After last Sunday’s victory over the Rams, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer took issue with the hit by Rams cornerback LaMarcus Joyner that knocked quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out of the game with a concussion.
Among his comments was a reference to Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’s suspension for having a bounty program when he held the same job with the Saints. Williams met the media on Friday and was asked about what Zimmer had to say.
“We’re on to Chicago right now and I’m not worried about that,” Williams said, via ESPN.com. “The things that go on in our game … no matter where I’m at, we’re going to play faster, smarter, tougher, for longer than any opponent. That’s all I’m going to say.”
Joyner was fined $23,152 by the league this week for making contact with Bridgewater’s head while he was sliding to the ground, but Williams said he “just trying to tackle [Bridgewater] and called Joyner “exactly what I want to coach.” Williams went on to say that looking at things in slow motion makes it easier to say that a “bam-bam” play looks dirty.
That may be the case and Joyner’s intent may not have been to hurt Bridgewater, but there was little doubt in real time that it was a penalty of the type that always draws a fine in the days after a game.