Talk » The presumed ace of the staff entering the season h

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- For all the difficulties the Los Angeles Rams have had over the past two months , punting the ball hasnt been one of them.And thats exactly one of the things that concerns Patriots coach Bill Belichick as they prepare to host the struggling NFC West team on Sunday.Los Angeles (4-7) will arrive in New England having lost six of its last seven games, including a 49-21 drubbing at New Orleans last week. But two of its four wins have come in low scoring punt fests: a 9-3 win over Seattle back in September, and a 9-6 victory on the road against the Jets earlier this month.The common denominator in both wins was the tremendous weapon Belichick says they have in punter Johnny Hekker.In his fifth season out of Oregon State, Hekker has been one of the NFLs most accurate punters since signing with the Rams in 2012. The 26-year-old has not only has arguably the leagues best leg when it comes to yardage, but also marksman-like precision on directional punts, plus an accurate arm when throwing the ball on fakes.Yeah, hes dangerous, Belichick said. I mean, hes like a quarterback. He can throw, he can run. Youve got to defend him like youd defend one of those guys.This season, Hekker has put a NFL-best 35 punts inside the 20-yard line, with just one touchback. In addition, Hekker has limited teams to a 4.5 yards average per return, while ranking second in the league with a 44.9 net yards per punt average.In Los Angeles win over Seattle, Hekkers six punts limited the Seahawks to an average starting position on their own 17.Then in the win over the Jets, he became the first NFL punter since 1984 to record a punt of 75 of yards or more in back-to-back weeks since 1984 when he had a career-best 78-yard boot. His 51.7 yards per punt average in that game limited New York to an average starting position on its own 18.This guy is as good a player as Ive ever seen at that position, said Belichick, who placed Hekker among his list of great NFL punters, which includes Ray Guy, Thomas Morstead, Dave Jennings and Sean Landeta.Patriots punter Ryan Allen beat Hekker out for the starting job in 2008 at Oregon State. Allen eventually transferred to Louisiana State and went on to win the Ray Guy Award, given to the best collegiate punter, in 2011 and 2012.At the end of the day, hes an athlete, Allen said of Hekker. You kind of have to respect multiple aspects of his athleticism.If the Rams have any chance to stun the Patriots, it will likely come via Hekkers ability to flip the field. The Patriots have been held to single-digits only once this season, in their 16-0 loss to Buffalo . In that game, the Bills held New England to an average starting position of their own 23.Still, if Allen is on the field a lot on Sunday, it will mean the Patriots are doing something right.Weve just got to make sure we get the ball, thats all, Belichick said with a chuckle. I hope (Hekker) gets a good workout; yeah.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower Stitched Blues Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Custom St.Louis Blues Jerseys . JOHNS, N. https://www.cheapblues.com/ . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. Cheap Blues Jerseys . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. St.Louis Blues Store . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. PITTSBURGH -- Say what you will about the Pittsburgh Pirates questionable moves at the trade deadline or the poor numbers former National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen has had most of the season.Right now, things are looking up.Going into what could be a wild-card showdown against the Miami Marlins starting Friday at PNC Park, the Pirates are en fuego.Pittsburgh (62-56), which was off Thursday, just completed a 5-1 West Coast road trip -- including a three-game sweep in San Francisco. Since June 24, the Pirates 28-17 record is the best in baseball.They stand one game behind St. Louis for the second wild-card spot, and 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami (62-59) in that chase after the Marlins dropped a 5-4 decision at Cincinnati on Thursday night.Weve been a confident group all year. Road trips like this really bring a team together, Pittsburgh closer Tony Watson told MLB.com. Were playing great baseball right now. Playing well down the stretch has been key the last few years. ... This year is no different.McCutchens two-run homer Thursday, his 17th of the season, was huge in a 6-5 win over the Giants. Although he is batting .248 overall, McCutchens average in August is .317.Ive turned something, McCutchen told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. I dont know if its turning a page or a corner or something. Things are going well for us. Going well for me, too.Ive been getting pitches to hit, hitting them, having good at-bats, seeing the ball. They try to hit a location. Miss a location, Im able to make them pay.An unexpected bump in the Pirates good play recently is right-hander Gerrit Cole (7-8, 3.17 ERA), who is scheduled to start Friday. The presumed ace of the staff entering the season has deallt with some inconsistency and injuries.ddddddddddddIn his past two starts, Cole is 0-2, has failed to get through the sixth inning and has given up a combined nine runs on 15 hits. However, he could be aided by being at home, where he has a 2.94 ERA over his past nine starts.The Marlins are not as comfortable at PNC Park, where they are 16-31.On Friday, Miami will start right-hander Tom Koehler (9-8, 3.86 ERA), who is 0-4 with a 5.73 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates.However, Koehler has been arguably the Marlins best starter of late. In his past five starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA.Its not like he doesnt have good stuff, Miami manager Don Mattingly told reporters earlier this month. His stuff is good.Hes got a good breaking ball that most guys dont really hit. He can change speeds and hes a little erratic. He can be effectively wild. You dont quite know what youre going to get with Tom. To me, thats part of his success.Success that hasnt been matched team-wide lately. Miami has lost three straight games, three series in a row and four of its past five series.The Pirates, meanwhile, have won four consecutive series and could put some distance between themselves and the Marlins in the wild-card scenario this weekend.Obviously, this is the time of year teams make or break themselves, Pittsburghs Matt Joyce told MLB.com. Its nice to see some guys turn the corner and keep fighting and keep pushing, because its very easy to just say, Were not in the race, and just kind of roll over. Its exciting, man. Its exciting to be a part of, and were having a lot of fun. ' ' '