As they approach the midway point of the NFL season, the Rams aim to get comfortable on their own two feet.
Specifically, the right feet of Brandon McManus and Joshua Karty.
It’s Karty for kickoffs and McManus for field goals as the Rams search for their sweet spot on special teams, which have been a problem and will be a bigger one if they don’t get it right.
A quick recap: Karty, a 2024 draft pick, was released last season after he struggled, including a low point of two blocked kicks against Philadelphia. Harrison Mevis replaced him and was solid the rest of the season.
When Mevis struggled this season, the Rams replaced him with the slight but fearless Blake Grupe, who made a field goal against Arizona then, on the ensuing kickoff, suffered a season-ending knee injury trying to make a tackle.
Enter McManus, who in two games has one field goal and eight extra points. But the Rams gave up two big returns in a Week 7 win at Las Vegas, so they re-signed Karty, who specializes in knuckleball kickoffs which can be extremely effective when executed successfully.
Keep in mind, it’s exceedingly rare for an NFL team to carry two kickers. Roster spots are too valuable. But we’re talking about the Achilles toe of a team with championship expectations.
Sunday’s results were, well, meh.
Karty is still dialing in the so-called “dirty” kickoffs, and two of them fell short of the landing zone — the area between the goal line and the 20 — which gave the Chargers the ball on the 40, prime position to start a drive. And a third kickoff just eked into the landing zone, hitting the ground at the 19.
“Probably the worst kickoff day I’ve had since last year,” said Karty, who until this week had been back at his alma mater, Stanford, working on his kicks. “I think I was trying to do too much on a couple of those.”
Brandon McManus, right, celebrates with holder/punter Ethan Evans after kicking a field goal in the first quarter of the Rams’ 24-9 win over the Chargers.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
The personable Karty majored in computer science and has a mind for math. He looks to land that sideways-fluttering kick anywhere between the one and the 19, and says every 10 yards of field position is worth about a point on the scoreboard. So pinning an opponent on the 25 instead of the 35 is like taking a point off the board before the opposing offense runs a play.
Although he was frustrated by the short kickoffs Sunday, McVay said he’s confident Karty will continue to improve on them. By definition, those wobblers aren’t aerodynamic, so getting them deep is harder than it appears.
“It’s not an exact science,” Karty said. “If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.”
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in a 24-9 win over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
The Rams beat the Chargers by 13, so miscues by the special teams didn’t derail them. But they’ve gotten plenty of reminders of how costly those mistakes can be.
At 4-4, and with San Francisco and Seattle looking as good as they have, the margin for error for the Rams is thinner than the 156-pound Grupe.
The Rams have nine games left, and to give themselves a good chance of making the playoffs, they need to win at least seven of those. The remaining schedule includes home games against Green Bay and Kansas City, a rematch at San Francisco, and two games against Seattle in the final three weeks.
Figure just one team each will qualify for the playoffs out of the NFC East and NFC South, which would mean the remaining five would come from the NFC North and NFC West — and both of those divisions are respectable from top to bottom.
Eleven wins probably gets you in. Ten, and you’ll have to get some help.
With an assist from Indianapolis, both the 49ers and Seahawks have gotten better. The fire-sale-minded Colts traded standout defensive tackle DeForest Buckner back to San Francisco, and eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle.
The Rams, meanwhile, are looking to get some of their key pieces back. That includes two-time NFL defensive player of the year Myles Garrett, who pedaled away on the sideline stationary bike, and could return to action as soon as this week. He might be ready for the game at Washington.
By late season, the Rams could have receiver Davante Adams, tight end Terrance Ferguson and defensive lineman Kobie Turner back on the field.
Will the Rams have the luxury of two kickers at that point? Maybe not. But understand the risk of being unsteady on special teams. It’s not only a game of inches, but often a game of feet.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: latimes.com
