By now, Sean McVay is probably tired of answering questions about the Rams’ kicker situation. It’s been a revolving door all season, with three players handling the kicking duties through 10 games.
Ideally, Matt Gay will bring an end to the countless questions after lifting the Rams to victory on Monday night by drilling a 40-yard game-winning field goal against the Bucs – who happen to be the team that drafted and cut him last year.
After the win, McVay was visibly excited to see the way Gay handled himself on short notice, having just joined the team on Saturday for his first practice. Even the 44-yarder that he missed wasn’t overly concerning to the coach.
“Watching the way Matt handled himself throughout the game, you could feel there was a lot of confidence,” he said. “I know he had the one miss. But, you can tell the difference between a ‘miss’ and then one of those where ‘that looks a little shaky.’ He was true all night. Great height, good timing, and he was very accurate. I loved what he did. It was a great snap, great hold, great operation. He made it and it was as true as it gets.”
Gay was a fifth-round pick for a reason, looking like a great kicker prospect out of Utah. He has a big leg with a long of 58 yards, which he made last year as a rookie. He’s 6-foot, 230-plus pounds, too, with a physique unlike most other kickers.
In practice, Gay made an immediate impression on the Rams, with players and coaches coming away impressed by the way he drills his kicks. McVay also couldn’t help but notice how big Gay is for a kicker, saying he looks like he works out with Aaron Donald.
“I think, really he came in and – under the circumstances – it was an exciting thing,” McVay added. “That gave us a little bit of excitement watching him kick on [Saturday]. Guys were ‘Oooh’ing and ‘Aaah’ing and you could see the height on the ball and the leg strength. He looks like he trains with Aaron Donald. The kicker is pretty jacked, man. I was pleased with him. I thought he handled himself really well. It doesn’t take anything away from Austin MacGinnis because he would have easily stepped in and we felt good about him had Matt not come in and been so impressive in the limited fashion. But we’re looking forward to continuing to improve in that phase of our team.”
The Rams’ longest made field goal is still just 42 yards, and they’ve had their kicker miss at least one attempt in nine of their 10 games this season. The problem is hardly solved, but at least Gay appears to be on the right track as a replacement for Kai Forbath and Samuel Sloman.
