On Sunday, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor applied a wicked hit to 49ers tight end Vernon Davis. It gave Davis a concussion, and it resulted in a flag being thrown on Chancellor.
In the days since Sunday, plenty of you have asked whether Chancellor has been fined. Earlier tonight, Chancellor said on Twitter that he hasn’t been fined, yet. “I haven’t received a fine for all the 12’s and people that were wondering,” Chancellor said. “Tryin to do things the right way.”
As to Davis, Chancellor thinks he did the right thing. “All chest shot,” Chancellor said. “Stevie Wonder seen it.”
He’s right. The flag was thrown because the officials are told to err on the side of protecting players. And as NBC officiating consultant Jim Daopoulos consistently has explained, the officials realize that throwing a flag in a case where it’s ultimately not a foul is better than not throwing the flag and having the tape show that it was.
For the former, the official won’t be downgraded. For the latter, he will be.
In Chancellor’s case, the flag was thrown. The fine likely won’t follow -- especially since these fines typically are issued by Wednesday.