There were high hopes that the Los Angeles Rams finally fixed their years-long special teams issues entering the 2026 season. The team did away with their old policy of band-aiding the issue after last season became the first time in years that the special teams unit caused their season to end prematurely.
Perhaps that's a bit harsh, but the reality is that Rams fans and members of the media can always pinpoint the exact roster move that ended Super Bowl campaigns. A lack of attention with the secondary, using limited resources at off-ball linebacker, dedicating cap space to odd places, failure to invest in the running back position after Todd Gurley. You know, the works.
Kyren Williams is an All-Pro. He also fell into their lap. As did Puka Nacua,
and their defense. We can not take away the fact that Les Snead and the Rams are one of the best at scouting and developing players in the NFL. They are. They also find talent where no one else is looking because they have to, out of financial necessity.
Doing so means they have to take gambles. However, those gambles are insured by the fact that Sean McVay is a genius and has an offense that can mask issues caused by young players – as he did for the last three seasons. It's how they do things, and to be fair, their success and future spots in Canton speak for themselves.
Now, those young players have also stepped up on offense and defense. The issue is that the byproduct of the "F them picks," mentality is the need for those other players to fill bigger roles, as they have the contracts to fit inside the team's complex financial books. Roles they may not be equipped for.
That means already limited resources get thrown at the special teams. That's what is happening again. New special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, new long snapper Joe Cardona, linebacker Grant Stuard – they can all do so much. They can't stop Ethan Evans from being inconsistent with punts; they can't control what players they have. All they can do is coach them the best they can.
Tanner Ingle, Emmanuel Forbes, Xavier Smith. How much more do we need to see? What are we seeing? How is this OK? Just because the unit hasn't flat-out lost games as they did last season does not mean something isn't looming, especially with how all these injuries are piling up for Los Angeles.
So is it the players or coaches? Is it both? Because it's …something.
This is yet another letdown that comes from the top. The notion that this team was going to run through the NFL was built on the fact that they fixed every issue from last season. Aaron Donald is more than enough to make up for Myles Garrett's absence; the secondary did enough on Sunday night to win, even with their issues following Jaylen Watson's injury, and Josh Wallace could prove himself this week.
The biggest red flag for this team moving forward remains on special teams. Too many issues, inconsistencies, penalties, and mistakes. By no means should the Rams look to make a coaching move this early, but if the issues can not be fixed in practice, something needs to change.
Regardless, the fact that we're still talking about this shows a stark contrast in who the Rams are and who they want to be. Seattle doesn't have special teams questions. Neither does Kansas City. Bill Belichick’s Patriots never did. Yet, in the McVay era, they have gone from All-Pros and the best unit in football to a special teams operation barely hanging on. That's not championship quality. This is the one difference between them and the elite.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams won't catch the NFL's best with current special teams issues
