Rams News Recap: Nov. 24

[RamBill]

Rams’ Fisher baffled by some penalty calls –PD
You get the feeling that sometime before the Rams conclude their 2014 season, coach Jeff Fisher’s head just might explode over the officiating.

Rams notes: Team runs another successful fake punt –PD
The Rams trailed 27-17 midway through the fourth quarter Sunday in San Diego when a third-down pass from Shaun Hill intended for Benny Cunningham fell incomplete. It appeared that Chargers’ linebacker Manti Te’o interfered on the play, but there was no flag.

Jeff Fisher: “We Will Bounce Back” –Video

What to Watch For Revisited: Rams vs. Chargers –Wagoner
Looking back at three things to watch from the St. Louis Rams’ 27-24 loss Sunday afternoon to the San Diego Chargers:

Philip Rivers has Answers for Rams Defense –Wagoner
Perhaps the weight of matching wits against Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning last week was too much for the St. Louis Rams defense.

Ten Takeaways from Sunday’s 27-24 Loss to Chargers –Karraker
There is a term that people in sports use for coming close in a game and almost winning. That term is “losing.” As the Rams fell to 4-7 Sunday in San Diego, they fell to 3-3 in one-possession games, and 3-5 in games that were within reach in the fourth quarter.

Morning Ram-blings: Monday Game Balls –Wagoner
You know the drill by now. It’s Monday after another interesting week in the NFL. Our 32 ESPN NFL Nation reporters handed out game balls (well, all but the ones who have yet to cover a game this week) for this week’s best and brightest.

Lillibridge: “It just seems like this Rams team is snakebitten” –Audio

Jim Thomas: Rams Drop Another Heartbreaker –Video

Rams Coach Jeff Fisher’s Postgame Press Conference –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: The waiting game
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14011/morning-ram-blings-the-waiting-game

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers offered plenty of strange calls and officiating scenarios for the St. Louis Rams to be upset about.

But there might not have been a stranger sequence than one that probably shouldn't have been called but was made worse when referee Carl Cheffers' crew took what seemed like an eternity to enforce the calls they made.

ESPN NFL Nation columnist Kevin Seifert has been spending plenty of time looking at Rams games in recent weeks in his weekly officiating review. Sunday's game offered plenty of options as Cheffers & Co. continue to throw flags at a league-leading rate.

On Monday, Seifert dived into a sequence that saw two flags thrown, including a questionable holding call, on Tavon Austin's long punt return in the fourth quarter.

There's good stuff there from Seifert, including an explanation on how the spot of the ball should be enforced in that situation. But it should also be noted that the call went against linebacker Marshall McFadden.

McFadden made almost zero contact with Chargers linebacker Andrew Gachkar on the play. My suspicion after watching again is that the flag was actually supposed to be credited to Rams safety Maurice Alexander.

If you go back and watch Alexander, he is far more engaged against his guy and they are battling near where the ball ends up being spotted. I'm not saying what Alexander did was a block, either, but given where the ball was spotted and the level of involvement in the play, it would make more sense.

It also wouldn't be a surprise if the wrong player was announced. Earlier in the game, the officials announced Greg Robinson for the hands to the face penalty that wiped out a Kenny Britt touchdown catch. Replays showed it was actually right tackle Joe Barksdale who made contact with a facemask (though that too was questionable).

Needless to say, it was another brutal day of watching Cheffers and his crew attempt to do their jobs correctly.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Monday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we handed out game balls for the best of Sunday's performances. ... In W2W4 revisited, we looked back at three keys from the Rams-Chargers matchup. ... Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers had a lot of success picking apart the Rams' blitz in the second half Sunday. ... This week's Turning Point took a closer look Shaun Hill's costly interception.

Elsewhere:

Over at Grantland, Bill Barnwell offers his roundup of the week's activity.

Insider Mike Sando starts his morning take Insider with a look at Robert Griffin III's future in Washington.

Chargers reporter Eric Williams writes that Eric Weddle took over play calling duties against the Rams.

At 101sports.com, Randy Karraker gives his 10 takeaways from the Rams' loss.

At stltoday.com, columnist Bernie Miklasz cautions that the Rams are in danger of being stuck in mediocrity.