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          NFL Nation

          Morning Ram-blings: Monday game balls

          • Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterDec 22, 2014, 08:00 AM ET
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              Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN's coverage of the Niners' 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick's protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam's subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team's relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
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          EARTH CITY, Mo. -- After a short hiatus because of the Thursday night game, we return to your regularly scheduled Monday game ball open for the Ram-blings.

          After another interesting slate of games around the NFL, our ESPN NFL Nation reporters handed out game balls for the best performances of week 16.

          Here in St. Louis, I went with receiver Kenny Britt, who had nine catches for 103 yards and had a nice block to set up running back Tre Mason's 10-yard touchdown run. There wasn't much to choose from in this one but Britt has been a solid addition for the Rams and should be an offseason priority when it comes time to hand out new contracts.

          I.C.Y.M.I.

          A roundup of Sunday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... We began the day with a look at the inactives for Sunday's Rams-Giants game. ... Rapid Reaction provided my initial thoughts and reactions from the matchup. ... Locker Room Buzz provided some observations and thoughts from the Rams' locker room after the game. ... The Rams defense proved it hasn't moved past the point of possible letdowns. ... Here's Giants reporter Dan Graziano and I handing out our game balls. ... The Giants believe the Rams played dirty, the Rams thought the Giants were disrespectful, here's our news story on what happened next.

          Elsewhere:

          Graziano writes that Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is a great player but still has to find the line between over the top and maintaining his edge.

          Giants linebacker Jameel McClain was not pleased with the Rams' style of play.

          At 101sports.com, Jeff Fisher discussed the Rams' loss right after the game.

          At stltoday.com, Jeff Gordon hands out his weekly grades.

          In Jim Thomas' instant game story, he writes the Rams no-showed against the Giants.