Fisher insists controversial fourth-down catch was a trap

By: By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher has seen a replay of Chris Chamber’s fourth-down catch, and he still insists the ball hit the ground and wasn’t a catch.
Referee Bill Carollo said there was not indisputable evidence to reverse the call that it was a catch with 1:36 left on San Diego’s drive for the tying touchdown before winning in overtime 23-17. Fisher had seen an angle Monday but wouldn’t say what the source of his replay was.
“I saw it. I was there. Then I’ve seen another shot that shows it just wasn’t a catch,” Fisher said. “You can’t overturn it. It was a great effort by Chris, and he is going to say he caught it.”
Actually, Chambers didn’t really say he caught the ball. He did say he made sure he got his arms around the ball as he got up and knew he was safe after seeing the replay.
Fisher, co-chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, isn’t complaining. He called it a part of replay.
“Sometimes you’re just not going to get a look. It was not a catch, but they couldn’t overturn it because they didn’t get a look. That’s just part of replay. I’m a proponent of replay. I voted for it. I will continue to be. That just happens sometimes,” Fisher said.
He would have preferred the play be ruled incomplete, then go to replay. But the game broadcast by CBS had no angle from behind the Chargers’ offense looking at Chambers as he laid out and tried to scoop the ball away from the turf.
“You would like to think there would have been some angles, but there were no angles from the offensive perspective from that end. That is where we clearly saw the ball was on the ground, but you go on,” he said.
The Titans still had time to make a stop. They did not get help from the clock operator, a function controlled by the NFL. Fisher estimated 10 seconds were lost because the clock did not restart once the ball was set following the challenge.
“That just should not happen. Whether that is administrative, whether it’s the crew, whether it’s the clock operator, I just don’t know …,” Fisher said.
Fisher said he talked with the league office, a conversation he said remained between him and the NFL.
“Again, those are things that were out of our control. We had a lot of things that we could control in this game but we didn’t. They made the plays to win at the end, and we didn’t.”
HOLDING ON: Kyle Vanden Bosch matched his career high with three sacks and had the Titans’ second three-sack game this season. He now ranks 10th in franchise history with 28 career sacks. It might be tough for him to think about the one that got away.
He had hold of Rivers’ foot, forcing a bad throw on the Chargers’ last drive of regulation. He might have had other chances but the Chargers kept him away from Rivers. They might have done a bit of holding to do that, but a penalty flag wasn’t thrown.
Vanden Bosch now has nine sacks this season, ranking him sixth in the AFC. He admits he thinks he’s held on every play.
“There are not very many holding calls in the National Football League. It’s something you have to learn how to beat. I would have liked to have got a couple of calls. It’s just not a call that’s made very often,” he said.
GIMME THREE: Think the timing was off on Rob Bironas’ missed field goal from 29 yards out? You’re not alone.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher said they were delaying the snap, hoping to draw the Chargers offsides on fourth-and-5.
“They did not. Rob got a little anxious, and he started a little early,” Fisher said.
Bironas hooked the kick wide left. He is 27-of-31 on field goals this season and has a career-best 105 points.
Fisher said Bironas has worked through some timing issues and gets a little anxious at points but has been accurate.
“It’s a 29-yard field goal. You should not miss it even if the timing is off a little. You should still stroke it through the uprights,” Fisher said.
EXTRA POINTS: Donnie Nickey’s sack was the first of his career. Michael Griffin and Calvin Lowry each had the second interceptions of their careers, and it was Griffin’s second in as many weeks. … The Titans shut out the Chargers in the first half, their second shutout this season. … Albert Haynesworth is tied for 12th in the AFC with his career-high six sacks. No defensive tackle in the AFC has more sacks.

None