Greg Zuerlein in need of bounce-back year

Greg Zuerlein in need of bounce-back year

By JACK WANG / STAFF WRITER

[www.ocregister.com]

IRVINE – During his first visit to the Coliseum, Greg Zuerlein heard his name loud and clear.

In front of several thousand Rams fans Saturday, he knocked in a 64-yard field goal with room to spare – prompting the PA announcer to drag out all three syllables with the enthusiasm of a WWE hype man: “Greeeeeeeeg Zuueerleeeeeeiiiiiin!!!”

A sign of things to come? The team sure hopes so.

Zuerlein heads into his fifth NFL season, returning to the Rams after signing a one-year contract in April. The deal came just weeks after Coach Jeff Fisher talked openly about bringing in competition for the 28-year-old he once plucked out of the sixth round.

“Obviously, when your head coach says it, it just makes you think, ‘OK, I’ve got to compete even harder,’” Zuerlein said Wednesday. “But at the end of the day, you’re competing every day for your job.”

Nicknamed “Greg the Leg” and “Legatron” as a rookie, the Nebraska native is coming off his worst statistical performance, one in which he made just 20 of 30 field-goal attempts. Only two kickers were less accurate: Pittsburgh’s Josh Scobee (6 of 10) and Tampa Bay’s Kyle Brindza (6 of 12). Neither appeared in more than four games in 2015 before being released.

Still, the odds likely favor Zuerlein, the first NFL kicker to connect from 50 and 60 yards in the same game. He did miss two games last season because of a groin injury, though he said the injury did not linger into any other outings. More notably, his only competition is undrafted rookie Taylor Bertolet, who converted less than two-thirds of his career attempts at Texas A&M.

More concerning is his career trend: Over four years, Zuerlein has been far more effective indoors (86.2 percent) than outdoors (66.7). Asked why that might be, he didn’t have an answer.

“I feel the same indoors and outdoors,” he said. “It may happen that the stats show otherwise, but I don’t think that the indoors or outdoors portrays anything – to me, at least. I feel the same either way.”

Although Los Angeles isn’t often afflicted by inclement weather, special teams coach John Fassel said the unique features of the Coliseum could affect kickers. On one side of the stadium is the peristyle and torch, creating a different backdrop than the opposite end of the bowl. Fully adjusting depth perception may require both preseason games.

“There are things we work on in the Coliseum, picking out targets,” Fassel said, “because there’s some weird sighting depending on which way you kick.”

Fassel added that the Rams will try to return to the Coliseum between their preseason games and the regular-season opener at San Francisco on Sept. 12.

COLLISION COURSE

The Rams have held two special teams practices during training camp at UC Irvine, but Saturday’s preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys will allow coaches a better look at a particular trait.

“Guys that are willing to collide,” Fassel said. “Be open-field tacklers. Out here, we can simulate the movements and the techniques, but when you get in a game – and you’ve got a live runner and you’ve got to square them up and collide and block, two-gap and tackle – those things really stand out.”

EYE ON THE PRIZE

Wednesday’s practice ended with what Fassel called a “strongman” competition, one that paired players with one hand each on a football. The objective was simple: Rip the ball away, face another winner, and repeat until only one man was left standing.

The ultimate victor was rookie receiver Duke Williams, who bested fullback Zach Laskey in the final round. His prize was a Bose speaker, courtesy of punter Johnny Hekker.

“I did re-gift, but don’t tell anybody,” Hekker said. “It was repackaged quite professionally, so we’ll see if he can even tell.”