Several members of the Rams secondary are facing heavy fines from the NFL. After reviewing the game tape of the Rams’ victory over the Cardinals Sunday night, the league is sending a message to put an end to overly violent hits.
Rams defensive back Cortland Finnegan will surely be fined for his hit on Malcolm Floyd. After being ruled down on the play, Finnegan dove into Floyd. He also faces a fine for a late hit on Larry Fitzgerald out of bounds.
Finnegan has had a reputation as a dirty player since entering the league in 2006. He was fined $5,000 in 2010 for throwing Giant’s wide receiver Steve Smith to the ground by his helmet. He was docked another $10,000 for hitting Broncos offensive guard Chris Kuper with no helmet on. Finnegan then finished 2010 with a $25,000 fine for getting into a fist fight with Texans star Andre Johnson on the field.
In 2012 Finnegan became a free agent and signed with St. Louis. He joined former head coach Jeff Fisher to help rebuild the team.
Other Rams facing fines are T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod . The pair collided on a double helmet-to-helmet hit on Andre Roberts. The league is checking to see if Roberts was still a “defenseless” receiver when the aggressive double hit occurred.
The NFL will review the violent plays to determine whether the hits were legal or not. It can be assumed that with Finnegan’s reputation he will get a fine. With the league cracking down on violent hits this year , it will probably be a hefty one too.
It will be more interesting to see how the NFL handles the Andre Roberts hit. If he caught the pass and made a “football move” the double hit is legal. Still, with how much emphasis the league is playing on player safety and blows to the head, it would not be surprising to see McLeod and McDonald get fines regardless.
