Johnny Hekker trolls PFF on Twitter over special teams rankings
Cameron DaSilva
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
Offense and defense get most of the attention in the NFL, but special teams plays a significant role in winning football games. The Rams had a great deal of success in that department this past season, earning first-team All-Pro selections at kicker, punter and kick returner.
Greg Zuerlein, Johnny Hekker and Pharoh Cooper were obviously the players who earned those honors thanks to their remarkable seasons in Los Angeles. It was essentially a consensus that the Rams had the best special teams unit in football this season, but Pro Football Focus disagreed with that idea.
It came out with special teams rankings last week and Hekker understandably took exception to it.
The Vikings came in at No. 1 despite Kai Forbath only making 32 of his 38 field goal attempts. Their longest kickoff return was just 39 yards, as well, and they averaged 9.5 yards per punt return compared to the Rams’ average of 10.2 yards.
Statistically, Los Angeles performed better in just about every key category, but Pro Football Focus put a lot of weight in the Vikings’ special teams tacklers, which does play a role.
Still, you probably won’t find anyone else who will say the Rams didn’t have the best special teams unit in the NFL, let alone the third-best.
