On Monday night, Texans defensive end Antonio Smith elbowed Titans center Kevin Mawae in the midsection, right in front of the umpire and the TV cameras.
At the time the move cost the Texans 15 yards, and now it will cost Smith $10,000.
Mawae has a reputation as something of a cheap shot artist, so it's entirely possible that Smith was retaliating for something, but the bottom line is that Smith is the one who got caught, and the elbow to the ribs was an incredibly stupid move on Smith's part. It's no surprise that Smith was fined by the league.
Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was fined $5,000 for hitting Titans quarterback Vince Young out of bounds. That hit wasn't as flagrant, but it also cost the Texans 15 yards.
Smith fined $10,000 for cheap shot on Mawae
Posted by Michael David Smith on November 28, 2009 11:41 AM ET
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The Cushing fine is a joke. Might as well give the QB's a red jersey and two flags. This isn't football anymore, its flag/two hand touch. Pathetic. Your doing a real good job Roger...NOT.
I think it was worth it... the Titans are probably the dirtiest team in the NFL & have been for a while.....I'm sure it was some type of retaliation for the Titans earlier transgretions...
Yep, lots of times it's the retaliator who is the one that gets caught. They don't always see what the first guy did. You never know.
I understand why a penalty was called against cushing for his hit against VY just because I have seen Donovan Mcnabb get pushed out of bounds on a soft push and he ended up tearing his ACL. These hits are not hard but can end up ruining a season which is why I believe the NFL is paying attention to these little shoves out of bounds. That being said, I don't think a fine was warranted.
Can anybody explain to me how Mawae has such a high position in the NFLPA if he is widely regarded as the dirtiest player in the league? Why would the other players vote for such a cheap shot artist?
The hit by Cushing should not have been flagged, and there is NO way he should have been fined. The NFL is really dumb sometimes.