Tag: sam sloman

Watch: Sam Sloman doinks Titans to AFC South championship

Sam Sloman managed to doink one home to give the Titans the AFC South

In a wild finish to a frantic game, Sam Sloman kicked a 37-yard field goal that doinked off an upright and through to give the Tennessee Titans a 41-38 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday and the AFC South title.

Sloman was replacing Stephen Gostkowski, who missed the game because he was on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Titans signed kicker Sloman to their practice squad during Week 12.

The play was set up by a 52-yard completion from Ryan Tannehill to A.J. Brown after the Texans had gotten a game-tying field goal.

The victory gave the Titans a home-field Wild-Card game against the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of last season.

The Indianapolis Colts, meanwhile, now have to go to Buffalo to face the sizzling Bills in a Wild-Card game.

Colts coach Frank Reich has some history with the Bills and the playoffs as he led the historic comeback when Buffalo stunned Houston after being down 35-3. The Bills won the game 27 years to the date on Jan. 3 in overtime, 41-38.

Report: Titans’ Brett Kern expected to be available for Week 17

While the Titans might have their punter, things aren’t looking as good for their kicker.

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The Tennessee Titans placed punter Brett Kern on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday, but it appears he might suit up against the Houston Texans in Week 17 after all.

According to Justin Melo of Broadway Sports, Kern is considered a close contact and has not tested positive for the virus up until this point, which puts him on track to return to the team on Saturday and play on Sunday.

Kern’s placement on the list came one day after kicker Stephen Gostkowski was also placed there. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it’s very possible that Gostkowski was the person Kern came in close contact with.

If Gostkowski did indeed test positive for the virus, he will definitely miss Sunday’s contest.

On Wednesday, head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t give a timetable for the return of either player when speaking to the media before practice.

Should Kern and/or Gostkowski not suit up, the Titans have punter Trevor Daniel and kicker Sam Sloman on the practice squad, both of whom have been protected for this week.

Daniel has appeared in two games with the Titans in 2020, while Sloman played in seven contests for the Los Angeles Rams earlier this season.

The Titans will hope at least one of their specialists will take the field when they play the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in what is a crucial game for Tennessee’s AFC South and playoff hopes.

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Tennessee Titans sign K Sam Sloman to practice squad

The Titans now have two kickers on their practice squad.

The Tennessee Titans have added another kicker after signing Sam Sloman to their practice squad. The news comes from Sloman’s agency, JL Sports, which tweeted out a congratulations to the kicker.

Sloman recently visited the Titans last week, and before that he had a workout with the team earlier in the month. He is now one of two kickers Tennessee has on its practice squad, along with Giorgio Tavecchio.

Sloman, who was a 2020 seventh-round pick, played in seven games for the Los Angeles Rams this season before being waived and made 8-of-11 field goal tries and 18-of-21 extra point attempts.

He was 2-for-3 from 20-29 yards, 5-for-5 from 30-39 yards, 1-for-2 from 40-49 yards and 0-for-1 from 50-59 yards. Sloman’s longest make of the season came from 42 yards out.

The Titans will continue to have an insurance policy (or two) on hand just in case veteran kicker Stephen Gostkowski self-destructs once again.

Gostkowski made all three of his field goal attempts in Week 11, but entered the contest against the Baltimore Ravens with eight misses on the season, the most in the NFL.

The Titans will look to win back-to-back games when they take on the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday in Week 12.

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Tennessee Titans to hold tryouts for DeShone Kizer, Sam Sloman

The Titans are exploring options at quarterback and kicker.

The Tennessee Titans are doing their due diligence at both quarterback and kicker, as the team is set to work out one player from each position.

Per the league’s transaction wire, the Titans are set to hold a tryout for quarterback DeShone Kizer and kicker Sam Sloman, both of whom Tennessee has previously brought in for a look.

Sloman had a tryout with the Titans earlier this month, along with fellow kicker Giorgio Tavecchio. Tennessee ended up adding Tavecchio to the practice squad.

Sloman played in seven games for the Los Angeles Rams this season, converting 8-of-11 field goals and 18-of-21 PATs.

Back in August, Kizer was one of two quarterbacks the Titans took a closer look at, but he was ultimately passed over for signal-caller Trevor Siemian.

The Notre Dame product hasn’t taken a regular-season snap since 2018 with the Green Bay Packers. He was most recently on the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad back in September.

It makes sense for the Titans to continue to explore their options at kicker, as Stephen Gostkowski has struggled mightily this season and is about as close as one can be to losing his job. In fact, one more bad game could be enough to force Tennessee’s hand.

Titans to hold tryouts with 5 players, including 2 kickers

The Titans are exploring their options at the kicker position.

The Tennessee Titans are apparently exploring their options at the kicker position, as the team is set to hold a tryout with two kickers among five players the team is bringing in.

According to the league’s transactions wire, the Titans will be taking a look at kickers Sam Sloman and Giorgio Tavecchio. In addition to those players, Tennessee will also be trying out nose tackle Miles Brown, defensive tackle P.J. Johnson and punter Austin Rehkow.

It makes sense for the Titans to at least take a look at what’s out there at kicker, as Stephen Gostkowski has been the model of inconsistency this season and Tennessee’s only insurance policy is a rookie on the practice squad in Tucker McCann.

Sloman has played in seven games during his career, all of which came this season with the Los Angeles Rams, who waived him prior to Week 8. He was 8-for-11 on field goal attempts and 18-for-21 on extra point tries. His long field goal was from 42 yards out and he missed his only attempt of 50-plus yards.

Tavecchio has more experience than Sloman having played in 19 games during his career; however, he hasn’t played a snap since 2018. For his career, Tavecchio has made 21-of-26 field goal tries and 41-of-42 extra points. He’s 5-for-6 from 50-plus yards and 5-for-7 from 40-plus yards.

Rehkow is the fifth punter the Titans will try out with Brett Kern dealing with a wrist injury, as they are also taking a look at Ryan Allen, Dustin Colquitt, Lachlan Edwards and Trevor Daniel.

The team parted ways with 2019 UDFA Isaiah Mack recently, so it comes as no surprise that a pair of defensive linemen are also in the mix for tryouts.

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Watch: Sam Sloman’s first FG attempt off clanks upright from 29 yards out

The rookie’s first kick did not go as planned.

The Rams had three kickers in camp for the month of August, allowing all three of them to essentially try out for the position left by Greg Zuerlein. Sam Sloman wound up winning the competition, beating out Lirim Hajrullahu of the CFL and Austin MacGinnis of the XFL.

It was a decision that many Rams fans questioned, and those doubts creeped back into their minds after Sloman’s first-ever field goal attempt.

Let’s just say it didn’t go well. He clanked it hard off the left upright from 29 yards out, which would’ve put the Rams up 10-0.

The Cowboys took the ball on their next possession and turned it into seven points, scoring on a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to Ezekiel Elliott.

Not the start Sloman wanted at the NFL level.

Rams expected to go with rookie Sam Sloman at kicker

The Rams have apparently made a decision at kicker, going with the rookie from Miami (Ohio).

The Los Angeles Rams have decided on which kicker will replace Greg Zuerlein for the 2020 season. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Rams are expected to go with Sam Sloman, who competed with Lirim Hajrullahu and Austin MacGinnis for the job in training camp.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise as it seemed Hajrullahu was the lead candidate to replace Zuerlein. He was the most consistent kicker in camp and had the most experience, spending several years in the CFL.

Sloman was drafted by the Rams in the seventh round this year, hailing from Sean McVay’s alma, Miami (Ohio).

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press also reported the news of Sloman’s apparent victory, with Hajrullahu being waived.

Based on reports out of camp, Sloman had been the least consistent kicker of the three. He went 5-for-8 in the second scrimmage and 3-for-5 in the first, which isn’t exactly a great rate of conversion.

Hajrullahu, on the other hand, was a combined 10-for-13 in the two exhibition games. MacGinnis went 9-for-13, as well.

Rams kicking competition is ‘far from decided’

Sean McVay didn’t provide any clarity on which kicker is winning the battle.

Position battles across the Rams’ roster are beginning to settle themselves out. Micah Kiser and Travin Howard (if healthy) look like the starting inside linebackers, the offensive line has really taken shape, and John Wolford is undoubtedly the No. 2 quarterback.

One competition that isn’t close to being done is at kicker. Austin MacGinnis, Sam Sloman and Lirim Hajrullahu are still battling it out, and the winner may not be determined until the very last minute.

Sean McVay provided somewhat of an update on that situation, though he didn’t give any indications of who’s in the lead.

“You want to use every bit of the time that we have to really evaluate this,” McVay said Monday. “It’s certainly a very important decision for us and we have three guys that are very capable. The more opportunities that we can create to try to simulate those game experiences is what’s important. We’re going to take all of our time and I think all those guys have done a nice job, but it certainly is far from decided.”

None of the three kickers performed particularly well in the second scrimmage, which complicated things a bit. Hajrullahu seemed to be performing the best in practice and in the first scrimmage, but he only went 5-for-8 on Saturday, which matched Sloman; MacGinnis was 6-for-8.

The Rams will have to trim their roster to 53 players by Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, and it’s expected that two kickers will be among the 27 players released. We just don’t have any indication of which kicker will be the one the Rams keep.

Rams ‘not in a rush’ to pick a kicker, won’t rule out keeping two

Sean McVay left the door open for the Rams to keep two kickers, or stash one on the practice squad.

The Rams’ search for a kicker to replace Greg Zuerlein has not exactly been easy. They’ve turned over stones at just about every level of football, bringing in one kicker each from the CFL, XFL and college.

The mostly virtual offseason prevented the Rams from truly evaluating Lirim Hajrullahu, Austin MacGinnis and Sam Sloman before training camp, condensing the window to only a few short weeks. And you can bet the Rams are going to use just about every grain of sand in the hourglass before picking their kicker for the 2020 season.

With restrictions on what can and can’t be reported out of training camp, it’s hard to get a feel for which kicker has the lead in this race. Sean McVay hasn’t even indicated that one has pulled ahead when talking to the media. He said Wednesday that the team is going to take as long as it can to decide, indicating the competition will go right up to final cuts on Sept. 5.

“That’s a really important part of what we’re evaluating right now. All three guys bring certain things to the table. That’s another thing – it’s how many different pressure situations can you try to create in these practice settings to truly evaluate guys that are younger players? You’ve got a rookie and some other guys that don’t have a whole lot of experience at this level, but I think they’ve done a nice job. Coach (John) Bonamego has been excellent leading the way for them. 
 We’ll see if one of these guys starts to really separate themselves from the other two.”

McVay won’t rule anything out at this point, either. He didn’t shoot down the possibility of stashing an extra kicker on the practice squad, considering the NFL has increased the number of players a team can carry on its practice squad to 16.

“That’s a possibility, it’s something you can look into just given the fact that they’re expanding the practice squad rosters,” he said. “Those will be decisions we’re certainly not in a rush to make and we’re going to use every day that we have to really evaluate them.”

The fourth-year coach wouldn’t even guarantee that the Rams will only keep one kicker on the 53-man roster, leaving the door open for the possibility of retaining two of the three when the regular season begins – one for kickoffs and one for field goals.

Of course, the Rams would prefer to have a kicker who can do both, and McVay acknowledged that in his response.

“That’s always a part of the consideration,” McVay said of possibly keeping two kickers. “I think the ideal approach is to be able to have a guy that can do both. Just because of how minimal, even though you have the ability to have 48 guys up this year on the game-day roster, you want to be able to try to have that guy be able to do both, unless you’re in a situation when your punter ends up kicking off. We’ll let Hekker continue to be the best at what he’s doing with punting and holding.”

It seemed Hajrullahu pulled ahead slightly in the team’s scrimmage on Saturday after making all five of his kicks in the exhibition game. MacGinnis went 4-for-5, while Sloman lagged behind with a 3-for-5 showing.

However, in Wednesday’s practice, Hajrullahu missed two field goal attempts, which made the competition even more interesting.

The Rams haven’t committed to one kicker yet and they may not until they trim their roster, but time is running out for them to pick someone to replace Zuerlein.

This stat shows just how clutch Rams K Sam Sloman was in college

This stat shows just how clutch Sam Sloman was in college.

Part of the reason the Los Angeles Rams traded back in the fourth round of the draft this year was to gather extra picks in the seventh round, which they planned to use on a kicker. After losing Greg Zuerlein in free agency, the Rams knew they had to find someone to take his place – someone hopefully as clutch and accurate as the man they called “Greg The Leg.”

In Round 7, the Rams selected Sam Sloman from Miami of Ohio, drafting him over presumed top kicker Rodrigo Blankenship. The team showed interest in Sloman before the draft, so his selection wasn’t a surprise, and now he’ll get a chance to be the Rams’ primary kicker in 2020.

Part of what caught their eye about Sloman was his clutch factor. This stat was shared by Rams senior personnel executive Brian Xanders, which is certainly encouraging as Sloman enters the kicking battle.

“In the second half or overtime during the last two years, he went 27 out of 29. So when the score is tight or it’s getting close to the end of the game, he’s been clutch,” Xanders said.

Another trait that Xanders highlighted was Sloman’s kicking technique, which allows him to generate a lot of power. He compared it to a golf swing because of the angle of approach that Sloman takes with his kicks.

“I’ve done kickers for 20 something years now and one nuance of kicking is the angle of approach. He’s very consistent of being a really short angle behind the ball, which allows you to get more power. It’s almost like a powerful golf swing,” Xanders said.

Lastly, he loves Sloman’s competitiveness and the improvement he made during his career at Miami.

“I think the third positive with him is he’s gotten better every year and what’s ascended with him is his power and explosion. He’s a powerful guy, he’s a weather kicker and he’s a competitor. He just wants to take everybody’s job,” Xanders said.

Sloman will have to beat out Lirim Hajrullahu – who’s out making 75- and 77-yard kicks in practice – and Austin MacGinnis, who had a strong track record in the XFL this past season, in order to be the team’s primary kicker. But he has the traits of an NFL starter and someone who can really help the Rams.

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