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Cutting Xavier Smith exposed a hole in the Rams' punt coverage
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- Cutting Xavier Smith exposed a hole in the Rams' punt coverage
The Los Angeles Rams have had their fair share of issues on special teams, ranking as one of the worst units in the NFL. Those problems continued in Week 4, as the team surrendered a 41-yard punt return that turned into a Philadelphia Eagles touchdown on the next offensive drive. Harrison Mevis also missed his second field goal attempt of the season, making him 3-for-5 on the year.
Many wonder if first-year special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone is to blame, or if the habitual issues are the result of something besides coaching. The truth lies a bit in the middle, but the reality is the players are not being put in the best positions to succeed.
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Since Ventrone comes from the New England Patriots, let's use them as an example. Under Bill Belichick, they were the epitome of what a special teams unit should be. Consistent, unquestionable, hard-working. A real difference-maker. When Tom Brady couldn't get it going, or the defense was under siege, Belichick relied on his special teams to kick field goals and pin their opponents deep to grind out victories.
They had five key components: Kicker, punter, long snapper, ace linebacker, and gunner. The Rams' roster strategy always ensures they only have four of those five, keeping them primed for failure.
Mevis has the kicking spot locked down for now, but another miss from inside 50 has raised some red flags. Ethan Evans' powerful leg gives and takes away. Way too many misses for anyone's liking, but he still has the game-changing boom that the team needs. The team added Joe Cardona and Grant Stuard to be their long snapper and ace linebacker.
Cardona comes from the Patriots and is solid, while Stuard takes on that ace role, contributing to all kick and punt coverage teams by setting the standard for the unit. Guys like Ventrone, Larry Izzo, etc. They add that edge needed to do what special teamers do.
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The other part was their returner and their gunner. The returners would change for New England, but from 2008 until 2023, Matthew Slater set the gold standard for the gunner position. The son of NFL and Rams legend Jackie Slater, Matthew was the reason the Patriots could pin opponents deep to give their defense enough chances to get Brady the ball. Matthew prevented the big returns.
When the Rams chose to part ways with Xavier Smith last week, they did so because of his inconsistencies as a returner. What they gained in his departure was Alex Bachman, who didn't make any major errors in his debut as the returner. His consistency was appreciated, but the lack of explosiveness from the returner position was noticed.
What was even clearer was Smith's absence as a gunner. He was not a good enough returner at the NFL level, but his speed, grit, and timing made him the perfect player to cover Evans' ability to out-punt his coverage. When Covey returned a 41-yard punt, it was Jordan Whittington trying to cover, and he doesn't have the speed to induce fair catches, while Smith does.
Don't believe me? The last time the Rams gave up a punt return for a touchdown, it was in Seattle when Rashid Shaheed made the play that would change the fate of Los Angeles and the Seahawks for the rest of that season. The Rams' gunners? Whittington and Derion Kendrick. Keep in mind that in three seasons, Smith played in 34 games, recording 347 special teams snaps, averaging 10.2 snaps per game. Then look what happens when he's not in.
It's not like it was Whittington or Kendrick's fault. That's like asking Aaron Donald to cover a tight end. They were built for a different type of punting strategy, and Evans isn't that player.
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Entering 2026, the Rams' fastest gunners were Smith and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. That was before Forbes was pressed into defensive action over the last two weeks due to an injury to Jaylen Watson, but he also surrendered a penalty that took away a punt that pinned the Denver Broncos inside their own 10, which ended up leading to them starting their drive near midfield. Wrong skill set for the position.
That drive ended with Denver scoring the game-tying touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion. The Rams would lose the contest.
Unlike Forbes, who is slender, Smith can throw some weight around enough to get around his matchup in order to accelerate and cover Evans' wild punts. When they don't have him, they surrender yards. It's that easy.
This highlights the overall issue for the unit. It's not Ventrone. It's the perpetual lack of consistent performers at key positions due to the team's roster strategy of plug-and-play. Remove Smith; that fixes the returner problem and opens an issue at gunner. Bring Smith back, and the receiver room is way too crowded, so someone else has to exit the roster.
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Whomever that player is probably plays special teams, and now someone else has to fill in, and so on, and so forth.
Never-ending problems that only plague this franchise. At some point, the Rams are going to have to bite the bullet and ask themselves the tough question. Can they get gunners who can support Evans, or do they need a punter who won't outpunt his coverage?
This is every week. The people are tired. How many times does the team wish to dance with defeat? Perhaps that's the issue. The Rams are so good, they don't taste the failures of the special teams enough to warrant change. How did the NFC Championship defeat taste?
The head man in Seattle, Mike Macdonald, just won a Super Bowl with a great special teams group that made field goals and made big plays in the return game. Had the Rams played New England, and if that defense shut down Matthew Stafford, can we really say Los Angeles would have won it all, too?
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Cutting Xavier Smith exposed a hole in the Rams' punt coverage
