Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who has lost to Bill Belichick by a combined score of 104-7 in their last two meetings, addressed the media on Tuesday, touching on a variety of topics.
On the question of whether multiple pass interference penalties against St. Louis cornerback Bradley Fletcher were justified, Fisher was surprisingly candid.
“He’s grabbing,” Fisher said. “He grabbed. When you grab and the ball’s in the air, it’s pass interference. When you grab and the ball’s not in the air, it’s defensive holding. So, in each case, there was hand contact. Sometimes those aren’t called, but I can see what they saw and why they called them.”
Fisher then took a right turn while answering the question, offering up criticism of some calls that went against the Rams.
“I did think that we had a potential offensive pass interference on the ball in the end zone,” Fisher said. “I was a little disappointed -- they also missed three roughing the passer calls on our quarterback. Those are 15-yard penalties and they keep drives alive. But, as I said, it’s a difficult game to officiate and they’re not going to see everything, but I’d like to have seen [referee Walt Coleman] do a better job of protecting our quarterback.”
Fisher pointed to three specific non-roughing calls -- a hit from Pats linebacker Dont’a Hightower on quarterback Sam Bradford, and then two more occasions on which Bradford was “hit in the face.”
There’s a chance Fisher will be hit in the wallet. The rules in this regard aren’t always clear. Just like the rules regarding roughing the passer.