I'm no expert, but after staying at a particular hotel last night, I do know that penalties are generally bad things for a team.

Per this post from ESPN's Mike Sando, the Rams have 56 penalties, a total that in and of itself isn't great but not horrible either. That is until you consider 25 of those penalties have come from the offensive line - 6 each for Barron and Incognito.

On more than one occasion we've seen the cost of those penalties. The game winning kick against the Redskins was moved from a simple chip shot to a 49 yarder after a 15 yard unsportsman like conduct on Incognito. Last week, two penalties on third down put the Rams at a disadvantage for converting and even continuing what could have been a game tying/winning drive.

The point being, a team like the Rams, an underdog most Sundays, can't afford to hand teams extra advantage...especially on offense where the team's had trouble hitting and maintaining their stride.