WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – As rookie kicker Joshua Karty packed up his possessions from the facility the day after the Rams' Divisional Round loss to Philadelphia, the locker room was mostly empty. Deserted items were scattered throughout, but Karty was still diligently packing up for his first NFL full offseason.
That resembled the course of Karty's rookie year: He hit his stride later than most, but did his job as well as anyone near the end. Karty said things really started to click for him after the team's first loss to the Eagles in Week 12.
After that game, in which he missed his only field goal attempt, Karty slowed down his queue to start his kicking motion. It helped ensure he was seeing the ball correctly before striking it, which fixed his tempo. Karty said the change was "barely noticeable at all," but "just like clockwork, it immediately paid off."
"Sometimes the smallest technical changes can make the biggest differences," Karty told TheRams.com. "... I'm a big rhythm and tempo guy, and so just staying on the right queue to start and the right timing for the snap and the kick just turned out to work well."
After he implemented that change, Karty was nearly flawless. He hit all 17 of his field goal attempts over the final eight games of the season and went 16 of 18 on extra points. Karty won NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December/January, and that Week 12 loss on Nov. 24 was the turning point both mentally and on the stat sheet.
Karty had a field goal percentage of 76.1% in his first 11 games before that fateful fix. His 100% success rate over the remainder of the season raised his average to 85.3% on the season. That's better than both of the Rams' kickers from last season by over 10%.
His mid-season struggles weren't something he'd dealt with much in his career previously.
"I think number one, he's a pretty mentally tough kid," said special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn on Dec. 5. "... You look back through his college career, he doesn't normally miss two in a row and different things and he can make the adjustments. We talk about being an athlete first and having that kind of mentality to where you could overcome adversities. Those are the number one things you're talking about to a kid like that."
And overcome adversity he did, as Karty didn't miss a single field goal for the rest of the season, including four massive kicks in the playoffs.
When asked if he noticed his lack of rhythm on his own or if coaches helped implement that change, Karty said it was "kind of both." He took the feedback he was getting on his routine and noticed how fast he was going. So, he slowed it down with a new queue to start, and everything fell into place.
"He's just been so steady," said head coach Sean McVay on Jan. 5. "I'm really proud of Josh, but I'm not surprised just based on the things that go on behind the scenes and how he's just been so steady throughout this journey that we've been on."
Going into his first offseason, Karty said he wants to simplify things even more to avoid any future mishaps in his operation.
"I want to absolutely take away maybe just one or two more variables, try and simplify my approach and my routine," Karty told TheRams.com, "just have it so that if something does come up, then I can fall back on something super easily."
