Rams special teams and how they got the Seahawks

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October 20, 2014 at 1:40 am #10071

RamBill
Participant

Fisher has long history of special teams trickery
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/fisher-has-long-history-of-special-teams-trickery/article_48655697-3d54-563a-babc-16ec9018c66d.html

Jeff Fisher doesn’t know where he developed his keen interest in special teams.

“The exciting part about special teams is you get to work with both sides of the ball,” Fisher said. “There’s an opportunity for some creativity.”

Nor does he know where he developed his love for special teams trickery.

“I don’t know the origin,” Fisher said. “If you have the reputation that you’re fearless from the standpoint of making those calls, then you’re going to be able to dictate some things. That’s what we try to do, dictate with respect to special teams, particularly your punt team.”

Fisher reached into his bag of tricks twice Sunday, allowing the Rams to steal a victory from the defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks. Without the decoy punt return for a touchdown on the play known as “Mountaineer,” or a daring fake punt for a first down late in the fourth quarter, the Rams don’t defeat Seattle 28-26.

It was enough to put a 75-yard kickoff return by Benny Cunningham — the Rams’ longest in four years — into the oh-by-the way category.

Stedman Bailey’s 90-yard “Mountainer” punt return down the left sideline caught the Seahawks with their guard down. They were too busy paying attention to Tavon Austin on the right sideline faking as if he were fielding the punt.

If there were an Academy Award for best special teams acting in a supporting role, it would go hands down to Austin.

“If that’s what they’re saying, then I’m up for it,” Austin said.

And there was more to the trickery than just Austin’s acting job.

“There’s a rumor that one of our players, as they were running down the field, was yelling ‘Right! Right! Right!’” Fisher said, tongue-in-cheek.

Another attempt, obviously, to fool the Seahawks as to the direction of the football.

The day’s capper came when punter Johnny Hekker completed an 18-yard pass to Cunningham on the fake punt with less than 3 minutes to play. No mean feat considering it was fourth and 3 from the St. Louis 18 at the time.

Those two plays made the Rams the talk of the NFL on Monday.

In Arizona, for example, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told local reporters that it took a lot of nerve for Fisher to call the fake punt in that situation. Fisher said he heard directly from several friends and colleagues around the league.

“I got a lot of notes, texts, and things like that,” Fisher said. “It’s not me — (the players) executed. At the end of the day you want to give yourself a chance to win. In my mind, the best chance we had to win the football game was to execute that play.”

Fisher has a long history of special teams deceit. From 1995-2005 as head coach of the Houston Oilers-Tennessee Titans, Fisher had his punters throw 16 passes. Fifteen of those tosses came from Craig Hentrich (Alton-Marquette HS).

And of course, there was one of the most famous special teams trick plays in NFL history, the Music City Miracle. It sparked the Titans’ playoff run in 1999 that led all the way to Super Bowl XXXIV against Dick Vermeil’s Rams.

In a wild-card playoff game with Buffalo, Frank Wycheck threw a lateral pass to Kevin Dyson after taking a Buffalo kickoff. Dyson raced 75 yards in the closing seconds for a touchdown, giving Tennessee a 22-16 victory.

When Fisher took the Rams job in 2012, he didn’t leave his special teams trickeration in Nashville. Hekker’s pass to Cunningham was his fifth in 38 games with the Rams. He went three for three for 42 yards as a rookie in 2012, throwing for more yards that year than Tim Tebow.

Two of those completions came on fake punts in the team’s 24-24 overtime tie in San Francisco. Another came on a fake field goal when Hekker — the holder for place-kicker Greg Zuerlein — stood up after taking the snap and tossed a TD pass to Danny Amendola, who sneaked over toward the Rams’ sideline undetected by Seattle. Yes, the Seahawks were snookered in that game, so shame on Pete Carroll ‘s teams for getting fooled again Sunday.

The Rams were ready to try a fake punt in the Monday night loss to San Francisco, when quarterback Austin Davis — yes, Davis — was flanked out in a gunner position. But the 49ers saw what was happening and the Rams ended up taking a delay of game.

Hekker was a quarterback in high school, and when the Rams signed him to a free-agent contract after the 2012 draft, his throwing ability factored into the decision.

“I think that if you have a preference, you would prefer to have a guy that could do things like that — that can throw — because he’s a weapon,” Fisher said. “He can take advantage of things. His arm had a lot to do with the record-setting performance that he had last year, that our punt team had last year. Because as you get ‘punt safe’ teams and eight-man boxes defending different throws, our gunners go down and make plays.”

Hekker and the Rams set an NFL record for net punting average in 2013 at 44.2 yards.

Of course, the fakes don’t always work. Hekker misfired last season on a fake punt in Dallas. Intended receiver Bailey was open on the play, but the throw was off-target because a Cowboys defender broke through to pressure Hekker.

Later in the 2013 season, up-back Matt Giordano took the snap on a fake punt, but his intended pitch to Bailey on a reverse was thwarted by penetration by the 49ers’ Anthony Dixon. Taking over deep in St. Louis territory, San Francisco scored a victory-clinching TD on the next play in a 23-13 game.

Make no mistake, a setback here and there won’t prevent Fisher and special teams coordinator John Fassel from trying. And it’s not as if they emptied their bag of tricks Sunday against Seattle.

“No. If the opportunity’s there, that’s how we are,” Fisher said. “That’s what we do.”

October 20, 2014 at 1:40 am #10004

RamBill
Participant

Strauss: Fisher’s gambling streak pays off
• Joe Strauss

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/joe-strauss/strauss-fisher-s-gambling-streak-pays-off/article_88101208-647a-5593-a015-c683c084de8e.html

The Rams played Sunday at Edward Jones Dome and something entertaining broke out.

No, really.

Mayflower’s Team took down the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks by two points because a previously 1-4 bunch played with poise — albeit not always with defensive precision — and their gambler-head coach proved unafraid of his shadow.

The Rams had a chance to blink. They could have added another ignominious second-half collapse to a list including painful losses to the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. They could have gone conservative and hoped for a gasping defense to somehow stymie a mobile quarterback on a roll. They could have adhered to convention on special teams instead of ordering a punt returned called “Mountaineer” that brought seven points in return.

The Rams entered 6 1/2-point home dogs and exited 28-26 winners. A season written in early scrawl achieved a fluid, legible, signature win.

Hounded this season by questions of underachievement, a delayed-impact draft class and absurd penalties, the Rams got big production from first- and second-year players while exhibiting rare discipline.

Most of all, coach Jeff Fisher reminded everyone that he has plenty of gamble in him.

The Rams led 21-3 in the second quarter but had to sweat out rookie running back Tre Mason’s final-possession fumble on what looked like a game-clinching third-down run. Fisher was so convinced the Seahawks had possession he was on the headset with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams when officials ruled Rams tight end Cory Harkey had stolen possession from Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman at the bottom of a scrum.

“When they gave us the ball, obviously, I was somewhat relieved,” Fisher deadpanned.

For all the stadium-related pessimism and self-inflicted wounds the Rams have absorbed this season, Sunday offered a glimpse at what is doable when they commit only two penalties, hold on to the ball and regenerate a pass rush. The Rams enjoyed better field position, lost fewer “hidden” yards and showed the sort of creativity downtrodden teams should chance more often against dominant ones.

“As long as we’re not hurting ourselves and creating negative field position and things like that we’re OK,” Fisher said.

This game was — dare we say? — fun.

Receiver Stedman Bailey transformed the first punt return of his career — high school, college, professional — into a second-quarter touchdown that would have made David Copperfield proud.

If punter Johnny Hekker fails to find Benny Cunningham on a fourth-quarter fake from his own 18-yard-line, Fisher is everybody’s bobo this morning. But it worked. And the credit goes to a coach willing to follow his well-researched hunch. Hekker, an accomplished quarterback at Bothell High in suburban Seattle, threw a high strike to Benny Cunningham, who pushed upfield for 18 yards.

“Coach Fisher’s a guy that’s known to roll the dice,” Hekker said. “When we prepare the way we do, it makes those gambles that much more sure.”

Fisher rated the odds of his punter throwing for a first down deep in his own territory as better than his defense keeping the visitors from a fourth consecutive scoring drive. The Seahawks dominated the yardage game after halftime, 303-161, and amassed nine more first downs for the game.

The heretofore missing Sack City pass rush at least re-established itself as Sack Village with three takedowns of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in a span of five first-half snaps. (“All it takes is a little snowflake to start an avalanche,” mused sack-master rush end Robert Quinn, who got one along with opposite end Eugene Sims and rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald.) However, Williams’ technique-challenged defense wheezed to stop Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson as he threw for 163 yards and ran for 101 in the second-half alone.

“You guys saw the flow of the game,” Fisher said. “We were having a hard time stopping Russell. There was too much time left on the clock right there and I didn’t want to give the ball back to him.”

The Rams found positive reinforcement six days after frittering away a 14-point second-quarter lead against the 49ers on Monday night. They couldn’t even make it a single-possession game after suffering a last-minute, first-half, 80-yard lightning strike.

This time the Rams used daring to hold on to a lead constructed from ground-and-pound and guile. The locals scored three touchdowns in the first half with quarterback Austin Davis averaging 4.56 yards on nine completions (on nine attempts). Rookie back Tre Mason continued his emergence by rushing for 85 yards, many of them behind rookie left tackle and former Auburn teammate Greg Robinson.

“That’s my brother. Blood couldn’t make us closer,” Mason, referring to a friend he called “dominant” Sunday.

“He’s my brother. He did it in college and he’s continuing to do it,” Robinson said. “When he’s down I help him up. When I’m down he helps me up.”

This was Fishball at its best, minus the all-too-familiar preposterous penalties.

A bad penalty or a Davis interception might well have turned this game. Instead, the Seahawks lost 89 yards on 10 penalties. The Rams were whistled only twice for 20 yards, once for a delay before punting. The Seahawks’ renowned defense never created a sack.

Yet there were times Fisher might as well have stood on the other end of the tunnel connecting the dome to Lumiere Casino. He calculated, bet big and hit.

Bailey had never fielded a punt before Sunday, certainly not an over-the-shoulder job while retreating inside his own 15-yard-line against the defending world champs.

The Rams call the play “Mountaineer” because it hinges on the two former West Virginia teammates, Bailey and primary return man Tavon Austin. Austin sells the punt on one side of the field while Bailey gets the cheese. Three times special teams coordinator John Fassel ran film of the Chicago Bears working the decoy against the Green Bay Packers several years ago. With Devin Hester as decoy, the play worked to perfection — except for a Bears holding penalty that negated the trickeration.

Based on film study, Fisher set the odds of the Seahawks taking the bait at 90 percent.

Cha-ching.

With Austin waving for a phantom catch in an Oscar-worthy performance across field, Bailey corralled the punt at his own 10, spun to the far sideline and saw the sea parted before him.

“Go. Go. Go, go, go. Get to the end zone as fast as I can,” Bailey recalled of his first thought upon seeing open acreage before him.

This is how losing teams with uncertain destinies reach out to a jaded fan base.

No one can tease this cynical market with January football. But creative, disciplined and unpredictable might sell. Sunday’s announced crowd of 57,855 was rumor only. The Rams took down the Seahawks for the third time in their last 19 games. That’s gambler fact.

October 20, 2014 at 1:44 am #10005

RamBill
Participant

‘Mountaineer’ special to Bailey
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/mountaineer-special-to-bailey/article_f2159430-b43c-5e6e-b222-9d7c5bdc1407.html

Rams receiver Stedman Bailey isn’t likely to forget his first career punt return. And neither will anyone else who watched it Sunday as the Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-26 at the Edward Jones Dome.

With the Rams up 14-3 midway though the second quarter and Seattle punting from its own 49, Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel called for “Mountaineer.’’

“It’s a designed play that we actually put in this week,’’ Bailey explained. “Coach Bones (Fassel) saw the Bears try it a few years back — it worked for them, too, but it was called back on a penalty. He noticed that when (Seattle’s) punter tried to sky it, to pin us deep, the punt always ended up in pretty much the same spot.’’

So with almost all of the Rams, including return man Tavon Austin, racing toward the left sideline — and drawing the pursuit of the the Seahawks — Bailey peeled off from his spot on the opposite side of the field, came up with an over-the-shoulder catch, turned and raced 90 yards down the sideline for a touchdown that pushed the Rams’ lead to 21-3.

“Just a dream come true, really,’’ said Bailey, who had never fielded a punt in a game before. “Honestly didn’t think it’d work as well as it did, but our guys, especially Tavon, did a great job of selling it. They all went to the right and (the Seahawks) went that way, too.

“I caught the ball, turned around and saw a lot of green grass and a couple of our guys in front of me. Then I just ran for my life.’’

The misdirection could not have worked any better.

“We practiced it all week,’’ tight end and special teamer Cory Harkey said. “When the coaches dialed it up, we were all pretty pumped.’’

Running back and special teamer Chase Reynolds agreed: “When we watched the tape and saw everybody from the coverage team drawn away from the ball, it was crazy. It seemed like my guy was thinking about going to the left, so I really had to overplay to the right and he ended up following. Their guys just kind of followed the herd, I guess.

“It seemed like everything on that play came together for us and ‘Sted’ did the rest.’’

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said he discussed the play with Fassel on Wednesday, worked on it through the rest of the week and decided to give it a shot with 7:24 to play before halftime.

“It was an automatic based on field position,’’ Fisher said. “When they saw Tavon running over, they probably thought the ball was mis-hit. The down side was that (Bailey) doesn’t catch it, the ball goes in the end zone (and) it’s a touchback or it’s downed. The up side was we felt like if (Bailey) was able to field it, then we had a chance to probably put some points on the board.’’

Bailey credited fellow ex-University of West Virginia Mountaineer Austin for making the play work, while Austin deflected the praise to Fassel.

“I feel like we have the best special teams coach in the NFL,’’ Austin said. “He drew it up and got us to believe it could work. Everybody worked together to make it work and ‘Sted’ finished it off with a great return.’’

But the “Mountaineer’’ return wasn’t the only game-changing effort turned in by the Rams special teams on Sunday.

After Seattle opened the scoring with a Steven Hauschka field goal, Benny Cunningham returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to the Seahawks’ 31. Six plays later, rookie Tre Mason picked up his first NFL touchdown with a 6-yard scoring run.

“Tre got the first defender, giving me a chance to make a move, and the next thing I remember is Cody Davis making a block that opened up some more space. From there, I just took it as far as I could,’’ Cunningham said said. “Any time you can make play like that, a play that can provide a spark for the offense, it feels incredible.’’

Cunningham, who led the Rams in receiving with five catches for 46 yards, hauled in a 5-yard pass from Austin Davis for a second-quarter touchdown that put the Rams on top 14-3 and added a 18-yard catch on a pass from punter Johnny Hekker on a fourth-and-3 fake from the Rams’ 18 with just under three minutes left. That allowed the Rams to keep the ball and eventually close out the two-point victory over the reigning Super Bowl champs.

“You have to tip your hat to Coach Fisher for having the (guts) to make tough calls like that, knowing the game was on the line,’’ Bailey said. “He showed faith in us and we went out and we executed.’’

Cunningham said the pass from Hekker, with Bailey and Reynolds running clear-out routes, is one that is practiced regularly at Rams Park.

“Johnny and I stay after practice to work on that play — 10 reps, five to each side of the field,’’ Cunningham said. “I think it’s great that the coaches had faith in us to try something like that.’’

Cunningham felt like Sunday’s special-teams’ effort was owed to Fassel.

“It’s a proud moment when you can go out and make plays for a coach who works so hard for you,’’ the second-year pro from Middle Tennessee State said.

October 20, 2014 at 10:49 am #10024

wv
Participant

“…The Rams call the play “Mountaineer” because it hinges on the two former West Virginia teammates, Bailey and primary return man Tavon Austin. Austin sells the punt on one side of the field while Bailey gets the cheese. Three times special teams coordinator John Fassel ran film of the Chicago Bears working the decoy against the Green Bay Packers several years ago. With Devin Hester as decoy, the play worked to perfection — except for a Bears holding penalty that negated the trickeration….”

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v
m o u n t a i n e e r

October 20, 2014 at 11:23 am #10027

zn
Moderator

Here’s How The Rams Knew Their Brilliant Fake Punt Return Trick Play Was Going To Work

By Tony Manfred

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-rams-knew-brilliant-fake-130817382.html

The St. Louis Rams perfectly executed a rare fake punt return for a 90-yard touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

The Rams pretended to catch the punt on the left side of the field, but the ball was actually caught on the right side of the field. The Seahawks fell for it, running to the wrong side of the field, and Rams returner Steadman Bailey was able to waltz into the end zone for a touchdown.

It was a brilliantly planned play, but there’s one pivotal question: How did the Rams know where the Seahawks were going to punt it?

In order to pull this off, the Rams had to know that the Seahawks were going to punt it to the right. The Rams faked out the Seahawks because their players all ran to the left side of the field immediately after the ball was kicked. How did they know with certainty that the ball wasn’t going to be there?

After the game Rams players and coaches explained how they came up with the play. It turns out they installed the trick play on Thursday because they noticed on tape that Seahawks punter Jon Ryan almost always kicked it to the right side of the field when he was trying to pin teams deep.

Bailey told the St. Louis Dispatch:

“Coach Bones (Fassel) saw the Bears try it a few years back — it worked for them, too, but it was called back on a penalty. He noticed that when (Seattle’s) punter tried to sky it, to pin us deep, the punt always ended up in pretty much the same spot.”

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said there was a 90% chance that Ryan was going to kick it to the right on a punt from that distance, so he gave the play the green light.

The only way the Rams could have done this is if they knew where Seattle was going to punt it. And they did.

Fisher talked about the play at his press conference:

“We executed it in practice. Johnny (Hekker) gave him a really good look. And the key is that (WR) Tavon (Austin) and (S) Cody (Davis) really oversell that the ball is going…the team is expecting the ball to come down to their left, our right. And so when they saw Tavon running over, they probably thought it was miss-hit. The downside was he doesn’t catch it, the ball goes in the end zone, it’s a touch back or it’s downed. The upside was we felt like if he was able to field it, then we had a chance to probably put points on the board. This is something, it’s a copycat league okay. The Bears did this with (Devin) Hester against the Packers six or seven years ago and scored, but it was called back for holding. But we just felt, based on the information that we had and everything, we felt like…I had enough…it was an automatic based on field position as well. I told Coach Fassel to go ahead and run it if we had the right field position and we did. So it worked. Special teams obviously played a big factor in this one.”

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the Rams did ” some unbelievable cool things” on special teams in the game, which is pretty accurate.

October 20, 2014 at 2:02 pm #10030
PA Ram
Participant
Sorry I missed one of the coolest Rams plays EVER!

I watched the highlights about 3 times before I figured out what happened. At first I thought someone somehow threw it to Bailey. But this was great. Misdirection. It’s like a magic trick. The Rams need more magic tricks. The Houdinis of football.
- This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by PA Ram.
- This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by zn.
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. " Philip K. Dick
October 22, 2014 at 10:03 am #10166

RamBill
Participant

Mike Florio talks about how the St. Louis Rams were able to pull off “one of the great special teams plays in recent history” en route to an upset victory over the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks.

http://www.rams-news.com/game-of-inches-rams-dissect-exploit-seahawks-special-teams-video/

October 23, 2014 at 7:52 pm #10295

zn
Moderator

From the chat room.

The fake punt.

–
InvaderRam
holy dhir!
zn
yes!
OahuRam
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW
zn
unbelievable
OahuRam
!!!!!
OahuRam
Oh my Hecker!
Herzog
what happened??
Herzog
i’m blind remember
zn
fake punt
zn
pass
zn
1st down
InvaderRam
fake punt pass to cunningham
Herzog
O
Herzog
M
Herzog
G
InvaderRam
take that carroll!
zn
smart, smart play too
zn
well designed, great execution
OahuRam
yep…Bailey motioned inward from the Left at the snap and Cunningham release out to the left where Bailey was….great pass by Hecker….many yards for the 1st down

October 25, 2014 at 10:34 am #10400

RamBill
Participant

Rams receiver Stedman Bailey on the fake punt return he and Tavon Austin pulled off against the Seahawks. He talks with Rams Game Announcer Steve Savard.

http://www.rams-news.com/stedman-bailey-on-fake-punt-return-tavon-deserves-an-oscar-video/

October 25, 2014 at 6:12 pm #10419

RamBill
Participant

“It wasn’t anything extravagant.” Rams Special Teams Coach John Fassel on the “Mountaineer” Fake Punt Return

http://www.rams-news.com/john-fassel-on-the-mountaineer-fake-punt-return-video/

October 25, 2014 at 11:54 pm #10431

RamBill
Participant

Watch as former Rams player Will Witherspoon breaks down film of the Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey and his exciting punt return for a TD vs. Seattle.

http://www.rams-news.com/all-22-film-break-down-of-stedman-baileys-punt-return-video/
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