Sometimes, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.
That phrase applies perfectly to the Los Angeles Rams’ kicking carousel this year after letting Greg Zuerlein walk in free agency. His departure came after eight quality years with the Rams, a span in which he made 82.3% of his field goal attempts and 97.2% of his PATs.
This year, the Rams’ kickers have made just 70.6% of their field goal tries and 84.6% of extra-point attempts, both of which rank fourth-worst in the NFL. Their long of 42 yards is the worst in football, going just 1-for-4 beyond 39 yards. Zuerlein hasn’t been perfect with his new team this year, but he does have a pair of game-winners for Dallas and has still been more accurate than the Rams’ kickers.
Samuel Sloman was supposed to be Zuerlein’s replacement, but he missed at least one kick in six of his seven games. Kai Forbath took Sloman’s spot, but he was also inaccurate and now has an ankle injury that will land him on injured reserve.
So as the carousel continues to turn with Austin MacGinnis and Matt Gay up next, Sean McVay’s frustration grows by the week.
“It’s a big deal. Sometimes you don’t realize how good you have it until you don’t anymore and I think that’s the honest answer. I think it’s been a struggle,” he said Monday. “It’s been something that I know we’re working and guys are certainly trying to get it figured out. Both Sam and Kai are competing to the best of their ability, but it hasn’t worked out. We haven’t had the production we want.”
The Rams’ kicking issues aren’t exclusive to making field goals and extra points, either. McVay pointed out that the hangtime on kickoffs hasn’t been good enough, which has led to some bigger returns because the coverage unit can’t get down the field quickly enough.
“Then even in some instances, it’s affected our coverage units because a big part of being an efficient unit covering the football when you’re kicking off is being able to get some good hang time so guys can get down in their coverage lanes. The spot and the accuracy of where you’re able to put it and that hang time is a big part of enabling guys to get down the field and cover these kicks. That’s something that we’re going to make a big point of emphasis on and we’re hopeful that whether it’s Austin or Matt, we’ll be able to address it and have some more consistency from that spot that unfortunately we haven’t had this year.”
MacGinnis and Gay will compete to replace Forbath in Week 11, though Gay won’t be able to practice with the team until Saturday at the earliest due to COVID-19 protocols. Fortunately, the missed field goals and PATs haven’t cost the Rams a win yet, but with each game being more important than the last, accuracy and consistency are paramount.
