49ers safety Craig Dahl made a bit of a stir on Wednesday, telling the San Fran media that the Rams held their own against the Niners last year in part because the 49ers were tipping plays based on their personnel and formations.
The incident, which is far more embarrassing for the 49ers than the Rams, triggered some strong Twitter comments from St. Louis cornerback Cortland Finnegan. On Thursday, Rams coach Jeff Fisher downplayed the whole thing.
“You know, I heard a little bit about it,” Fisher said, via quotes distributed by the team. “First off, any time a player that’s involved in the system changes addresses, there’s always going to be some sort of debriefing. That always happens, so that’s not unusual. I heard the guys were kind of joking back and forth, but that’s how they are.”
The back-and-forth refers presumably to the Finnegan tweets. Again, Fisher saw nothing significant about it.
“I really didn’t pay attention,” Fisher said. “They have respect for each other because they played well in a very productive defense together.”
Fisher will be paying far more attention to what his players do now that their post-OTA break has begun. With six weeks before training camp, players left to their own devices can find trouble or harm or both.
“They know that they’ll be tested when they return, so there’s an incentive to stay in shape,” Fisher said. “They’re going to get their workout package. They’re going to get the list of reminders. You know, all those things associated with summer. It’s the four wheelers and the wave runners, all those things because strange things happen out there and, most of the time, they’re accidental and then to make sure that you’re taking of your body and making good decisions.”
The good decisions include taking a Sharpie pen and writing on their forearms the 800 number to call if there’s any doubt about the player’s ability to drive home from wherever he has been drinking. We’re not saying Fisher did that; we’re saying the players should do it themselves.