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Week 12: Buccaneers at Titans

4th Quarter | 1:08 remaining | Titans 23-17 | Buccaneers ball | 3rd & 10 @ TEN 34
In a downpour with the clock running, Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman completed a pass to running back Kregg Lumpkin for 9½ yards. Although short, it was close, but the officials did not call for a measurement, nor did the replay official stop the play for a review.

Rather than clock the ball on fourth down (which would end the game on downs), Freeman hastily carried the ball, fumbling the wet ball in the process. With the clock under two minutes, the only Buccaneers player eligible to recover the fumble and advance it would be Freeman, since he was the fumbler.

Of course, the Bucs fans were looking for confirmation of the first down in the process. NFL.com posted video of the fourth-down play, but not the spot of the ball following the third-down play.

By now, you have heard that Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was ejected Thursday for stepping on Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith (video). Of course, Suh says he shouldn’t have been tossed, because his foot was tangled with Dietrich-Smith (although the video shows otherwise). As Fox Sports analyst Troy Aikman aptly put it, “That’s an excellent block on [Dietrich-Smith's] part, and Ndamukong Suh doesn’t like it.” It was referee Terry McAuley’s second ejection in the game, with Packers cornerback Pat Lee being tossed before halftime for landing a punch (video).

The Suh ejection was for the kicking Dietrich-Smith. The league will review the entire video which shows Suh slamming Dietrich-Smith’s head to the turf a few times.

The NFL is mulling over a 1- or 2-game suspension for Suh, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer. However, it would be an odd statement of priority if Suh is suspended for two games.

There were two multiple-game suspensions for an on-field incident in NFL history. Both incidents were far more serious than Suh’s conduct, so the precedent would be Suh has a one-game suspension on the way:

• 1986. Packers defensive lineman Charles Martin hit Bears quarterback Jim McMahon well after a pass, separating McMahon’s shoulder. Referee Jerry Markbreit ejected Martin, which was rare at the time for a non-fighting incident. Martin was suspended two games by commissioner Pete Rozelle.
• 2006. Titans defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth stomped on Cowboys offensive lineman Andre Gurode’s face. Referee Jerome Boger assessed a rare double personal foul and ejected Haynesworth. Gurode needed 30 stitches to close the wound caused by Haynesworth’s cleats.

The last suspension for an on-field incident was Dante Wesley’s flagrant hit in 2009 which resulted in a one-game suspension (Zebra Blog coverage).

Saints at Panthers | 1st quarter | 3:05 remaining | video. Panthers receiver Steve Smith scored a touchdown and was immediately plowed over by Saints safety Roman Harper. You don’t need to drag out the Pythagorean theorem to see that Harper’s angle on the play only has him meeting Smith in the end zone, and not before. Should this hit have resulted in an ejection? | 2nd quarter | 5:32 remaining | video. Saints running back Mark Ingram was flagged for taunting on his touchdown run, which will likely lighten his pocket with a $7,500 fine this week.

 Titans at Steelers | 3rd quarter | 2:01 remaining | video. Well, this is embarrassing! A recovery of an onside kickoff by Titans special teamer Alterraun Verner has line judge Byron Boston pointing one way and first-year field judge David Meslow pointing the other way. Meslow quickly recanted his possession arrow to indicate Titans ball. Walt Anderson was the referee.

Eagles at Bills | 4th quarter | 1:23 remaining | video. The only reason this gets mentioned is that a pre-snap penalty rarely makes a highlight reel. A neutral zone infraction by Eagles defensive lineman Juqua Parker is the football equivalent of a bottom-of-the-ninth, tie-game, bases-loaded balk.

Image credit: NFL/CBS Sports

Each week, we keep track of the fines assessed by the NFL for on-field incidents. Total through Week 2: 11 fines, $170,000.

•  Titans tight end Daniel Graham, $5,000, throwing ball into stands.
• Titans defensive end Jason Jones, $15,000, facemask-to-helmet hit.
• Falcons safety William Moore, $7,500, helmet-to-helmet hit.
• Browns defensive lineman Phil Taylor, $7,500, late hit on quarterback (appealing fine).
• Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, undisclosed, excessive celebration penalty.
• Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, $7,500, low block (appealing fine).
• Steelers linebacker James Farrior, $15,000, late hit on quarterback.

For Massaquoi, the NFL’s 2011 Schedule of Fines lists taunting as a minimum $7,500 for a first offense. To keep the meter functioning properly, we will use this amount until verification is found.

This week: 8 fines, $65,000 (estimated).

Apparently there is an epidemic of disconcerting signals that is breaking out.

It is illegal for a defensive player to simulate or override the quarterback’s snap count. Rarely is the disconcerting signals penalty called (one instance from 2010 against the Colts [video] is all we can recall), but when it is, it is a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul.

• Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said that Broncos defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson simulated the snap count on two plays from the 1-yard line. Vickerson was a teammate of Hasselbeck’s with the Titans and the Seahawks.
• On the Monday night game, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had to play improvized sandlot football on at least four plays — one leading to an interception (video) — because center Phil Costa allegedly heard the Redskins defense mimicking the snap count. A reel of the errant snaps (video) was posted at NFL.com; on the third play in the clip package you can hear a “hut, hut”  as Romo was looking to his right, so he clearly wasn’t calling for the ball at that point.

Look for the league to issue a warning memo to all 32 teams regarding disconcerting signals this week.

Every week, we will try to tally up the fines assessed by the NFL for on-field incidents.

Last week’s total: 7 fines, $92,500.

• Most notably, Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson, fined $40,000, according to the NFL: “the minimum amount … for a second violation of the rules on hits against defenseless players” (our take: a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit).
• Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan, $7,500, unnecessary roughness. Morgan plans to appeal the fine, because he was trying to jump on a loose ball, and, as he says, “I couldn’t stop myself in mid-air.”
• Chargers defensive tackle Antonio Garay, $15,000, hit on a quarterback below the knee (photo of the play at the link).
• Seahawks defensive tackle Raheem Brock, $15,000, hit on a quarterback below the knee (video). He, too, has plans to appeal (@RaheemBrock).

This week: 4 fines, $77,500.

Last year, we wondered (in a pun-filled headline) if a pull of an opponent’s long hair could be one of the elements of an illegal horse-collar tackle. One of the criteria of a horse-collar tackle is to grab a player from the shoulder area and pull him backwards. Since long hair that sticks out of the helmet is essentially considered part of the “uniform,” we thought this was possible.

Referee Mike Carey answered our question on Sunday on a tackle by the Jared Cook of the Titans. Cook tackled Rashean Mathison on a special-teams play by grabbing a handful of hair. Carey said the penalty flag on the play was being picked up:

There is no foul for a horse-collar. The runner was grabbed by the hair which is legal. The half is over.

Seeing as long hair could be grabbed by an opponent, you would think that a coach would ban their players from having their locks flowing from the back of the helmet.

Not so fast, coach. Buried in the 301-page collective bargaining agreement between the players and the NFL, is this little nugget in Article 49, Section 2:

Personal Appearance: Clubs may make and enforce reasonable rules governing players’ appearance on the field and in public places while representing the Clubs; provided, however, that no player will be disciplined because of hair length or facial hair.

Mathis in a 2009 file photo courtesy Erjenkins1 at en.wikipedia.

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.

Street brawls and cheap shots are about to become a bit more common in the NFL.

After banging each other under the hood, the NFL opted to fine habitual offender Cortland Finnegan of the Titans and repeat offender Andre Johnson $25,000 each — the league minimum for a second offense . Neither player will sit out next week’s game as was widely speculated.

Last week, the NFL assessed the same fine on the Raiders’ Richard Seymour for his sucker punch on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This was a second offense for Seymour.

Finnegan was warned to watch his on-field roughness in Week 4 or that he would face a possible suspension. I suppose a suspension would be possible if Johnson’s detached head was still in the helmet when Finnegan threw it.

The league is sending a very clear message that this behavior will be lightly punished. Especially when the fine amounts to 5½ minutes of work.

Week 12: Titans at Texans

Rarely do any fistfights in football inflict damage on the combatants. However, Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan and Texans receiver Andre Johnson found a way around that and had one of the most violent fights in the NFL in the color television era.

Undoubtedly the NFL will not provide the video link to it on their site, the only officially sanctioned source for video clips. We will post a link if we find one (or alert us to one in the comments). (Update: I owe the NFL a big apology. Here is the video.)

Both players yanked off each other’s helmets as they pummeled each other in an old-fashioned hockey-style fight. The officials, armed with just whistles and yellow flags, had little to do to break up the fight.

Finnegan is already on notice by the league; in Week 4 that he was notified that he faces possible suspension for any future on-field acts. The level of the battle is likely to have both players suspended anyway, so Finnegan might have an extremely rare multiple-game suspension for an on-field incident. Finnegan and Johnson were ejected from the game after the fourth-quarter incident.

Clete Blakeman was the referee and side judge Greg Meyer is shown giving Johnson the ejection signal immediately after the fight breaks.

The Titans and Texans met in Week 2 of 2009 with an ejection and fines being levied for fighting during that game.