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Week 14: Dolphins at Jets

It was a routine punt, but at the conclusion of the play, Dolphins cornerback and special-teamer Nolan Carroll was prone on the turf. Jets assistant coach Sal Alosi admitted to what everyone could see from the broadcast camera (video). While running down the sideline, Alosi slyly and cowardly extended his knee into Carroll’s path.

While the back judge Rich Reels marked the sideline with his hat (a signal that Carroll went out of bounds and cannot be the first to touch the ball), he did not throw a penalty for sideline interference. Because it is so rare for a member of the sideline to blatantly obstruct the play, it is not something an official is watching for, especially since it was done so surreptitiously.

Alosi released his confession through the team Sunday night:

I made a mistake that showed a total lapse in judgment. My conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike and does not reflect what this organization stands for.   I spoke to [Dolphins coach Tony] Sparano and Nolan Carroll to apologize before they took off. I have also apologized to [Jets owner Woody Johnson, general manager Mike Tannebaum, and coach Rex Ryan]. I accept responsibility for my actions as well as any punishment that follows.

That punishment is likely to be swift. In the last two instances of game-related non-player discipline, the league had a judgement before Monday Night Football, when fines are generally late-workweek business. In Week 4, Titans coordinator Chuck Cecil was fined $40,000 for giving, what the broadcast crew termed, a “Hawaiian peace sign.” Last season, Titans owner Bud Adams was fined a quarter-million for a similar gesture, which was also levied on Monday afternoon.

These past indescretions were for bad conduct, but otherwise had no impact on the game. What Alosi did was interfere with the game, which potentially could have affected the outcome. Had Carroll been badly injured, this could have had a significant impact on the game, the season, and even Carroll’s career. It is in light of this, that we are speculating that the NFL will take this action today:

• Fine Alosi $75,000, or some figure that is no more than 25% of his salary.
• Revoke his sideline privledges for the remainder of this season and the 2011 season, which essentially renders him unemployable on a pro sideline (and likely any sideline at any level). I suppose he could be suspended by the league, but at the very least he can be banned from the field.
• Fine the Jets organization $250,000 for employee conduct that tampered with the game.

Perhaps some dimly lit gym in Brooklyn will soon have a trainer who has the boring stories of his glory days, when he trained some of the best in the National Football League, and he threw it all away during a moment of carelessness and stupidity.

Week 4: Titans at Broncos

Titans defensive coordinator found "one" penalty he disagreed with. Credit: NFL/CBS Sports(

(Updated Monday at the end of the article)

Titans defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil was adamant in his displeasure over a call announced by referee Clete Blakeman in the first quarter against the Broncos. Problem is, he flipped a middle-fingered salute which was caught live by CBS cameras. (The referees did not see the gesture, so there was no penalty. If they had, it only would have resulted in a 1½-yard half-distance penalty being marked off.)

Announcer Kevin Harlan amusingly brushed it off as Cecil’s “Hawaiian peace sign,” but it might now be more associated with Nashville, as Titans owner Bud Adams gave a two-barreled salute to the Bills sideline last season. Adams, who is held to a higher standard by the league as an owner, was fined a quarter-million dollars for his birdies.

Pro Football Talk pointed out that the fine for Cecil could run into the six figure level, judging from Adams’ fine and a fine against Jets coach Rex Ryan. The flippy digit from Ryan came during a non-football event, and it still cost him $50,000. Being that Cecil did his during a broadcast event, and because he allegedly has a league conduct violation from a DUI arrest, the fine will likely be at least doubled. (Update: Cecil was fined $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct against a game official in December 2009.) Adams’ fine came early Monday morning after his Sunday afternoon game, and so swift judgment is expected here, too.

All for a neutral zone infraction which really made no difference, as the Broncos easily scored on the next play on first and goal.

(Update 10/4: As we guessed, the NFL was quick to administer a fine in this situation. According to Jim Wyatt at the Tennesseean, Cecil was fined $40,000, less than Ryan was fined by the NFL for conduct at a non-NFL event.)

Couple of stories of the NFL handing out fines for conduct:

• Backtracking to Week 9, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was fined $20,000 for arguing a call with referee Ed Hochuli. Cutler was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Much like Chad Ochocinco’s $1 facetious bribe the same day, this is the standard first-offense fine for “verbal or other non-physical offense against [an] official.”
• Also in the Bears–Cardinals game, the Bears defensive lineman Tommie Harris, who was ejected on the third play of the game for what Hochuli described as “slugging” another player, was fined $7,500 (video at 0:19).  Because the Bears played a Thursday night game, the fines were not announced until after their Week 10 game.
• Finally, in a case of swift justice, Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for obscene gestures launched from his luxury box towards the Bills sideline—or $125,000 for each finger. The incident happened at the end of Sunday’s game, with the fine being announced Monday morning. There was little dispute in the matter, as his double-barrelled salute was uploaded to YouTube.