The Rams have two of the league's best kickers, neither of whom have anything to prove, neither of whom are not a lock to make the team, neither of whom will benefit from extended use in the preseason. In fact, it's to their detriment. The Rams need to keep Donnie Jones' and Josh Brown's legs fresh for the regular season. The news that Brown is already playing with a sore hip is all the more reason to preserve these guys from exposure in meaningless games.
The Rams didn't sign a "camp leg" to take care of extra punting and kicking off in August. That's fine; the team can use those roster slots to boost competition at the many positions where they're bad. But that doesn't excuse the coaching staff from wearing out the kickers in August. I don't need to see Donnie Jones lined up behind the 3rd-string punt coverage unit in the 4th quarter of the 4th preseason game. That's just an invitation to disaster.
Not that Steve Spagnuolo would EVER do this, but this is what he should be doing during preseason games, in the name of protecting two of his team's most valuable resources, its kickers.
* Unless it's to win a game, Brown doesn't need to try any FGs under 40 yards. We already know he can make those. If the offense encounters a 4th down in the red zone, it should go for it every time. They need the reps, not Brown and Chris Massey.
* Same deal for extra points. Unless it's to win the game, I don't see why you need to bring Brown onto the field for any. We know he can make them. Give him a token one every game and go for two the rest of the night. That's something the Rams need work at. It also significantly reduces the chance of a tie game. Nobody wants a tie in preseason.
* The Rams also don't need to try ANY FGs unless it's 4th down and more than 5 yards, unless it's to win the game. 4th-and-2 at the opponent 30, you're freaking going for it. If Brown's 100% healthy, I'd say it's OK to bring him out once in this situation. Otherwise, he could easily get the whole preseason off.
* And now that Brown's injured, if they're not going to bring in a camp leg for kickoffs, they'd better just squib everything. Kickoffs are the biggest strain on a kicker.
* Donnie Jones punts no more than three times. All night. He averages 5 a game in his career. Three should be plenty to keep him in tune for the regular season. If the Rams punt three times in the first quarter, so be it. Jones gets the rest of the night off, except to hold on kicks.
So you're asking if I'm going for it on 4th-and-25 from my own 1-yard line in the 4th quarter? Why, yes, I am. If it fails, my defense just got a chance to show off what it can do in a goal line situation.
I'm reducing the chances of a rookie making eye-opening, team-making special teams plays, possibly. But what's more important, having Jones at punter all season or finding out if David Roach can beat out Kevin Payne? Let's face it; you lose Jones, you're losing 10 yards a punt; no special teams guy is going to make that up.
* Besides going for every red zone 4th down, every short 4th down in FG range and every 4th down after the punter gets the night off, there's one additional twist I want the Rams to do offensively. The last drive for every QB should be in the 2-minute offense. The Rams' regular-season 2-minute drill has been lousy for a long time. They've rarely needed it lately in the regular season, and when they have, it's looked like they rarely run it. Lots of 2-minute work, against defenses who want very much to stop them, is only bound to help this offense out in the regular season.
You're laughing, I know. The Rams are going to lose games 63-7! Maybe, maybe not. But these are preseason games. They don't count. We don't care about the final score. We care about getting this team reps against hostile opposition at things they need the work at. 2-pointers. 4th downs. 2:00 offense. A lot of work in those areas only helps this team for the regular season.
Which it should enter with fresh kickers.
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