When will the NFL enforce fines unilaterally?

[mikesteelnation1]

Let's talk a bit about how the NFL levies fines, and how they do so in a manner that screams they choose who they want to fine. They don't fine everybody who does x or y, and when they do the fines are always a judgement call.

Yes I know, I've always 100% backed up a player complaining about getting a fine or suspension and pointed to the cba. They signed it, they own it. I'm not trying to say anything different here. The player does own it. The player hasn't said a single word in the matter ill describe below. He shouldn't. He deserved the fine. 100%.

How on gods green earth does manny sanders get a 15k fine for his {academic award performance} with that leg cramp, but victor Cruz gets zero for his masterful dive, ala soccer or NBA style? That's garbage. The refs rightfully threw a flag, based on NFL instructions. Let me explain a bit more..

The refs have been told in the matter of player safety to err on the side of caution, and call it if it looks like an illegal hit. The refs 100% made the right call. Cruz sold it so well with his dive. A guy with a rib injury writhes in pain (see rainey, Chris from later in that game). He doesn't lay motionless for an extended period of time. At speed, based on the NFL's creedo I was pissed Clark made a careless hit when ike had position on the ball. I thought it was helmet to helmet.

On seeing the first replay, I was so pissed. No words. Cruz sold it perfectly. Not a damn thing wrong with him the rest of the game. Not on the injury report this week. Didn't have concussion tests administered on the sidelines, or this week leading up to the following game. He said he "got the wind knocked out". Sorry, but you don't lay motionless when you can't catch your breath!!!

Both ref crews called the manny and Cruz plays correctly on the field. Player safety first. However, when a player uses the leagues edict to his competitive advantage, the league needs to step in and send a message. Why wasn't Cruz summoned to the league office???

Both guys committed the same egregious mis step of acting hurt to gain a competitive advantage, why didn't both players and teams get the same post mortem fines as a result?

As a footnote, let's keep the bounty gate garbage out of this thread. We've beaten that horse to death.... Like really for everyone's sanity, don't bring it up.

[packa7x]

Mike, I think the answer to this is: if you fined every player who got taken out for a play it'd get pretty annoying. While it looked like Cruz did take a dive, it didn't stop the clock at an important juncture in the game or anything. I think it's the right call not to fine him

[Andy Freeland]

I have to admit, I didn't see the Cruz play. I did think that the Sanders fine was excessive and probably had more to do with the fact that it happened on national tv than anything else. I also think he could have gotten away with it if he'd done a better acting job. He just made it way too obvious that he was intentionally breaking the rules. The point of the Sanders play wasn't to stop the clock, it was that Ben was going to have to sit out a play because he was slow to get up or the Steelers were going to have to use a timeout. The NFL was annoyed that he was using a rule designed for player safety to circumvent a rule for player safety (Ben having to sit out a play). The NFL was just trying to make a point in their usual ham-handed way and I'm willing to bet that Sanders has been compensated one way or the other.

[Curtis]

Cruz got popped pretty good. You could hear it. The ref made the call and it's in the books. And in case you didn't know, Clark wasn't fined for that. There is no way to prove that Cruz took a dive. And honestly, after watching that play many times in rewind, he never needed to and I also think he was legit hurt. It was going to be called because the ref under the goal post was watching him from snap to whistle. Cruz went out and didn't come back until the next series.

Unlike Sanders, who came back in a play later and sprinted downfield to down Ben's pooch punt. Yoi! And Double Yoi!! It's another Pittsburgh miracle. /vomit
He was fined and made an example. He circumvented the rules and in simple terms, that's cheating. He earned the fine, which could have been more had the NFL found evidence that the Steelers coaches planned Sanders' Immaculate Deception. And to the fact that he is appealing makes him a moron. Unless he wants to tell the NFL that Tomlin told him to do it, he should just eat the fine.

[vancemeek]

Yeah, the difference is that Cruz definitely took a solid pop. Reasonable to think it might have shaken him up. Sanders was an obvious fake. I doubt he wins the appeal, but I don't blame him for trying.

[mikesteelnation1]

Cruz got popped pretty good. You could hear it. The ref made the call and it's in the books. And in case you didn't know, Clark wasn't fined for that. There is no way to prove that Cruz took a dive. And honestly, after watching that play many times in rewind, he never needed to and I also think he was legit hurt. It was going to be called because the ref under the goal post was watching him from snap to whistle. Cruz went out and didn't come back until the next series.

Unlike Sanders, who came back in a play later and sprinted downfield to down Ben's pooch punt. Yoi! And Double Yoi!! It's another Pittsburgh miracle. /vomit
He was fined and made an example. He circumvented the rules and in simple terms, that's cheating. He earned the fine, which could have been more had the NFL found evidence that the Steelers coaches planned Sanders' Immaculate Deception. And to the fact that he is appealing makes him a moron. Unless he wants to tell the NFL that Tomlin told him to do it, he should just eat the fine.

You're right, there's no way to prove Cruz took a dive. On the flip, you can't PROVE sanders did either. Both were judgements calls. Sure manny was a worse actor than Cruz, but both did the same thing. Fake an injury to get a favorable call. Sorry buy Cruz was almost as bad. He claimed a rib injury and being out of breath. You know full well, as do I, that being out of breath you don't (or more apt CAN'T lay not moving).

Yes sanders showed the bs covering the punt more than Cruz, by saying he sat out the series is bs. He sat out a scoring play, and the defensive series, then returned. He sat one play by rule.

Not sure why you fired out the steelers hate for no reason.

Read my op. Both calls on the field were correct. The problem was Cruz taking the dive. By not fining him for doing so, the league has admonished wr's taking a dive for the penalty that isn't deserved.. expect many more to do the same. Act like you've been hit helmet to helmet when you got hit hard legally to get that free play and the 15 yards.

Like I said in the op, sanders deserves the fine. He did wrong. In that same vein, so does Cruz. He totally faked it. He acted concussed. He wasn't. He purposely laid motionless.

It all comes down to how the league office handled it, after the whistle. They pick and choose how they enforce their rules, quite Willy nilly. This is an example of that.. I'm just sayin...

[vancemeek]

Cruz didn't take a dive. He took a legit hard hit. Sanders apparently got hurt just standing there.

[packa7x]

Yeah Mike, this one is pretty clear cut. Cruz did take a huge pop and the Giants would have benefitted regardless of how long he was down for.

[Bengals1181]

I'm all for equilateral fines, but Sanders got what he deserved.

[tubbs1518]

I agree with basically everyone else. Sanders deserved the fine, Cruz did not. He took a hard shot. And yes I've seen people just lay there not moving as they are trying to get their breath back. I personally move as little as possible when I get the breath knocked out of me.