In the fourth quarter of the game, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a concussion on a play in which Rams cornerback Lamarcus Joyner was penalized for unnecessary roughness when his forearm or shoulder hit Bridgewater’s head as he went into a slide after a five-yard run. He said “there probably would’ve been a fight” had the Joyner hit occurred on the street and not in a football game. Williams was the defensive coordinator in New Orleans during the bounty-gate scandal.
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“He’s got great talent and from the looks of things he still looks like he can move, so that’s a good thing”, defensive back Lamarcus Joyner said. Monday, Rams Coach Jeff Fisher went after Rodney Harrison for what he termed a “personal attack” by the former player and NBC analyst.
“I wasn’t surprised because it happened to me in 2006”, Harrison said.
Zimmer was still steaming shortly after Blair Walsh hit a 40-yard field to win the game in overtime, and as he crossed the field and met up with Rams coach Jeff Fisher, Zimmer stuck out his hand to Fisher but barely looked at him or said anything, breezing by in obvious disgust. And, yes, Harrison, as dirty as he was as a player and as unapologetic as he is about it, is on solid ground calling out Fisher on his. Again, I don’t know who they play this week.
Fisher, the Rams coach, was asked about Harrison’s comments during a press conference Monday, and he came prepared for the question. I understand that, but you also need to control your emotions after a game and go look at the tape and then adjust accordingly. “It was a cheap shot, it was a dirty shot, and I think everybody else that saw that tape saw that”. I don’t have to worry about the manner in which our players play. He was hard to defend. He was a really active defensive player. As for Vikings coach Mike Zimmer’s criticism, Fisher’s comments weren’t as biting, but they were wrapped in condescension and intentionally directed downward from the 57-year-old with 21 years as a head coach to the 59-year-old coach in his second season as a head coach. “I don’t know. When people say we lose all of these games, we can’t win a game on the road, we can’t win a game in the division; I just take it personally”. Our main focus, as you guys have followed this league for a long time know, our main focus is player safety.
“Absolutely absurd”, the coach added. “So, that’s all I have to say on that”.
Fisher responded by unloading his full verbal arsenal on Harrison.
Harrison may not have spilled all the tea, but he backed up his claim that Fisher’s teams play dirty.
“I don’t know about that”, Zimmer said when asked if he thought the Rams specifically targeted Bridgewater. And that’s all it was. It was about addressing the issue. It was a dirty hit.
“I have no idea about that”, Welker said.
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Jeff Fisher and Rodney Harrison disagree on what constitutes a dirty play. Their bosses have been fine with it. A lot of other people around the league are not. Former teammate Champ Bailey went on Fox Sports over the summer to say publicly that he wanted Welker to retire because of health concerns and not a lack of ability. I went out to congratulate him. When the National Football League is watching you, they continue to watch you.
