I truly believe that the Rams should be better on special teams and if a change at ST coach helps them get there I am all for it. And the sooner the better.

But I have long been wondering if the collapse of the STs in Fassel's last two years and then this year under Bonamego has anything to do with the way the Rams build their roster now (as opposed to the way Fisher did it).

I distinctly remember that Fisher would have guys at the bottom of the roster who were good on special teams even if they never contributed on offense or defense. As an example, just looking at a few guys from the 2016 roster:

Chase Reynolds (RB ): 398 snaps on special teams, 0 on offense.
Bryce Hagar (LB ): 338 snaps on ST, 11 on defense.
Bradley Marquez (WR): 268 snaps on ST, 95 on offense.
Josh Forest (LB ): 156 snaps on ST, 0 on defense.
Nicholas Grigsby (LB ): 130 snaps on ST, 0 on defense.

Does McVay simply keep the top 5 RBs , top 7 LBs, and top 6 WRs based on how they project in those positions? If so he might be cutting guys who would be better on special teams.

From 2013 thru 2016, with Fisher as HC and Fassel as ST coach the Rams' special teams were ranked 4th, 7th, 7th, and 3rd. [www.footballoutsiders.com]

Then, in 2017, with McVay as HC and Fassel as ST coach the Rams' special teams were ranked 2nd.

But then, in 2018 & 2019, still with McVay as HC and Fassel as ST coach, the Rams' special teams were ranked 17th and 23rd.

Now, the McVay/Bonamego team has the Rams special team at 29th.

This year could be Bonamego, but one explanation for Fassel's decline in '18 and '19 is this: he no longer had players who could play special teams. And that's on McVay.

edit: Dallas' STs are ranked 10th this year. In the 2 years before Fassel's arrival they ranked 23rd and 30th. I think the guy can still coach ...

---

AlbaNY_Ram



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2020 08:17AM by AlbaNY_Ram.