RAM NOTEBOOK : There’s Not Enough Bettis to Suit Drayton

Troy Drayton was unhappy with his role, or lack thereof last week. The Ram tight end watched Jerome Bettis slam into the line three times on the goal line against Denver and there was nothing to show for it.

Certainly the Rams had other plays in the book besides Bettis face-first dives.

Sunday, Ram coaches and Drayton were on the same page. He caught a career-high six passes for 36 yards. Chris Chandler and Chris Miller, threw the ball all over the place.

But the Rams lost, 20-17, to the Raiders. And guess what? Drayton found some flaws.

The Ram defeat was due to the fact Bettis didn’t get his carries. Bettis, who has a 2,000-yard goal for the season, had a career-low 13 yards in 10 carries.

It was his fifth consecutive game under 100 yards after having four consecutive games over 100 yards.

“Basically, they (the Raiders) took our No. 1 offensive weapon away,” Drayton said. “Our team is better when we mix it up. We need Jerome running up the gut, getting 10 to 15 yards a pop. We have to get back to that. We have to find a way to get the big man the ball.”

OK, so there’s a little contradiction there. Drayton got his passes. In fact, his receptions represented one-third of his season total.

But he’s no dummy. He knows the Rams need more from Bettis than they got.

“The Raiders put eight men on the line, which is a compliment to Jerome,” Drayton said. “We had to adjust and we had to go to what was working and that was the pass.”

Which worked out nicely for Drayton.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Drayton said. “Nobody is going to remember that I caught as many passes as I did today. The only thing they’re going to remember is we lost.”

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So what was the problem with the running game?

“We came for a fight today and we lost the battle up front,” Bettis said. “They just were playing physical. It was rough for us.”

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Ram cornerback Darryl Henley said Raider receiver Rocket Ismail hit him in the face on a second-quarter touchdown catch and criticized game officials for missing “blatant calls.”

“He hit me right in my face, knocked my helmet up and everything,” Henley said. “If I do it, it’s a big 15 yards.”

Henley intercepted a Jeff Hostetler pass and returned it 23 yards in the second. He dived to intercept another pass in the third quarter, but it was waved off by an official.

Henley said he caught the ball cleanly.

“That’s spilled milk,” Henley said. “I had it in my hands and I wasn’t bobbling it. But that’s a judgment call, and I’m not complaining about that. I’m talking about blatant calls.

“If it’s going to be right, then make it right. If it’s not, then don’t call nothing.”

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After making a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, Ram kicker Tony Zendejas was seen booting his kicking tee in disgust near the sidelines.

“I was frustrated,” Zendejas said. “That’s all.”

Zendejas’ streak of 12 consecutive field goals had come to an end in the second quarter when he was wide left on a 41-yard attempt.

Wide receiver Todd Kinchen held on the kick because the regular holder, quarterback Chris Chandler, had sprained his left ankle and was out of the game. Zendejas did not fault Kinchen’s hold for missing the kick.

“I just missed it,” he said. “That happens once in a while.

Notes

Jessie Hester extended his streak of games with at least one catch to 72 with a 29-yard reception in the first quarter. . . . Flipper Anderson’s 105 yards receiving was the ninth 100-yard plus game of his career. . . . The Rams’ 83-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter was their longest of the season.