Rams' still-stagnant return game is proving Xavier Smith was not the problem

Safe to say the Los Angeles Rams' return game has been as anemic as ever since the team cut Xavier Smith and promoted Alex Bachman from the practice squad. 

The Rams are still seeking a kickoff return longer than Jordan Whittington's 34 yards; Bachman is averaging 5.2 yards per punt return, with a long of 15. Clearly Smith was not the answer. Just as clearly, his replacement hasn't been, either.

It's not really Bachman's fault. He is what he is, a little-used journeyman who sat on the practice squad for a reason. He can't make lanes the coverage team doesn't. He's less mistake-prone than Smith; he's also less explosive. 

At this point, though, it's plain as can be that the return game is one more area of special teams where personnel "fixes" haven't fixed anything. Cutting Smith hasn't aged well or poorly. The results have been more of the same blah. 

Switching returners hasn't fixed Rams' return game

Actually, a third party has benefited from Smith's release: the San Francisco 49ers, who signed Smith to the practice squad apparently for the sole purpose of espionage. Smith hasn't played a game despite San Fran's abysmal return game. He's just there to share the Rams' trade secrets. 

Five weeks into the Alex Bachman experience, meanwhile, Smith still owns LA's longest punt return of the season, at 19 yards. He wasn't electric, but he was serviceable when he wasn't muffing balls off his facemask or fielding would-be touchbacks at the goal line. 

Yeah, that's not going to work.

Otherwise, though, Smith averaged a respectable 9.4 yards on punt returns during his three Rams seasons. Bachman's career average sits at 5.8. Whether on punts or kickoffs, he's been another version of Jordan Whittington. He runs in a straight line, smack into a poorly blocked wall of opponents, and that's the end of that. 

Rams' return game rankings:

Punts: 7.3 yards per return, tied 26th; 116 total yards, 17th;16 attempts, tied 1st; long of 19, 26th

Kickoffs: 23.5 yards per return, 29th; 752 total yards; 21st; 32 attempts, tied 12th; long of 34, tied 30th

To put it politely, there's less downside with Bachman back there than with Smith, but there isn't any upside, either. It's not like he's doing a whole lot on kickoffs, either, averaging 22.9 yards on 13 tries. Whittington's 34-yard runback remains the Rams' best this season.

The kicker is that their own coverage unit hands out explosive plays like Halloween candy. All treats, no tricks. All give, no take.

Unpopular opinion though it may be, swapping out Smith never made much sense. Sure, moving on did, but not with Bachman as the replacement. You don't shuck a pair of hole-worn shoes to go hiking in sandals. The switch hasn't paid off.

Let's face it, though: the results likely have a lot less to do with either Smith or Bachman than the basic rot that pervades seemingly every nook and cranny of the Rams' special-teams operation. 

They can't cover kicks. They can't create lanes for their own returners. The kicker carousel has come full-circle with the return of Joshua Karty. 

No matter how many personnel changes or tweaks the Rams make, it remains an unmitigated disaster. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone can't feel very comfortable, and he shouldn't. This group needs a house-cleaning from top to bottom. 

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