Canales purposeful in showing trust in Etienne after fumble
When returner Trevor Etienne muffed a punt on Saturday night, giving the Rams possession on the Panthers 41-yard line, the rookie jogged to the sideline, sat down on the far left end of the bench, and stared straight ahead for the next couple of minutes, shellshocked at his third fumble of the season, and first since Week 12. The defense stopped Los Angeles on downs that drive, but the mistake lingered.
But when Los Angeles punted again on their following drive, it was Etienne back to take the ball once again.
“It was just, it was the exception, not the rule,” said Canales of the Etienne muff. “He’s done a fabulous job of continuing to improve catching punts and kicks, the kickoffs. He’s worked tirelessly at it.”
Etienne finished the day with one fair catch on a punt, the turnover, and letting two roll out of bounds. He also returned three kickoffs for 63 yards, with a long of 24 yards. It added to his regular season stat line of 20 punt returns for 163 yards, with a long of 16 yards, and 31 kickoff returns for 733 yards, with a long of 45 yards.
“He dropped the ball, you know, and it was an unfortunate play, but we, I wanted him to know we got your back. Let’s go,” said Canales. It was a picture of how the coach wants to run his program, with accountability and support.
“We all make mistakes, and that should be the feeling is we want to make sure that we create an environment that’s accountable for all of us, and we share those things from myself to the coordinators and all the coaches and players alike.
“Our Tell the Truth Monday is what it is because none of us are exempt from that, and I want the guys to feel that they’re getting a fair shot to be able to redeem themselves and just get right back to work.”