Rams News Recap: Dec. 8

[RamBill]

Fisher: Coin-Toss Captains ‘made too much sense’ –PD
A day later, Rams coach Jeff Fisher is taking a bit of heat for sending out Stedman Bailey, Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Alec Ogletree, Zac Stacy and Greg Robinson for the coin toss Sunday against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field.

Rams Have Little Time to Prepare –PD
Win, lose, or draw, the time-honored custom in the NFL is that players, and coaches for that matter, get 24 hours to celebrate or stew over that week’s result before moving on to the next challenge.

How Close Are the Rams to Being a Contender? –Audio

Is it Time to be Concerned About Greg Zuerlein? –Audio

Turning Point: Jared Cook’s First Touchdown –Wagoner
A look back at the turning point play in the St. Louis Rams’ 24-0 win against the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon:

Jeff Fisher: “I’m really proud of the way we played” –Video

No Time for Rams to Savor Win in Washington –Wagoner
Before the St. Louis Rams even departed the FedEx Field locker rooms after their 24-0 win Sunday night, they had already moved on to what’s next.

Ten Takeaways from Sunday’s 24-0 Win Over Redskins –Karraker
The Rams finally won a second consecutive game on Sunday in Washington, becoming only the fifteenth team since the merger to turn in back-to-back shutouts in a 24-0 whitewash of the Washington Redskins.

What To Watch For: Rams vs. Redskins –Wagoner
Looking back at three things to watch from the St. Louis Rams’ 24-0 victory against the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon:

A Closer Look at Greg Zuerlein’s Missed Kicks –Wagoner
Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein has had some rough days in the NFL. There haven’t been many but none worse than what took place in the first half of the team’s 24-0 win against the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Morning Ram-blings: Monday Game Balls –Wagoner
The St. Louis Rams are making a habit of giving me a lot to think about when it comes to handing out postgame honors.

Shaun Hill: “This is a lot of fun for me” –Video

Issac Bruce Talks Rams and Tavon Austion –Audio

Tavon Austin: “I’m just glad I was able to make a play” –Video

Week 14 NFL Report Card: Rams –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Rams out of the basement?
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14465/morning-ram-blings-rams-out-of-the-basement

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams once looked like a near certainty to finish in fourth and final place in the NFC West division this year. But that seems like a long time ago now.

Since they sat at 3-6, the Rams have won three of their past four and have winnable home games the next two weeks against Arizona and the New York Giants (though nothing is for certain with this team).

What's also happened in that time is the destruction of the San Francisco 49ers. Once considered a Super Bowl contender (including by yours truly in the preseason), the wheels have come off for the 49ers in recent weeks, culminating in Sunday's loss to the lowly Oakland Raiders. That's right, the same Raiders the Rams just beat 52-0 two weeks ago.

Over at Grantland, Bill Barnwell offered this eulogy for the 49ers.

The most interesting thing about the Niners the rest of the way might be what happens to head coach Jim Harbaugh in the offseason. There figures to be plenty of drama to come but it's doubtful that much of that drama will come in the form of postseason action.

What's more, the Rams have a shot to overtake the Niners and climb into third place with a tie possible as soon as this week.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Monday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... The Ram-blings took our weekly look at game balls for Sunday. ... In W2W4 revisited, we looked back at three keys to Sunday's win against Washington. ... We then took a closer look at the missed kicks by the Rams' Greg Zuerlein. ... With a short week ahead, the Rams had no time to savor Sunday's win. ... Jared Cook's 35-yard touchdown catch was this week's turning point. ... Rams coach Jeff Fisher didn't back down from his pregame coin toss captain choices. ... Here's Monday's injury report.

Elsewhere:

At Grantland, Robert Mays declares the Rams one of his winners of the week.

Mike Sando looks at coaches who might be on the hot seat Insider, with no Rams mention in that regard but a Jeff Fisher mention later on in this Insider piece.

Niners reporter Paul Gutierrez offered a closer look at the Niners' struggles.

At 101sports.com, Randy Karraker provided his 10 takeaways from Sunday's game.

At stltoday.com, Bernie Miklasz writes that the Rams are finally reaching their potential.

Jim Thomas dived into the Rams' dominant defensive performance.