Will there or won’t there be competition for starting punter?

Will there or won’t there be competition for starting punter?​

[ramblinfan.com]

The LA Rams ended the 2020 season with a pledge from head coach Sean McVay. That pledge? To improve every aspect of their team with the introduction of competition. Even at quarterback? Yes, especially at quarterback.

And that marked the beginning of the end of the LA Rams relationship with starting quarterback Jared Goff. The LA Rams paid Goff to perform among the best of the NFL, to generate the type of production to ensure that the Rams offense remained among the Top-10 scoring offenses of the NFL. But perhaps even more than that, the Rams paid Goff to secure the football and minimize errors that would create turnovers.

In 2020, Goff was unable to deliver in either category. Not a mere slip, but an outright regressive freefall. And it happened despite the Rams coaching staff emphasizing the need to improve at the quarterback area in several key areas. And when the 2020 season opened, there was reason to believe that some critical improvements were addressed.

The objective for Goff in 2020 was to learn how to throw off-sequence and from multiple platforms. Goff had gotten into the bad habit of throwing without velocity and off his back foot. That was a problem that needed correction. The problem was, after showing signs of improvement early in the season, Goff fell back into the horrifying bad habits once more. McVay had seen enough.

That underachievement set a number of events in motion that began with the surprising comments from head coach Sean McVay. It may have been fueled by disappointment or frustration, but the words are now a matter of public record. That’s a very important point for what comes next. Crucial, in fact.

Drop back and punt

The statement made by LA Rams head coach Sean McVay was shocking but final. Whether deliberately or without forethought, the Rams placed 53-players from the roster on notice. The 2020 season ended with disappointment, and the Rams were determined to ensure that anyone on the roster deemed ‘good enough’ was no longer good enough. Huh? Well, don’t take my word for it. McVay started it.

You see, statements from a head coach, whether calm or so livid that his face turns purple, carry significant weight and meaning when uttered.

That particular statement uttered by a very frustrated and angry LA Rams head coach Sean McVay cut across the entire roster, perhaps even more than originally intended. But when he was afforded the opportunity to restate his intentions, he doubled down by repeating the claim.

The statement was put out there into the media that the LA Rams would be competing at each and every position, but was the team prepared to see that through? Well, the front office certainly seemed to take it all at face value because they added the NFL’s best punter, Corey Bojorquez, off waivers this offseason. Bojorquez is very good, folks. He’s also rather young.

Pairing his addition to the Rams roster with the head coach’s statement of competition at every position, the logical conclusion was that the LA Rams was creating competition for the punter role. After all, Hekker was one of the highest-paid punters in the NFL. Until 2020, he was worth every penny. However, last season? Not so much.

Saving dollars with some change

As with every competition on an NFL roster, the criteria involve production on the football field, as well as the strain on the pursestrings. In any contrast and comparison, that ‘how much will he cost” component is always part of the roster build. The key to success at the NFL GM level, therefore, is to fit the best cohesive roster under the annual NFL salary cap.

Paying too much for a player can be as fatal as not obtaining enough talent. And so, the financial impact of Johnny Hekker’s contract became a talking point for the ‘compete at every position’ 2021 Rams. Behold, there were substantial savings to the team if the Rams found reason to promote another punter to the starting role.

Why would the Rams even consider starting any punter in the NFL? Well, Corey Bojorquez is not just any ole punter. He was the best punter in the NFL in 2020. For comparison purposes, Johnny Hekker was ranked 21st among NFL punters in 2020. That is significant because the 5.2 yards improvement in gross yards was nearly matched by 4.3 yards in net yardage. If you factor that in on the number of punts over the course of a season, and suddenly the Rams added nearly 300 additional yards that opposing offenses needed to claim on the football field.

Better production for a cheaper cost? That is often enough incentive to push an NFL team to move quickly. But this is Johnny Hekker after all, right? He is still deserving of some patience. After all, he is the last holdout to ST coordinator John Fassel’s regime with the Rams.

Even Hekker admits underperformance

Why would anyone dare to hold LA Rams star punter up for any discernment or scrutiny? Think back to the comments made by head coach Sean McVay. Competition on the entire roster. But surely that doesn’t apply to Johnny Hekker, right? Tell that to Hekker, who took it all in stride. Does he deserve competition? Yes. Why?

Well, perhaps because as he admits himself, 2020 was one of his worst NFL seasons:

“I definitely did not perform to the best of my abilities,” Hekker said. “There were a few games that I really, I don’t know, just kind of got just may be ahead of myself mentally. . . . There were definitely some kicks out there that I would have liked to have seen go better for the team. When I don’t put our team in good positions, that’s the stuff that really bugs me.” –per Johnny Hekker via ProFootballTalk NBCSports Charean Williams

And as far as competition? Surely a tried and tested veteran doesn’t want to go back to square one and fight for his job, does he? What is Hekker’s perspective on the sudden surprising addition of the NFL’s best punter from 2020?

“When push comes to shove, they have to make the best decisions for this roster. And there’s no running around the financial aspect of it. So, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to put together the best roster that you can.” ” –per Johnny Hekker as reported by LA Times Gary Klein

And there is the whole narrative, laid out rather neatly. Practically anyone attached to a special team’s specific role for the LA Rams under ST coordinator John Fassel has been scooped up by the Dallas Cowboys. Johnny Hekker is the last remaining holdout. Will the Rams do the unthinkable, and part ways from Johnny Hekker? Well here comes another unexpected twist in the road.

Retraction

Despite the pledge to compete at each and every spot on the roster, once the evidence was assembled and the logic was presented back to the LA Rams regarding any plans to create competition at the punter position, the Rams head coach Sean McVay retracted his earlier pledge to create competition everywhere.

While he agreed with McVay, Snead pointed out that training camp is filled with competition by its very nature. And by hinting at such, Snead was leaving the door open for any future decisions to go either way.

So here we are, trying to gauge the potential of the LA Rams roster, and trying to understand what roster decisions have yet to be made, and which roster positions are still undecided. As popular as punter Johnny Hekker might be with the entire fanbase of the LA Rams, I am not convinced that he is an automatic starter in 2021. Loyalty? I get it. Hekker has done great things for the Rams over the years.

Still, Jared Goff is gone because good enough is no longer good enough at quarterback. Austin Blythe is gone because good enough is no longer good enough at the offensive center. Michael Brockers is gone because good enough is no longer good enough at defensive lineman. Johnny Hekker was ranked 21st out of 32 punters in the NFL in 2020. Is that good enough for the LA Rams? Good enough wasn’t good enough for three other veterans who were very loyal to the team. This could be a very intriguing developing story throughout this training camp.