California’s Thousand Oaks — The Los Angeles Rams have improved this season in both the offensive and defensive departments, but their special teams unit has been a constant source of frustration.
The Rams have missed more field goals and extra points this season than any other club, with a combined total of 16, ranking bottom in the NFL in special teams DVOA.
Kicker Brett Maher, who the Rams signed in the offseason, missed six of those field goals and two of the extra points. Maher was cut following the team’s 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7. He missed two field goals and an extra point in that game. Lucas Havrisik, who has missed three extra points and five field goals in nine games for Los Angeles, was brought in by the Rams to replace him.
However, Maher was re-signed by the Rams when they secured a postseason berth prior to their Week 18 match. The Rams wanted to add a kicker “that had some experience,” according to head coach Sean McVay. Earlier in the season, McVay admitted, “we asked [Maher] to attempt a lot of long field goals.”
In Thousand Oaks, California Although the Los Angeles Rams’ offensive and defensive units have improved this season, their special teams unit has been a persistent source of annoyance.
With a combined total of 16 missed field goals and extra points this season—more than any other team—the Rams are last in the NFL in terms of special teams DVOA.
However, Maher’s shorter kicks were a problem for him during the Dallas Cowboys’ previous season. Maher missed five extra points the previous season, including four in a row against the Tampa Bay Bucs in the NFC wild-card game. Maher finished 1-of-6 in the postseason and is just one of two players in NFL history to miss five extra points in their playoff career, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
When Maher joined with the Rams, special teams coach Chase Blackburn discussed those misses and how to recover from them, according to Blackburn. In order to replace kicker Matt Gay, who inked a four-year, $22.5 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts during free agency, the Rams hired Maher over the summer.
One of the things that gives Blackburn the “confidence and belief” in Maher is the kicker’s “process, the way he handles it and goes about it each and every day.”
“Every day that you’re in this job, every year, every week, there’s opportunities to learn and grow from,” Maher stated. “I believe that’s kind of the approach I’ve taken through goods, bads, stuff like that, is figuring out what worked and why it worked and maybe what didn’t work and why it didn’t work. Thus, I’ll just keep working to improve and seize the opportunities that present themselves.”
