The Rams made the move on Harrison Mevis, but one cut isn’t going to clean up this mess.
Los Angeles’ special teams have become a weekly talking point, and not in a good way. Coordinator Bubba Ventrone keeps finding his unit in the spotlight, and even with Mevis out the door, the problems don’t disappear with him.
Week 5 was another reminder of how fragile things have become. Buffalo returner Ray Davis took the opening kickoff and sprinted straight through the middle for 70 yards to the Rams’ 26. That one snap told the story just about as clearly as anything could: this group isn’t just struggling, it might be sliding backward.
And the Rams don’t have much room to absorb that kind of damage.
Mevis was effectively done after missing his fourth field goal try of the season, a potential game-winner. No kicker has missed more. In a game decided on the margins, that kind of miss turns into a hammer blow.
The bigger issue is that the rest of the special teams operation wasn’t much better.
Against the Bills, Los Angeles looked worse than its own season standard, and that’s saying something. Mevis did get a chance to win it in overtime, but his 48-yard field goal was blocked. Buffalo took over with excellent field position, worked its way into scoring range, and nailed the winning kick.
That’s why the Rams had to bring in Blake Grupe. He arrives without a competition and without practice time, which tells you how urgent the situation is.
Los Angeles had to do something. But there’s a real chance this is only the first move, not the last, if the unit is going to show real progress.
And while it’s never smart to pin everything on one player, the kicking numbers against Buffalo were brutal. Tyler Bass hit three field goals for the Bills, while Mevis missed both of his.
Even with Bass missing an extra point, Buffalo still outscored Los Angeles 11-4 in kicking points. The final margin?
Three.
That’s the whole problem right there.
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Kyren Williams Controversy Has Rams Fans Debating More Than His Numbers
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The dispute has mostly lived in the world of sports gamblers and social media, where frustration has been aimed at sportsbooks and the official measurement of the run. Williams has still given the Rams steady production through five games this season, with 343 rushing yards and four touchdowns, but the lingering debate shows how one yard can take on a life of its own when the numbers are tight and the stakes feel bigger than the box score. [Read more 🡒]