Did you see the episode I'm referring to? I reduced 20 minutes of Joyner's selfish, childish and assnine behavior into a few sentences. Very long story short: Fisher's inability to instill discipline or 'handle" his players is definitely an issue. (That and an offense only Chuck Knox could love)
No. I saw the preview. It was enough for me. Every team has a number of guys who react that way. Part of being a NFL head coach is knowing how to massage egos. If you're too rigid, players won't play for you.(Tom Coughlin learned this and it made him a much better HC) If you're too soft, they won't respect you.
Jeff Fisher has been around as long as he has because he knows how to walk the line. He knows how to get guys to play for him. He knows how to keep guys in line. Fisher's ability to motivate and handle players isn't a question for me.
And if you doubt how Fisher handled the situation, the results should speak volumes. LaMarcus Joyner is out there playing the best football of his career. He's a key player for our defense. He's playing through a bad injury and playing well. Fisher clearly said what needed to be said.
A lot of people here conflate discipline with success. Truth is that a "lack of discipline" (i.e., penalties) isn't what costs us football games. There are currently 11 teams tied for the top 10 in penalties accrued this year.(the Rams are #4) Of those 11 teams, only 3 (LA, Jacksonville, and Tennessee) have below .500 records.
You can win with a team that "lacks discipline."(i.e., racks up penalties) You can't win with a team that doesn't score points. Like I said, I'm not concerned about Fisher's ability to handle players or instill discipline. I'm concerned with his inability to put a functional offense on the field. We can go out there and win more games than we lose while racking up penalties like we do now if we put a league average offense on the field. I don't care how disciplined we are when it comes to penalties; we won't win more games than we lose if we continue to be the worst in the NFL at scoring points.