Player articles, 8/14: Hooey, Hekker, Austin, Bayer

Hekker hopes to improve on record season
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10473/hekker-hopes-to-improve-on-record-season

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Attempting to figure out what St. Louis Rams punter Johnny Hekker can do for an encore a season after setting an NFL record for net punting isn’t difficult.

Even with the bar now set to a higher standard, the goal is simple.

“Do it again,” Hekker said. “Last season at the beginning of the season Coach (John) Fassel sat us down and had some goals written down on a piece of paper. Mine was the Rams’ all-time net record. I didn’t even know what the mark was. And we went out and messed around and broke the NFL record, so it’s just a great feeling when you can set a goal, visualize it and then go out and achieve it. I think that’s something I’m going to try to do again this season. I’ve got a number in my head I’d like to attain, but that’s going to stay in my head for a while.”

Considering Hekker exceeded even the goals set forth by demanding special-teams coach Fassel, it’s hard to cast doubt that he and his coverage unit won’t go out and reset the bar once again. It won’t be easy after Hekker averaged 44.23 net punting yards on 78 attempts.

Entering his third season in the league, Hekker made great strides in 2013. As a rookie, he struggled with consistency and learning the ins and outs of directional punting, something Fassel demands from the position. The idea being that a well-angled punt with the proper hang time leaves little opportunity for return.

During his rookie season, Hekker hit his spot about half the time. Last year, Fassel and assistant special-teams coach Paul Boudreau Jr. were more surprised when he didn’t hit the intended landmark.

“He was really good, and obviously the goal is to be better,” Fassel said. “When you look at the all-time net punt record … you don’t want to be worse than that, so I mean that’s a high standard. Johnny even knows, there’s some things that I’m not going to tell you that we talked about where he can improve and he knows he can improve.

“If we can make improvements in a couple of those things that we’ve talked about, then I don’t want to say it because it may give away some different things, but there’s room for improvement.”

Hekker also doesn’t want to tip his hand on what some of his other goals are for the season. And considering his eccentric personality, it might be best not to try to dive too far into his mind. Hekker does openly acknowledge a few aspects of his game he’d like to improve.

Among the items on his must-improve list are adding hang time to force more fair catches, generally adding consistency and building a repetitive warmup routine.

Beyond that, Hekker is also looking to take a page out of the book of “Zoolander.” Although his directional punting improved in 2013, Hekker says there’s a noticeable difference between when he aims right and when he goes left.

“This offseason I put a lot of emphasis on working on left directional,” Hekker said. “Last year I was pretty effective at putting the ball out of bounds and down the field going right, but going left is a little more difficult for a righty punter. But this season I want to be more effective at that.”

Adding to Hekker’s cause is the return of a young and talented coverage unit. Special-teams units are perpetually in a state of flux because those rosters spots are always up for grabs. But Hekker can rest easy knowing that at least core guys such as snapper Jake McQuaide, linebackers Ray-Ray Armstrong and Daren Bates, safety Rodney McLeod and receiver Stedman Bailey (after a four-game suspension) will be back in the mix.

That group struggled with silly penalties early last season, and though only a handful came on the punt team, there’s reason to believe the coverage will improve with another year of experience and the addition of feisty defensive back Lamarcus Joyner.

Should Hekker and his teammates again find a way to break the net punting record, it will likely go with little fanfare as it did last season. That doesn’t seem to be of much concern to Hekker. After all, he earned first-team All-Pro honors and his first trip to the Pro Bowl last season.

And Hekker can point to the Hall of Fame induction of Ray Guy as proof that even punters can earn a place among the game’s greats. He even has an addendum for NFL Network’s Rich Eisen and his “punters are people, too” campaign.

“Punters are Hall of Famers, too,” Hekker said, laughing. “Take that Rich Eisen.”

It’s way too early to put Hekker in that kind of company, but if he meets his goal of setting an NFL record for net punting every season, he’ll have an argument to make.

TE Alex Bayer one of Rams’ camp surprises
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10516/te-alex-bayer-one-of-rams-camp-surprises

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Back in the spring when the St. Louis Rams were going through organized team activities, it was clear that most of the rookies were still working to get acclimated to their new jobs.

There were a couple of notable exceptions, including first-round pick Aaron Donald, who has looked advanced beyond his years from the moment he arrived in St. Louis. But another came in the form of tight end Alex Bayer, an undrafted rookie from Bowling Green.

Although the Rams were not in pads, Bayer has a knack for showing up a couple of times each practice with a catch in traffic or down the field. In this training camp, with the pads on, Bayer picked up where he left off.

After a five-catch, 71-yard debut against the New Orleans Saints last week, the secret seems to be getting out. Bayer has a legitimate shot to win a spot on the 53-man roster.

“He has consistent hands,” tight ends coach Rob Boras said. “He’s going to be in the right place at the right time. He’s very trustworthy. Then you saw him Friday night he stepped up and made some plays which we thought he was capable of doing.”

After a solid college career, Bayer thought he had a chance to get drafted but was well aware that he’d be a late-round choice if he was. When he didn’t hear his name, he was quickly deluged with plenty of opportunities around the league. More than 10 teams called with their pitch.

But Bayer did his homework, studying the depth charts of teams around the league and learning the preferred number of tight ends each has traditionally kept. In the Rams, Bayer saw the offseason departure of fourth tight end Mike McNeill and was aware they had kept four in each of the two years under coach Jeff Fisher.

Bayer felt additional comfort with the Rams since Boras had paid him a visit the week of the draft, putting him through a workout and taking him to lunch.

“We knew before the draft this was going to be the team to go to if I wasn’t going to be drafted anywhere else,” Bayer said. “So I’m really happy.”

Bayer’s happiness has apparently translated to a solid training camp that has him in prime position to win a potential fourth roster spot for a tight end. Known for his pass-catching ability and athleticism, the 6-foot-4, 258-pound Bayer has been asked to do a lot since his arrival.

Throughout a given practice, Bayer can be seen lining up in the slot, attached to the line of scrimmage as an in-line blocker and putting his hand down to play fullback. The last one has been his biggest transition after a college career in which blocking in space was rarely asked of him.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to be on this team,” Bayer said. “I’m kind of liking playing fullback. It wasn’t something I did in college but you’ve got to be able to adjust, especially in this league. You’re not going to be able to do the same thing two weeks in a row, you have got to be able to do different things.”

The battle for a possible fourth tight end spot will almost certainly come down to Bayer and Justice Cunningham. Jared Cook, Lance Kendricks and Cory Harkey are well-positioned to hold down the first three but a possible fourth spot could be a tough decision.

The Rams were excited to land Cunningham late last season and think highly of his ability as a blocker. In some sense, the choice between Cunningham and Bayer could come down to whether the Rams prefer the polished blocker working on his pass catching (Cunningham) or the polished pass catcher working on his blocking (Bayer).

There also remains the possibility that the Rams will only keep three, something that will have to be sorted out later.

“We are just trying to be the best tight end group in the NFL, not necessarily have the best tight end but be the best group,” Boras said. “Whether that’s three guys or four guys, whatever we are blessed to have in the room, we’ll take. They’re both still learning.”

Cunningham has been in St. Louis a little longer and appeared to have the early edge, but based on performance in camp and the preseason opener, it’s hard to believe that margin still exists. And if Bayer continues on his current trajectory, it’s Cunningham who will have to play catchup.

“I try not to look at that,” Bayer said. “I just go out there and do what I can control and that’s play football. Our lockers are right next to each other in the locker room, we are always talking and helping each other out. I’m not trying to look at it as competition. I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to be on this team. With the limited reps I get as a lower tight end, I just try to make every play count.”