Stills Hopes to Bring Something Special to Special Teams

Linebacker Gary Stills’ attitude about special teams changed after getting an ultimatum from Kansas City Chiefs special teams coach Frank Gansz in 2001.

“We don’t want you to play linebacker, we don’t want you to play defense,” Stills said of his conversation with Gansz, who also coached special teams for the Rams from 1999-2001. “If you can’t play special teams, you have to go.”

Stills took Gansz’s threat to heart as he became one of the top special teams players in the NFL.

“I said, ‘OK, this is what I live to do,”‘ Stills said. ” I just went down and made the plays. Then you realize as a special teams player that you are on the bubble every year. I’m always going to be that 52nd or 53rd guy on the team, and I’m going to take that spot.”

Stills was released by the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. He was signed by the Rams, who were looking to add a veteran presence to their special teams, on Tuesday.

Rams coach Scott Linehan said Stills, who went to the Pro Bowl as a special teams player in 2003, will play on all four of the Rams’ special teams units in their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

“He is an intense special teams’ player, which means he kind of brings attitude and energy to them,” Linehan said. “He is not the fastest cover guy on the team and there are reasons for that. You have different speed guys on any team, but he brings that great amount of intensity at really key spots.

“He is going to bring instant creditability and leadership to a group that has some developing players.”

Stills had 44 special teams tackles, the second highest total in NFL history behind Hank Bauer’s 46 special teams tackles for San Diego in 1980, for the Baltimore Ravens in 2006.

“I studied a lot of film on my opponent, and I knew where they were going to be at before they got there,” Stills said of how he collected so many special teams tackles in 2006. “Last year, they started doubling me.”

Stills had 26 special teams tackles last season for the Ravens despite often being double-teamed.

“You have to double me,” Stills said. “I will take one guy and just take him where I want him to go. You have to initially try to stop me. Most of the time they don’t. Eighty percent of the time, I’ll beat a double team.

“I know that is being cocky, but I’m confident I can beat a double team.”

Stills said mental preparation has more to do with being a good special teams player than flying down the field like a wild man.

“Most of it is not going down there and knocking a guy’s head off,” Stills said. “It’s getting to the returner. You may run into a situation where a lot of young guys get hurt — shoulders, stringers and concussions — because they are just running down there. They don’t realize what is going on.

“You realize what is going, you can play that to your advantage. You don’t need to make too much contact with the blockers. You make contact with the ballcarrier.”

Stills said he’s happy about being reunited with Rams kick returner Dante Hall. The two were teammates with the Chiefs from the 2000 through 2005 seasons.

Hall had six punt returns for touchdowns and four kickoff returns for touchdowns during that span.

“I’m excited because I feel like playing with him, I can be who I was,” Stills said. “He’s a guy who is going to make things happen. He can run down the field for touchdowns, and I can run down the field and block for him. Hopefully we can pick up where we left off on that end.”

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