McVay Reveals Why Rams Signed K Maher, Cut Havrisik
The Los Angeles Rams have turned on the page on their 3-6 start, winning six of their last seven games … but are revisiting at least one chapter of their early-season struggles. Los Angeles announced Monday it waived kicker Lucas Havrisik, who missed two extra points in Sunday’s 26-25 victory over the New York Giants and made just four of nine field goals from 40-plus yards in nine games. In place of Havrisik, the Rams opted to re-sign kicker Brett Maher, who was waived by Los Angeles after Week 7. So, why the change?
Rams coach Sean McVay revealed his team’s clinching of a playoff berth Sunday played an important part in the equation. “Getting into the playoffs definitely changes a little bit of the dialogue in regard to what we know we have coming down the pipe,” McVay said. “So, wanted to get somebody in here that had some experience. (Maher is) a guy that has had experience.”
Another important factor is consistency – Havrisik missed at least one attempt, be it a field goal or extra point, in six of his nine appearances. Heading into Week 17, McVay said he wasn’t considering a move to replace Havrisik, but the misses on extra points proved too much for the 24-year-old to overcome.
“There were some good things that Lucas did,” McVay said. “But I think the overall consistency, especially some of those shorter-range kicks that we expect to be at a higher percentage, we just weren’t coming through enough and we felt like the move was going to be in the best interest of our group.” Havrisik went 11 of 11 on field goals from 39 yards and within and 19 of 22 on extra points. He connected on 15 of 20 total field goal tries, or 75 percent. In his seven games earlier this season, Maher made all seven of his attempts inside 39 yards, was seven of nine from 40-49 yards and hit 12 of 13 extra points.
Maher’s struggles came on longer kicks, as he knocked through only three of seven attempts from 50-plus yards, reducing his season total to just 17 of 23, or 73.9 percent. And so, in his search for consistency on shorter attempts, McVay went back to Maher. “When you look at some of the earlier situations he was in, we asked him to attempt a lot of long field goals,” McVay said. “He was fairly consistent when you’re talking about some of those field goals from under 50 (yards) and in.” McVay cited two other reasons – the 34-year-old Maher brings plenty of experience, and there weren’t many better free agent kickers for what the Rams feel they need.
“There are options out there and then there are guys that have kind of had some familiarity with it, and so there’s not a perfect scenario,” McVay said. “But I think when you look at the landscape, some of the options, this is what we felt like was going to be the best opportunity to move forward the way that we want to. “So that was kind of how we settled on Brett.” As for Havrisik, McVay believes this may not be the end of his journey. “You never know what’s going to happen with Lucas,” McVay said. “When I talked to him, he’s a guy you have confidence in. He has a lot of ability. You look at some of the background of these kickers and it sometimes takes a little bit to be able to settle in and play as consistent as you want. “There’s been a lot of successful guys that have navigated through some early struggles or early challenges and had great careers.”
Maher has played in four playoff games, including two last season with the Dallas Cowboys during which he made just one of six extra point tries. For his postseason career, Maher’s hit three of four field goals and six of 11 extra points.
