If Los Angeles Rams punter Johnny Hekker is the best part of NFL football in LA this season, something will have gone terribly wrong.

The Los Angeles Rams are lucky to have Johnny Hekker. As a punter, he’s one of those quantifiable assets that can bail a team like the Rams out of an abysmal offensive drive, or poor field position. And while LA’s defense has been the absolute bedrock of this organization, the punting game over the course of 16 games was the best part of Rams football.

That’s not OK.

I’ll say it again, the Rams are lucky to have a punter like Hekker. Heck, Bill Belichick absolutely LOVES him.

But he can’t be the bright spot in Los Angeles. If he is again in 2017, then problems with the Rams run deeper than anyone could ever know.

At some point this coming season, there needs to be that tangible on the field proof that the Rams are turning the page. It needn’t be “miraculous”, all though what fan wouldn’t dig that, it just needs to be better. It needs to be something that you can hang your hat on that the team is finally out of the woods.

And Hekker is the benchmark for such improvement.

Hekker on the sidelines means Jared Goff is completing passes. It means the Rams running game is picking up first downs. It is an indicator that the stable of receivers are moving LA down the field.

And hopefully into the end zone.

Bottom line, I’d like to see Goff putting the ball in the air down the field, and not the Rams punter.

If Hekker is a Pro Bowler again in 2017, that would be great. But let it be because the Rams as a team are better.

Not because he was the best part of it.