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By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Tuesday, Sep. 21 2004
Who would have thought Tony Horne would be so hard to replace?
From 1998 through 2000, Horne returned five kickoffs for touchdowns for the
Rams - four in the regular season, and one in the playoffs. With Horne leading
the way, the Rams led the league in kickoff returns and average drive start
(following kickoffs) in 1999.
He was considered one of the NFL's most feared return men when he signed with
Kansas City as a restricted free agent after the 2000 season. But beset by a
toe problem, he never played another game in the NFL, getting cut by the Chiefs
on Sept. 3, 2001.
Nonetheless, when Horne departed, so did the Rams' kickoff return game. They
haven't scored on a kickoff return since Horne left. In fact, they haven't
really come close. Only once since 2000 has the team had a kickoff return go
for more than 42 yards, with coach Mike Martz going through a succession of
return men:
In 2001, Trung Canidate was the primary kickoff returner, but Yo
Murphy, Dre Bly and Aveion Cason also had at least four returns apiece.
In '02, it was Terrence Wilkins, but Canidate, Troy Edwards and
Lamar Gordon also got in the picture, particularly when Wilkins was benched for
the final three games of the season.
Last season, Arlen Harris averaged 23.0 yards on 51 returns, but
Mike Furrey (seven returns), Joffrey Reynolds (six) - remember him? - and even
DeJuan Groce (one) also got into the act.
So what does Martz look for in a kickoff returner?
"Get us in good field position," Martz said. "The ideal guy would be a guy like
Tony Horne, that's a threat to take it the distance at any time. That's what
you'd like to have. But we don't have that right now."
Not even close. Two games into the season, the Rams have one of the worst
kickoff return games in the NFL. They have advanced the ball no farther than
the 23-yard line on any return this season - and that's the only time they've
advanced the ball past the 20 on a kick that actually was returned. (Sunday
against Atlanta, they started on the 40 - per league rule - when Jay Feely's
fourth-quarter kickoff rolled out of bounds.)
Harris handled the Rams' first kickoff return of the season, against Arizona,
but has since given way to rookie Steven Jackson.
"Steven is fearless," Martz said. "He absolutely is, and he's a guy that will
fly up in there and hit a seam and go with it. But the more involved he becomes
in the offense, the less chance we'll use him as a kickoff returner."
Jackson didn't return any kickoffs in the preseason, but Martz decided to try
him against Arizona and Atlanta because, "I just felt like he's such a good
open-field runner - he sees things so well - that we're going to get good field
position out of it."
But a couple of Jackson's returns have been moved back because of holding
penalties. And Jackson didn't help matters on a touchback against the Falcons,
getting penalized 10 yards for taunting.
"I guess he just did it without thinking," Martz said. "He was upset. You just
have to have better control of your emotions. You just do. We obviously
addressed it."
Kickoff returns frequently end in violent collisions. But when asked if he was
worried about the danger of injury with Jackson returning kicks, Martz joked:
"He won't hurt anybody. ... I told him to take it easy on guys when he returns
the ball."
Without getting specific, Martz said the team is addressing its kick return
problem.
"We were really close on a couple of them, very close," he said. "We've got a
lot of new guys back there. And obviously with Steven returning kicks, he's not
done it for a while. We'll get that going."
Jackson last returned kicks as a freshman at Oregon State in 2001. He returned
only seven that season but had a 34.3-yard average, including an 89-yard
touchdown against Northern Arizona
Of the Post-Dispatch
Tuesday, Sep. 21 2004
Who would have thought Tony Horne would be so hard to replace?
From 1998 through 2000, Horne returned five kickoffs for touchdowns for the
Rams - four in the regular season, and one in the playoffs. With Horne leading
the way, the Rams led the league in kickoff returns and average drive start
(following kickoffs) in 1999.
He was considered one of the NFL's most feared return men when he signed with
Kansas City as a restricted free agent after the 2000 season. But beset by a
toe problem, he never played another game in the NFL, getting cut by the Chiefs
on Sept. 3, 2001.
Nonetheless, when Horne departed, so did the Rams' kickoff return game. They
haven't scored on a kickoff return since Horne left. In fact, they haven't
really come close. Only once since 2000 has the team had a kickoff return go
for more than 42 yards, with coach Mike Martz going through a succession of
return men:
In 2001, Trung Canidate was the primary kickoff returner, but Yo
Murphy, Dre Bly and Aveion Cason also had at least four returns apiece.
In '02, it was Terrence Wilkins, but Canidate, Troy Edwards and
Lamar Gordon also got in the picture, particularly when Wilkins was benched for
the final three games of the season.
Last season, Arlen Harris averaged 23.0 yards on 51 returns, but
Mike Furrey (seven returns), Joffrey Reynolds (six) - remember him? - and even
DeJuan Groce (one) also got into the act.
So what does Martz look for in a kickoff returner?
"Get us in good field position," Martz said. "The ideal guy would be a guy like
Tony Horne, that's a threat to take it the distance at any time. That's what
you'd like to have. But we don't have that right now."
Not even close. Two games into the season, the Rams have one of the worst
kickoff return games in the NFL. They have advanced the ball no farther than
the 23-yard line on any return this season - and that's the only time they've
advanced the ball past the 20 on a kick that actually was returned. (Sunday
against Atlanta, they started on the 40 - per league rule - when Jay Feely's
fourth-quarter kickoff rolled out of bounds.)
Harris handled the Rams' first kickoff return of the season, against Arizona,
but has since given way to rookie Steven Jackson.
"Steven is fearless," Martz said. "He absolutely is, and he's a guy that will
fly up in there and hit a seam and go with it. But the more involved he becomes
in the offense, the less chance we'll use him as a kickoff returner."
Jackson didn't return any kickoffs in the preseason, but Martz decided to try
him against Arizona and Atlanta because, "I just felt like he's such a good
open-field runner - he sees things so well - that we're going to get good field
position out of it."
But a couple of Jackson's returns have been moved back because of holding
penalties. And Jackson didn't help matters on a touchback against the Falcons,
getting penalized 10 yards for taunting.
"I guess he just did it without thinking," Martz said. "He was upset. You just
have to have better control of your emotions. You just do. We obviously
addressed it."
Kickoff returns frequently end in violent collisions. But when asked if he was
worried about the danger of injury with Jackson returning kicks, Martz joked:
"He won't hurt anybody. ... I told him to take it easy on guys when he returns
the ball."
Without getting specific, Martz said the team is addressing its kick return
problem.
"We were really close on a couple of them, very close," he said. "We've got a
lot of new guys back there. And obviously with Steven returning kicks, he's not
done it for a while. We'll get that going."
Jackson last returned kicks as a freshman at Oregon State in 2001. He returned
only seven that season but had a 34.3-yard average, including an 89-yard
touchdown against Northern Arizona
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