Rams' Jeff Fisher lashes out at critics

EARTH CITY, Mo. - It seemed to be open season on St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher Sunday when criticism came from different areas following the team's 21-18 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

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.

Bridgewater left the game and did not return, but he was able to pass the first test in the concussion protocol Monday, according to head coach Mike Zimmer. After the game, Zimmer expressed his displeasure with the hit as well as Fisher and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Zimmer blew by Fisher on the field after the game and later said he believed the hit was a cheap shot.

Asked about the emotions of his team after the hit, Zimmer said, "I would say if we were out on the street, we probably would have had a fight."

As for whether he believed Bridgewater was targeted, Zimmer said, "I don't know about that. I do know that there is a history there of their defensive coordinator. I'll leave it at that."

That was in reference to the one-year suspension Williams served in 2012 for his role in "Bountygate" as defensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints.

Zimmer also said of his own team, "We're a disciplined football team, we do things right. That's why we are the least penalized team in the league, because we play by the rules, we continue to play by the rules and just because other teams don't do it, doesn't mean we're going to do it."

Later, on NBC's Football Night in America, analyst Rodney Harrison, a former safety with the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots, said, "That's a dirty hit. It's a cheap shot right to the helmet."

Asked about the Rams, Harrison said, "I wasn't surprised because it happened to me in 2006. Bobby Wade came and chopped my knees and tore my knee up. I'm lying on the ground, and I look at Jeff Fisher and he's smiling and laughing. So this is typical of Jeff Fisher-type teams."

Of course, Harrison took out Rams quarterback Trent Green in a 1999 preseason game when he went low at Green's knee. That season-ending injury led to the emergence of Kurt Warner.

Fisher was ready when asked about Harrison's comments. He said, "I don't want to say I took things personal, but it was kind of a personal attack on me. But, again, I think you have to consider the source. You're talking about a guy that had a great career. I mean, the guy played a long time. He was hard to defend. He was a really active defensive player. But, this is coming from a guy that had 18 unnecessary roughness penalties, seven personal fouls, four roughing the passer penalties, a total of 77 penalties in his career and was voted three times the dirtiest player in the National Football League and was suspended for a hit, a helmet-to-helmet hit on Jerry Rice in 2002. Okay? This is where these comments are coming from.

"I'll just say this: Since 2000, it's been a privilege and honor for me to be on the competition committee. Our main focus, as you guys have followed this league for a long time know, our main focus is player safety. So, for Rodney to come out and say that I did something like that is absolutely absurd. So, that's all I have to say on that."

When the hit on Green was mentioned to Fisher, he said, "Look, Rodney's Rodney and we move on."

As for Zimmer's reaction, Fisher said, "I think a good a lesson to be learned from this is control your emotions immediately after the game and go back and look at the tape before you jump to conclusions. Now, clearly it's been said. Clearly, Mike's and my handshake was very short. He didn't say a word. I went out to congratulate him. I was going to ask him how his quarterback was and congratulate him on the win and he was gone. I understand that, but you also need to control your emotions after a game and go look at the tape and then adjust accordingly."

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson didn't express the outrage that many did of the play. Asked about the Rams being over-aggressive, Peterson said, "I love guys that play like that. The shot on Teddy, it was kind of wishy-washy. It didn't really look too bad from the review, but you slam your head like that, and they have to have some type of responsibility for that."

Addressing whether he thought Bridgewater was targeted or whether that would be "taking it one more step," Peterson said, "I think maybe taking it one more step. I really looked at it and was kind of evaluating it, because I was hot. He kind of got him with the shoulder as he was going down, and caught the tail end of his helmet, wasn't as full force, but he was coming with force and that allowed his head to bang back. I feel like you have to call that even though it didn't look bad."

For his part, Joyner said, "I know that guy. I grew up across the railroad track from him (in Miami). My mom knows his mom. My dad knows his mom. I would never intentionally do a dirty play like that on Teddy Bridgewater. It was a bang-bang play. He's a taller-structured guy compared to me. I did not know he was gonna slide. When I launched, he slid and we connected. If I could take it back, personally I would take it back because I'm not a dirty player. Even though it was a bang-bang play, you can see that it wasn't an intentionally dirty play. I even pulled up; it wasn't a helmet-to-helmet hit. That's football; stuff like that happens sometimes."

Concluded Fisher, "Lamarcus plays hard every down and he plays reckless. Unfortunately, there was contact to the head of Teddy and he was penalized for it. I can't fault him for his choice. Lamarcus made a decision to go hit the quarterback prior to Teddy initiating the slide. That's what happens. Had Lamarcus not made helmet contact with him, there would have not been a foul. It was penalized on the field. What more can you ask for?"