Rams' disastrous kick coverage ultimately cost them their kicker

Los Angeles Rams kicker Blake Grupe could miss an extended period of time. After injuring his knee on a touchdown-saving tackle against the Arizona Cardinals, he left the locker room on crutches, with his leg in a brace. Head coach Sean McVay did not have an update on Grupe's status after the game.

It seems likely that the Rams will need to find themselves a new kicker, their third in as many weeks. The team dismissed former kicker Harrison Mevis after a poor start to the season capped off by a fatal Week 5 performance against the Bills. 

To put it politely, Grupe's injury totally sucks. Replacing Mevis was only part of the Rams' needed special teams makeover. So of course it was their own inept kick coverage, an issue seemingly every game this season, that sidelined Mevis' substitute. 

In no competent world should Grupe even have had to consider whether to save a touchdown or save his body on the Cardinals' second kickoff runback of the game. 

This is why LA special teams can't have nice things.

Rams' poor kick coverage put Grupe in a risky position

Credit Grupe for making what is probably the only field goal he'll attempt for the Rams this season, or at least for the foreseeable future. On their very first drive, his 44-yarder went right through the uprights. Easy-peasy, no problemo. 

Can anyone really blame him for throwing all of his 5-foot-7, 156-pound frame at Cardinals returner Devin Duvernay as the speedy receiver streaked down the sideline? Of course he wanted to make that play, and a positive impression as a team-first player in his first week on the job. 

Only, his job shouldn't be tackling kick returners. That's the coverage unit's responsibility. Grupe put his body on the line because his new teammates can't tackle. Grupe? At great cost, he got the job done. 

The relevant part of the story is not whether Grupe should have stayed out of harm's way, so as not to leave the Rams without a kicker the rest of the game. He was the last man to beat, anyway. Any perceived "business decision" would go viral in a flash. Practical or not, it wouldn't be a good look. 

Rams special teams remain atrocious in every facet

The relevant part is that Rams special teams are a self-destructing unit, flawed in every phase. Before Grupe knocked Duvernay out of bounds, he'd already gained 40 yards on the return. How many times will this happen? 

Yet again, Bubba Ventrone's group was collectively ineffective. After punter Ethan Evans took over on kickoffs, the Rams began booting it out of the end zone to prevent a return opportunity. 

Great. Giving Arizona the ball on the 35 every time is legitimately the best option. 

Evans made a go-ahead extra point late, which calls for kudos, but he was not especially effective in his day job, either. Two of his punts were touchbacks, costing the Rams a chance to pin the Cardinals back.

In downfield coverage, receiver Jordan Whittington came close to saving one from the end zone but whiffed as he tumbled out of bounds near the pylon. Evans' three punts netted only 119 yards. 

Alex Bachman continues to be a downgrade from released returner Xavier Smith. Against Arizona, he returned two kicks for 48 yards and two punts for four. 

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