Tag: Johnny Hekker

What’s gone wrong with the Rams’ special teams this season?

The Rams’ special teams unit has not been good in 2019.

The Rams had arguably the best special teams unit in the NFL two years ago. Johnny Hekker, Greg Zuerlein and Pharoh Cooper were all first-team All-Pros in 2017, while long snapper Jake McQuaide was a Pro Bowler that year, as well.

The unit took a small step back in 2018, though. The only Pro Bowler to come from the Rams’ special teams was Cory Littleton, who was a menace when it came to blocking kicks. Hekker and Zuerlein were both passed over as Pro Bowlers and All-Pros, as were return specialists JoJo Natson and Blake Countess, who replaced Pharoh Cooper late in the year.

As mediocre as the special teams unit was last season, it’s been even worse this year. The Rams are seventeenth in net average punting and are tied for last in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Hekker has booted four touchbacks, which is tied for the fifth-most in the NFL. Punt coverage has been decent, allowing 167 yards (13th-most), but the punts themselves have been underwhelming.

It’s part of the reason the Rams are 20th in opponent average starting position this season after ranking 10th in 2018 and ninth in 2017.

Hekker isn’t the only one who’s struggling, either. Zuerlein has had his issues in 2019, going just 4-for-9 on field goal tries between 40 and 49 yards. Overall, he’s 22-for-28 on field goals and 29-for-29 on PATs, but his missed FGs have come at inopportune times; remember his miss late against the Seahawks?

The Rams are just 16th in the NFL in FG percentage (79%) and 26th on attempts between 40 and 49 yards (44%).

In the return game, the Rams are 13th in both kick return average and punt return average. Their longest kick return is just 30 yards, however, which is tied for the fifth-shortest in the league. It doesn’t help that they’ve only had 13 kick returns, second-fewest in the NFL.

Natson is out for the year, so Darrell Henderson will take over kick returns and Nsimba Webster punt return duties, so perhaps those spots will see an improvement.

Penalties have also been costly on special teams. The Rams have 15 special teams penalties this year, which is more than all but three teams. They had 26 a season ago, second-most in the league, so they haven’t done much to improve in that regard, either.

John Fassel is a great ST coordinator, but his group has not played up to its standards this year. They must improve in that phase of the game in these final four weeks.

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Saints punter Thomas Morstead is playing his best football in Year 11

The New Orleans Saints are getting career-best production out of 33-year-old punter Thomas Morstead, who is in his 11th season in the NFL.

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It’s often thought that younger is better in the NFL, with players putting up their best performances before the ravages of injuries and time hit and their peak athleticism begins to fade. But New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead is running against that trend. In fact, he’s having a career-best year in his eleventh NFL season, and at age 33.

To illustrate that point, Morstead saw a punt land in the opposing end zone for a touchback for the first time this season in Sunday’s game with the Carolina Panthers. It broke a streak of 41 punts without a touchback, which highlights just how accurate he’s been when the Saints are forced to give the ball away. Saints coach Sean Payton hates doing that, but when backed into a corner he can trust Morstead to put the other team in awful starting position.

His career average of 46.8 yards per punt ranks second-best among active players (trailing the Los Angeles Rams’ Johnny Hekker at 47.1) and third-best in NFL history (behind retired great Shane Lechler, at 47.6).

While his per-season average has dropped (see the chart below) to just 45.6, his accuracy has gone up, with 54.8% of his punts being downed inside the 20-yard line. That’s insanely good, even for his standards — Morstead’s previous career-high rate of punts landing inside the 20 was 43.3% in 2017. Expand that scope to the rest of the NFL and it’s the highest rate in the league, outpacing Baltimore Ravens living legend Sam Koch (who has put 12 of his 22 punts, 54.5%, inside the 20).

In other words, for the first time in his 11-year NFL career, Morstead’s rate of landing punts inside the opposing 20-yard line is higher than his average yards per punt.

The chart embedded below compares those two numbers year-by-year, with the gray line denoting Morstead’s average yards punt and the gold line highlighting the rate at which he put his punts inside the 20. It’s remarkable:

But let’s circle back to the present. Morstead has punted 42 times in New Orleans’ first 11 games, showing rare synergy with his coverage unit. Here’s what happened on each of those 42 punts:

  • 16 fair catches called by opposing team return unit
  • 16 returned by opponents, gaining 122 yards (7.6 yards per return)
  • 5 downed by the Saints punt coverage unit
  • 4 punts ruled out of bounds
  • 1 punt ruled a touchback

That’s impressive any way you look at it. It also speaks to the quiet improvements the Saints have made on special teams after overhauling the staff and personnel this offseason; they hired a new coordinator in longtime Miami Dolphins coach Darren Rizzi, who brought in two new assistants with him in former Penn State coordinator Phil Galiano and returns coverage specialist Michael Wilhoite. The Saints also invested in core special teamers like Craig Robertson (who signed a two-year contract extension) while bringing in free agents such as Stephone Anthony and Johnson Bademosi during the season. Rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris has been outstanding when the Saints special teams have gotten to go on the offensive. Saints kicker Wil Lutz has won two games with last-second field goals after inking his own five-year contract extension.

Hopefully Morstead won’t have to punt many more times this season, but it’s reassuring to know that the ball is in good hands when his number is called. He’s already earned multiple Special Teams Player of the Week and Month awards this season, and he just might pocket a few more.

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