Rams officially have a major kicking problem just hours before trade deadline

How long must the Los Angeles Rams hold their collective breath whenever sending kicker Joshua Karty onto the field to attempt a field goal? Based on head coach Sean McVay's comments, not for much longer. If the team is not already making wholesale changes on special teams, it's certainly laying the groundwork right now to do so.

It's no longer veiled threats. The latest messaging from head coach Sean McVay to the kicking until about its performance was not coachspeak. It was brutal accountability. The message was simple, clear, and definitive. Time's up. Field goal accuracy must improve right now.

"It can’t continue like this… it’s gone on too long"

Rams HC Sean McVay

If it doesn't improve? Then, fans can expect wholesale changes that could result in new blocking assignments on special teams, kicker competition, or a new special teams coordinator. It's that simple because the problem is that serious. The offense is humming right along. The defense is humming right along.

The special teams are not special, and are risking creating more losses for a team that could be undefeated after eight games.

Can ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn keep his job after this?

It's easy to overreact to the struggles on special teams right now. By overreaction, the point is about seeing what is wrong, and ignoring what is right about the team. Scapegoating doesn't fix anything. It merely serves as the path of least resistance for the upwelling of so many negative emotions

Solving the challenge is much more involved. What mechanics are breaking down that lead to inaccurate placekicking? Is it the blocking assignments, the snap, the hold, or the kicker? Once the faulty mechanics are identified, a true solution becomes more obvious.

Cut the kicker? That solves nothing if the problem consists of bad blocking, a bad snap, or a bad hold. Right now, there is evidence that just about everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. Cutting a kicker doesn't solve that. Rather, it creates even worse problems, as the root cause has not been addressed.

Yes, time is running out for the entire special teams group. The next step will involve head coach Sean McVay getting directly involved in the kicking unit's preparation. If that fails, then changes will occur.

While fans are up in arms over field goal and extra point mishaps, it's not a simple fix in mid-season. The team could re-sign former kickers Tanner Brown or Brett Maher. Perhaps a better option would be to trade for a kicker. Who? Stay tuned.

As always, thanks for reading.