Rookie punter comes up short against Seahawks

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams rookie punter Reggie Hodges had a day he would just as soon forget about.

But it doesn't work that way in the NFL. The sixth-round draft choice averaged just 33 yards on five punts in Sunday's 37-31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and his net average was a poor 28 yards.

"This is a bottom-line production business," special teams coach Bob Ligashesky said. "He's good enough to do it, but none of us can afford to learn on the job. We're counting on him to come through."

Seattle scored 20 points -- two touchdowns and two field goals -- after four of Hodges' punts. Coach Mike Martz wasn't ready to make a decision on Hodges' future yet.

"I will review that," Martz said. "It's hard to talk about that at this point right after that game. Obviously, he did not kick that well, but we will have to review the tape and see."

What did Hodges think about his day?

"I don't think," Hodges said. "I can't make any excuses. I didn't hit the ball well, plain and simple."

Hodges' first punt, a 42-yarder, was his best of the day. His second effort went 33 yards and Seattle took over at the St. Louis 44, scoring three plays later to take a 14-7 lead.

Hodges said there's little he can do after a poor punt but keep working on his technique. Like a closer in baseball who gets rocked, he moves on.

"I just forget it. I get the next punt in my mind and the last one out," Hodges said. "That's all I can do. Once it leaves my foot, that's all I can do."

Early in the third quarter, Hodges punted from the St. Louis 22 and his 37-yard effort was returned 24 yards by Jimmy Williams to the Rams 35. The St. Louis defense limited the Seahawks to a 44-yard field goal by Josh Brown, putting Seattle up 27-21.

Hodges' final punt was a 22-yarder that put the ball at midfield, leading to another field goal that put the Seahawks ahead 37-24.

The punting made the job more difficult for a defense that gave up 433 yards.

"It's definitely about field position at the end of the day," middle linebacker Chris Claiborne said.

The crowd of 65,707 booed loudly after each of Hodges' punts. Hodges admitted he heard the disapproval of the fans.

"You definitely hear them when you're running off the field," Hodges said. "But I'm not worried about the crowd. You just have to forget about it and go out there and hit the next ball."

Hodges was the Rams' only punter at the start of training camp. After a poor outing in a night scrimmage, St. Louis signed veteran Brian Barker, but he punted only a few times before being released.

Overall, Hodges is averaging 39.4 yards on 17 punts. Frequently, Ligashesky said Hodges punts well in practice.

"He's got to transfer his technique onto the game field on Sunday," Ligashesky said. "He's a young guy. He's struggling. It's just a rookie out there trying to be a punter in the NFL."