excited that we were able to get him here."

Now fans have to hope that Cardona's leadership is enough to help turn the corner from very disappointing past performances.

Joe Cardona is season veteran Rams needed at a critical position

Some say you don't know what you have until you've lost it. But the reverse is also true. You have no idea what you are missing until you find it.

Cardona fits nicely into the second category. Even as veteran Jake McQuaide returned to the Rams midseason to try and plug the leaks, he was not the tackler that Cardona has proven to be.

Of course, no long snapper can turn things around single-handedly. But the right guy in the right position needs to move the needle slightly. In a game of inches, a blocked field goal can be corrected by eliminating a moment's hesitation. Cardona can do that. And the results will be noticeable.

While he is exclusively a special teamer, Cardona has racked up nine tackles on punt coverage over the past two seasons. That's incredible for a guy whose primary responsibility is hiking to the punter. He'll be a lead contributor in the Rams coverage unit.

Coach Ventrone did not hesitate. He insisted LA get his long snapper. Now, Rams fans will have the chance to see what all the fuss is about.

As always, thanks for reading.

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