Rams finish ninth in special-teams rankings

Rams finish ninth in special-teams rankings

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15753/rams-finish-ninth-in-special-teams-rankings

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Each year, Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News compiles a season-ending ranking of each team’s performance on special teams in a given season.

This year, Gosselin placed the St. Louis Rams at No. 9 in his annual rankings. The rankings factor in 22 categories with points assigned based on where the team finishes within each category. The lower the score, the better.

According to Gosselin’s methodology, the Rams accrued 308.5 points in 2014, which was best amongst NFC West division teams and third in the NFC. For basis of comparison, the Philadelphia Eagles finished first with 201.5 points and the Green Bay Packers were last with 450 points.

Of the 22 categories, the Rams ranked first in opponents net punting at 35.9 yards. That’s largely the result of the work done by punt returner Tavon Austin. Austin was third in the NFL in punt return yards with 391, behind only Philadelphia’s Darren Sproles and Kansas City’s De’Anthony Thomas. Austin was a Pro Bowl alternate for his work.

But that wasn’t the only area where the Rams’ special teams excelled in 2014. They cut down on penalties and also provided plenty of fireworks in the form of successful fakes and the 90-yard punt return for a touchdown by Stedman Bailey to help beat the Seattle Seahawks.

Punter Johnny Hekker was also outstanding again, finishing fifth in net punting at 42.77 yards per attempt and kick returner Benny Cunningham led the NFC in return average at 27.5 yards per attempt, which was fifth in the NFL.

Were it not for a couple of miscues such as the blocked punt that went for a touchdown for the Eagles in a Rams’ loss and the kick return allowed for a touchdown against the Chiefs, chances are the Rams would have ranked higher in Gosselin’s poll.

By way of comparison, the folks at Football Outsiders ranked the Rams seventh overall in special teams this year. They were fourth in those same rankings last year.

Regardless of the polls and rankings, it’s become quite clear that the Rams under special-teams coordinator John Fassel and coach Jeff Fisher put a priority on special-teams play and have been rewarded for that commitment with consistently solid performances in all facets.