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DRC Fined $21,000 For Leftwich Hit

CBS – When the Eagles and Steelers squared off in Week 1 of preseason action, Byron Leftwich took a nasty shot (or shiver?) from Philly cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie that drew a well-deserved flag for a late hit. Literally the only person who thought the shot was OK was DRC himself, and now the league’s sided with the rest of us, fining the cornerback $21,000 for his hit on Leftwich. The NFL confirmed that fine, as first reported by Pro Football Talk. As Michael David Smith notes, the $21 grrrr is a five percent increase over what DRC would’ve gotten last year. That’s because the new CBA includes a provision to increase those fines five percent each year beginning in 2012. “The designated minimum fines will increase by 5 percent for the 2012 League Year, and each League Year thereafter during the term of this Agreement,” the CBA reads. But maybe a fine wasn’t enough? Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that the fine is “not sitting well” with folks around the league, and “one prominent coach thought this would merit a suspension.”

Chris Mortsensen’s sources can join Peter King in calming the hell down and realizing it was only Byron Leftwich. Nobody would have missed him.

Peter King went full nutjob and suggested that the hit — which was led by his shoulder pad and connected with mostly shoulderpad — should cost him SIX FIGURES, a suspension, and was “one of the most egregious hits I’ve seen in the league”. People have gone crazy these days. It’s still football. If a QB rolls out of the pocket and is in dual-threat mode there’s not much time for a DB to react. Imagine if this were a player on the bubble. Either he can make that hit, accept the fine, and get applauded by his coaches or try to ease up, possibly not get his man down/disrupt his timing, and get cut for not showing enough “instinct”.

Obviously I want to make sure the marquee quarterbacks in this league are healthy for the whole year since my team’s QB is made of glass, but I don’t wanna wake up one day as a middle aged man and see all of Sunday’s scores looking like Arena Football. There’s gotta be a balance.

Should’ve been flagged, possibly could have done without the fine.

By maurice posted August 17th, 2012 at 4:27 PM

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by Numero Two on August 17, 2012 at 4:31 pm

Mo, its pretty simple. Hit the dude in his exposed ribcage and break bones/vital organs. You know, fucking form tackle. Don't launch and target the head/shoulders. If this was Ike Taylor on Mike Vick there'd be hell to pay.
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by VicksDoggyDayCare on August 17, 2012 at 4:38 pm

What is "late" about this hit!? I guess it was a little high, but Leftwich was still throwin the ball. Nothing late about it.
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by nixtysine on August 17, 2012 at 4:40 pm

This hit was total bullshit, he straight up launched himself at BL's head. I miss the days of real football tackles. These pussy db's need to get their form down before the season actually starts. This is all aside from the fact that this is mother fucking preseason football, in a big game, maybe this doesnt look as outrageous, but in preseason? gimme a fucking break. And DRC, you fucking twat, its Byron Leftwich, there is no such thing as "dual threat mode", hell, i dont think there is such thing as "threat mode".
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by reeb on August 17, 2012 at 4:42 pm

How can you even be a little outraged by this Mo? This is clearly against the rules. They've been railing on this shit for years now. You cannot launch yourself at a dudes head, especially the fucking QB's. As the first commenter said, he absolutely should have just put his facemask in his ribs. You can still hurt the dude and not get fined. voila.
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by tempdaddy on August 17, 2012 at 4:48 pm

Can't wait until they officially rename it the NFFL...National Flag Football League. Whatever happened to 'not being a pussy'?
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by presmoobs on August 17, 2012 at 9:30 pm

Your such a joke mo, if this were Ike Taylor headhunting an eagle, you'd want a suspension
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by jackt20 on August 18, 2012 at 1:56 am

he left his feet and made contact with the head.. thats a penalty, flag, dirty play, possible fine/suspension not only in the NFL, but also the NHL. 21k is a stupid number.
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by bodybymolson on August 18, 2012 at 2:44 am

File this blog under "W" for "Who fuckin' cares"
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by goddy77 on August 18, 2012 at 6:47 am

Im a lifetime steeler fan and im kinda torn with this. I grew up when football was grimey so naturally i dont have a huge problem with this hit. I can see both sides. He def launched at the qb(which is prob why they threw a flag) but i think the hit itself was pretty fuckin awesome. I think most Steeler fans will agree but then again steelers fans grew up watching the steel curtain rip heads off of qbs every week so we appreciate GRIMEY. I just wish he woulda taken Lefty out with that shit. Lefty will get injured in the first series he hasto play anyway so quietly i wish DRC woulda taken his head off. Jerrod Johnson will be a better #2 eventually.
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by Tha_Dro_Man on August 18, 2012 at 12:48 pm

this shit infuriates me. i've always hated the fact that there's even such a thing as unnecessary roughness in this game i love so dearly. people "launching" is precisely what i want to see in football, and hockey too, for that matter. the whole point of contact sports is to hurt people, when did we lose sight of that? i'm a pats fan, but i jumped out of my seat when ryan clark laid out wes welker a couple years ago. that's exactly what i watch for. the passing and running is all well and fine, but that's not what excites me, it's the hitting. that's why i watch, that's why i played. nothing matches the thrill of watching a guy take a big shot and NOT get up, i don't care what team he plays for. i don't like the cheap injuries like brady in '08 or carson palmer a few years before that, where someone on the ground rolls on a leg and your knee snaps. but shit like this, this is why i love football... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNmEeTgYLvw these are the best ones, when BOTH guys get fucked up. real football right there.
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by republicoftexas on August 18, 2012 at 11:39 pm

DRC says he doesn't have 21k. Good thing you don't have to literate to play good football.
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by 112233 on August 19, 2012 at 11:59 pm

dro man, that hit on wes welker was an embarrassment to professional football. This hit is completely unnecessary and wasn't mostly on the shoulder pads as you can see in the replay
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