After Monday night’s overtime loss to the Bills, Rams coach Sean McVay minced no words — he said the field goal unit lost the game.
The next day, kicker Harrison Mevis lost his roster spot.
And it wasn’t just that the potential game-winning field goal from 48 yards was blocked. McVay believes, even without the effort from Gregory Rousseau to get a hand on the ball, the kick would have missed.
“I didn’t think it would have gone in, I did not,” McVay told reporters on Friday. “I could be wrong, but it didn’t look like the trajectory was on alignment.”
If so, the block straightened it out. And it nearly had enough distance to clear the crossbar.
With Mevis gone, Blake Grupe takes over.
“He has a nice demeanor about himself,” McVay said regarding the team’s new kicker. “There’s a quiet confidence, but a humility that you want. I’m looking forward to seeing him produce and then I think it’s part of our job to put him in positions that have successful outcomes. Ideally, it’s more extra points than anything else.”
Still, Grupe’s range (his career long is 60 yards) gives the team a broader window for attempting field goals.
“I think having a strong leg is attractive, especially like at the end of a half or at the end of the game,” special-teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone told reporters. “You need the range to be able to do so and to be able to hit it with accuracy. I think he’s done a good job in his career to be able to do that. He gets good elevation on his kicks. He has a strong leg despite his size. He is an explosive guy. I really am excited to work with him.”
Elevation is a key factor. Mevis wasn’t able to get the ball over Rousseau’s hand. Even if it had, McVay thinks it would have missed the mark.