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Jim Caldwell Expresses Confidence In Cris Carter, Says 'Fall Guy' Comments Were A 'Blip'

By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby

ESPN's Cris Carter may have told NFL rookies to have a "fall guy" in their entourage to cover for them in times of trouble, but Lions head coach Jim Caldwell's opinion of the Pro Football Hall of Famer hasn't fallen a bit.

At last year's annual NFL rookie symposium, Carter was brought in as a speaker to give advice to the players. What he said has put the NFL into a tailspin: Players should consider finding themselves a "fall guy" who would take the blame for a player's legal transgressions, he said.

The fall guy would, theoretically, go to jail for the player in a worst-case scenario.

The NFL was quick to condemn Carter's words, saying in a statement that it "was not representative of the message of the symposium or any other league program."

On Tuesday, Caldwell - though not endorsing the "fall guy" philosophy - expressed confidence in Carter as a person.

"They (the NFL) do a tremendous job overall, and this is kind of one small blip and everybody will look at this kind of as if it was the main theme," he said. "I'll tell you also, I know Cris Carter. And Cris Carter is a really strong, stand-up guy that has a lot of passion and emotion for this game."

Caldwell has made a name for himself for his character-first philosophy in the locker room. He's known for being a no-nonsense coach with a mindset that a player should be held accountable for his actions off the field.

However, Caldwell didn't come out strongly against Carter's comments – even though if players went by the "fall guy" philosophy, they would be committing crimes and laying the blame on a friend.

Instead, he continued to praise Carter.

"I know he came out and apologized and those kinds of things, but as I said, he's a man's man and he's always been," Caldwell said. "He's a guy who loves the sport, loves the game, loves this league. Hall of Fame."

The "fall guy" fiasco is just one incident that has come to light about the potential negative messages being projected at the rookie symposium. Whether it's a symbol of a larger problem isn't something Caldwell is worried about.

He added: "Overall, you look at what they (the NFL) do, the goal and aim of that particular setting, those guys come back with knowledge and information that I think certainly does indeed help them just in terms of their transition from college into the National Football League."

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