The Rams tried something different against the Chargers, and Sean McVay came away with a little of both: proof the idea can work, and a reminder of why it still needs cleaning up.
Los Angeles had three specialists active for the game - a field goal kicker, a kickoff kicker and a punter - an unusual setup that put Brandon McManus and Joshua Karty in separate roles. McManus handled the scoring kicks and was perfect, going 4-for-4 with three extra points and a 30-yard field goal. Karty’s job was strictly kickoffs, and that part of the plan was more uneven.
Karty was flagged twice on five kickoffs for sending the ball short of the landing zone, something McVay said he did not like. At the same time, McVay pointed out that when Karty did land the ball properly, the Chargers had a hard time doing anything with it.
“The kickoff coverage doing a really nice job,” McVay said. “We can’t have the two penalties that put the ball on the 40-yard line, but I did think Josh hit some of those early ones really well.
What led to us having two kickers up was really just that. That was a unit that we’ve felt like we’ve had successful outcomes with Josh kicking some of those squib or those dirty balls.
He’ll keep getting better at it. Sometimes your roster might not allow you to be able to do that, but that was the thinking.”
McVay said the whole idea was built around a problem the Rams have been trying to solve: covering kicks. He said the team wanted a kickoff specialist who could make returns tougher to organize and give the coverage unit a head start.
“The thought process behind it was we had not been having any success covering kicks,” McVay said. “We’ve got to be better in that area, but you did see when we were able to cover it, because he hits a really good ball that’s hard to field. . . .
They’re not going to be able to field it clean and we’re getting a start before they’re getting their return set up, that was the thinking behind it. But obviously we did not want to have two plays that put it on the 40, where you’re kicking it short of the landing zone.”
Special teams have been a recurring issue for the Rams under McVay, and he made clear after the game that he wants that area fixed. That could mean continuing to use extra roster spots on game day for specialists who only handle special teams duties.
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