Steelers vs. NFL Collection Agents

More news regarding fines, or lack thereof, for the Steelers. Apparantley Ray Anderson, NFL's executive Vice President of Football Operations, took some time out to pay a personal visit to the Steelers facilities yesterday to discuss some of the questionable fines some of the players have received recently, comments made by Troy Polamalu about the NFL becoming a 'pansy league', and to discuss the block that Hines Ward put on Bengals LB Keith Rivers that broke Rivers' jaw and put him out for the season. I applaud the league for making the gesture. Again, it wont change the way that the Steelers play, but it was a good, borderline necessary move to get everyone on the same page.

All sides seemed to have a better understanding of each other at the conclusion of the meeting. When asked why players were fined for plays that were not even penalized on the field, Anderson stated the following:

"It is not a requirement that, in fact, a flag be thrown before a person can be fined for a foul," said Anderson, who said there were 139 fines distributed so far leading into last week's games. "What we explained to the players is about 40 percent of our fines are assessed against plays that are actually not flagged on the field."

139 fines and we're moving into week 8. Yikes. Now I'm no math major, but lets do some numbers here:

139 fines divided by 7 weeks: 19.85 fines per WEEK. Meaning on average, every game you watch, someone will be fined for something that either happens in the game, or is said about the game afterwards. And more often than not, unless they happen to your team, you'll never know about 40% of them. I wish they also specified a monetary value of those 139 fines, so that we could get an average amount per fine.

In researching this, here is a listing of infractions that, if caught (and oh, you WILL be caught) will reserve players a nice NFL letterhead delivered by FedEx on Wednesday morning.

Fines listed are minimums unless otherwise specified. Other forms of discipline, including higher fines, suspension and banishment may also be imposed, based on the circumstances of the particular violation. Players who were fined for violations in 2007 and whose fines were either partially or fully upheld, will be considered second and/or repeat offenders under this policy. Rescission of fines for first offenders shall not be automatic.

Offense Against Game Official:

Physical Contact with Official:

First Offense: $25,000

Second Offense: $50,000

Verbal or other Non-Physical Offense Against Official:

First Offense: $20,000

Second Offense: $40,000

Flagrant Personal Foul:

Suspension or fine; severity to be determined by degree of violation; the fine may be $10,000 or higher for first offense.

Fighting:

Fighting:

First Offense: $10,000

Second Offense: $25,000

Unnecessarily Entering Fight Area (active involvement):

First Offense: $5,000

Second Offense: $10,000

Unnecessarily Entering Fight Area (no active involvement):

First Offense: $2,500

Second Offense: $7,500

Sportsmanship:

Excessive Profanity; other Unsportsmanlike Conduct (e.g., toward opponent(s), game personnel, fans, etc.):

First Offense: $10,000

Second Offense: $20,000

Taunting:

First Offense: $7,500

Second Offense: $10,000

Football Into Stands:

First Offense: $5,000

Second Offense: $10,000

Uniform:

Foreign Substances on Body/Uniform:

First Offense: $10,000

Second Offense: $15,000

Personal Messages:

First Offense: $5,000

Second Offense: $10,000

Chin Straps:

First Offense: $7,500

Second Offense: $10,000(Additional fines may be imposed on team management and coaching staffs for condoning, permitting, etc., violations in this area)

Other Uniform/Equipment Violation:

First Offense: $5,000

Second Offense: $10,000

On Field Logo Violation:

Preseason and Regular Season

First Offense: $10,000

Second Offense: $20,000

Playoffs (Including Pro Bowl)First Offense: $50,000

Second Offense: $75,000

Super Bowl$100,000

Gang Signing:

Considered conduct detrimental to the League; suspension or fine; severity to be determined in accordance with provisions of the Personal Conduct Policy.

The thing I actually take most from this is the 5 G's for tossing a ball into the stands. Hines does that after every touchdown, and it appears to me that Fast Willie did it after each of his three in the opener as well. That's in addition to the fines that Hines would receive for "Unnecessary Roughness" agains the Ravens.

Does the $5,000 fine also apply to those who keep the ball after they score a touchdown? I knew there was a charge for the balls that people kept or tossed up into the stands, but 5 G's. Damn!

Finally on this topic, they also discussed this apparant bounty that is on Hines Ward for the rematch against the Ravens on December 14. Again, opponents have been trying to get shots in at Hines his whole career, with very little success. If FrankenBerry (T-Sizzle), Ray Ray and mini me (Bart Scott) want to try again then so be it. Mr. Anderson did say that the league would look into the same bounty that Suggs admitted that the Ravens put on Ward and Mendenhall in their first meeting, and take appropriate action, if necessary. I don't really know what else there is to look into, the guy admitted they did it...but we'll see what happens. I have another clip for Mr. Anderson and the league offices. Of course ESPN miked up Ray Lewis for the Monday Nighter at Heinz. Go to the clip they showed of him huddling the defense up before kickoff. I dont remember the exact quote, but it was something like "EVERY TIME SOMEONE TOUCHES THE BALL, THEYRE GETTIN KNOCKED OUT, LETS GO!!!" No doubt, something commonly said amongst defensive captains league wide, but when paired with admission of a bounty on specific players, can be rather incriminating.

How dumb is it to admit that your team went out with the intent to injure players? I guess Ray Ray already knows he's above the law, given his status as a free man. As for Suggs...well, you ask him to draw you a picture of stupid and he'd eat his crayon.

More later, friends.