BREAKING NEWS: RAMS Head Coach Sean McVay Explains Decision To Replace Lucas Havrisik With Brett Maher and why Matthew Stafford is absent in match squad

The Los Angeles Rams realized they had to improve their special teams even though they advanced to the postseason. The Rams’ special teams, especially their kicking game, have been by far the poorest on the squad. As a result, the team has allowed points to be scored. Lucas Havrisik missed two extra points in Los Angeles’ victory over the New York Giants, almost costing them the game.

Following the unsuccessful attempt at extra points, the Rams released Havrisik and activated veteran Brett Maher. Sean McVay clarified that Maher’s experience played a major role in the selection.

“Yes, I believe that entering the playoffs alters the conversation a little bit about our future plans, so we wanted to bring in someone with some experience,” McVay remarked.
“(K) Brett Maher will ultimately be brought back.” This is a man with experience. I believe we asked him to try a lot of long field goals in some of the earlier circumstances he was in. When it came to some of those field goals from 50 yards and lower, he was comparatively reliable. Because of this, we must get Lucas back in here and we will get him moving. However, you never know what will happen to Lucas. He seems like a guy you can trust, based on our conversation. He is quite talented. When you consider some of these kickers’ backgrounds, you can see that it occasionally takes some time to get comfortable and perform as consistently as you would like. Many accomplished men have had successful careers despite overcoming some early setbacks or difficulties.

The decision to break ways with Havrisik was influenced, McVay continued, by the closer margins in the postseason.
“I believe it was what we believed would allow us to perform to the best of our abilities, therefore there were times when you needed to exercise patience and refrain from making snap decisions. Although Lucas did some excellent things, in my opinion, the overall consistency was lacking, particularly when it came to some of the shorter range kicks that we expected to be at a higher percentage. As a result, we felt that the move was best for the group as a whole. Thus, yes in a sense, but that essentially summed up the choice.

Maher is an improvement over Havrisik because he was flawless on field goals inside 40 yards and didn’t miss an extra point attempt. Maher has to be able to maintain the Rams’ momentum in the postseason by offering some stability.
Says Sean McVay, the Rams looked into kicking options.
Even though Maher was able to regain his employment in Los Angeles, he acknowledged that he and the team looked into other possibilities.

Certainly, there are options available, and some individuals have some knowledge with them. Although there is no ideal situation, when you consider the possibilities and the overall landscape, we believed that this would be the best chance for us to proceed in the direction we wish to. That’s basically how we decided on Brett.