In a much needed move to boost the Rams special teams, the squad has traded a fifth round draft pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for return man/wide receiver Dante Hall.
Hall, 28, is getting up there in age but there's no doubt that he's still one of the best in the game when it comes to returning the football. He's burned the Rams numerous times before, and it'll be nice to have him on our side. Basically, it will be nice to simply have someone who can catch the football and have a chance at breaking off a long one. Don't get me wrong, Hall isn't going to turn our special teams into one of the game's best, he isn't the same explosive athlete he was in 2003 when he turned the league on it's head with his dazzling returns. However, it is certainly an improvement for the Rams, who haven't had a true kick returner since Tony Horne in the early portion of the decade.
“We have filled a need with one of the top players in football at his specialty, returning punts and kicks,” Rams coach Scott Linehan. “Dante will fit in nicely on our special teams and can be utilized as a receiver in certain situations.”
To put it simply, the Rams Special Team unit has sucked since Mike Martz took over coaching duties. Last season, St. Louis was the sixth worse team in punt returns, averaging 7.8 yards per return. The Rams were 26th in kickoff returns, averaging 21.3 yards. Hall's numbers have declined since his peak season in 2003, when he averaged 25.9 yards per kickoff return (two for TDs) and 16.3 yards per punt return (with two TDs).
In 2006, his seventh NFL season, Hall averaged 22.8 yards for 53 kickoff returns and 8.9 yards for 27 punt returns, one for a touchdown. He also caught 26 passes, two for TDs.
Hall is certainly still a feared return man in the league and the Rams can expect better field position simply from having him back there; however, a fifth round draft pick isn't a small price to pay for a player on the decline of his career either. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. One of the needs the Rams had to address in the draft was a return man and there was speculation that they would use their first round pick on Ted Ginn Jr. to fullfill this role. The benefit of trading for Hall is that now the Rams will pass on Ginn Jr. and draft an every down guy, most likely on the defensive end of the ball.
Hall, who is 5-foot-8 and 187 pounds, is third in NFL history with 11 kick returns for touchdowns, behind Brian Mitchell (13) and Eric Metcalf (12). He has a career average of 24.0 yards for 360 kickoff returns and 10.0 yards for 188 punt returns -- all with the Chiefs.
Hall also needs one more kickoff return for a touchdown to break the record of six he now shares with Ollie Matson, Gale Sayers, Travis Williams and Mel Gray.
*The Associated Press and The St. Louis Post Dispatch contributed to this story.
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4 comments:
Hall would put the guy who went to SEMO on the bench then wouldn't he? (Sorry I forget his name.)
Jose. Willie Ponder is the name you're looking for. I guess, in a way, Hall would be considered a replacement for Ponder but it wasn't likely Ponder was going to be back to return kicks for the Rams this year. They either would've drafted a return man or eventually traded for one, but the days of throwing a random dude back there and praying that he catches the football and gets tackled before he fumbles were over. They were going to do something about it, and Ponder probably wasn't the answer they were looking for.
Ponder did have one great year in the NFL, but you certainly couldn't consider him a quality guy to have back there. You also have to remember that the Rams signed him and he played for one week, maybe two, and then was scratched from the gameday roster the rest of the season. So, him coming back wasn't likely.
Certainly some well wishes to Willie hoping he continues his career.
Thanks Dave, I couldn't for the life of me remember his name, and I didn't have time to look it up. I've never really followed the Rams closely, since they beat my Titans in the Super Bowl a few years back, I'm a little sour... I hope that doesn't strike ill feelings. But, Hall will be a great pick up for them returning kicks from what Ive seen him do in the past. Where do you think Ponder will end up next year? He didn't do anything else for the Rams other than returning kicks did he?
At the most, fast Willie Ponder will end up returning kicks for someone else. He was never really given a chance as a wide reciever in NFL and I doubt he ever will, although he was stellar in his SEMO days. I would suspect, however, that the Rams may keep him on board and he'll be on their practice squad and a "desperate" emergency call-up if needed. The Rams have Dane Looker and Shaun McDonald who can return punts and would probably step in to return kicks if Hall goes down.
Last season, Ponder led the team with 26 returns for 605 yards, a 23.3 yard average. And as of today, the Rams have Ponder at #2 on their kick return depth chart and #4 on their punt return depth chart behind Hall, Marques Hagans, and Dane Looker. So I guess the Rams have more stock in him than I originally thought...so who knows what happens. But I can guarantee you that he most likely won't be on the Rams gameday roster at all this season, unless Hall goes down. For his sake, let's hope he goes somewhere else and can continue to play.
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