St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher expressed his disappointment Saturday with Bernie Kosar’s criticism of his Rams during a preseason game on Thursday.
Kosar, who played quarterback for the Browns from 1985-1993, was serving as a color commentator during the Cleveland Browns’ preseason opener against the Rams and was pretty critical of St. Louis. Kosar consistently ripped on the Rams’ receivers, calling them “horrible” at one point. In addition to ripping on the Rams receivers, Kosar disparaged backup quarterback Kellen Clemens (you can hear an example of that in the video at the top).
Fisher must have heard about Kosar’s criticism and did not appreciate it. He addressed the comments from Kosar after the Rams’ practice on Saturday.
“First off, let me say this,” Fisher began, “the Cleveland Browns organization is a first-class organization from top to bottom. And it has been that for years and years and years. I guess I’m a little disappointed. I feel bad for them that they had someone doing the broadcast feel the need to speak that way about players, specifically on our team. And coaches, for that matter. I’m surprised that Bernie has such a lack of respect for players and for this game. To be honest with you, I lost a lot of respect for him. This game is a preseason game. Players are playing hard. It’s highly unlikely he knew anything about our football team, but felt the need to make those comments. I didn’t think they were justified.”
According to FOX Sports Midwest’s Ben Frederickson, Fisher was then asked specifically what he thought about Kosar’s criticism of Rams quarterback Kellen Clemens.
“Again, Bernie’s got his issues,” Fisher said. “They’re well documented. Kellen played well. He played hard. He made plays”
Fisher’s comment that “Bernie’s got his issues” probably has to do with Kosar filing for bankruptcy in 2009, having a daughter who has done adult videos, and the former quarterback’s struggles with concussion effects from his playing days. Though Kosar probably has no business being anywhere near a broadcasting booth, we didn’t think there was anything wrong with his analysis. It was pretty honest, actually.
Below you can hear some of his remarks during the game:
