Packers cornerback Charles Woodson was lucky not to be ejected after he punched Saints tight end David Thomas on Thursday night, and he said after the game that what had him so mad is that Thomas was holding him.
“I lost my cool,” he said. “The guy was blocking me and holding me and I’m trying to get off him. I just lost my cool. That’s all on me.”
Woodson, who picked up a 15-yard penalty, says he’s assuming he’ll be fined next week.
“I’m sure I will,” Woodson said. “There’s no getting around it. You all saw it. I’m sure all the people in the NFL who watch the tape, they’ll see it. There’s nothing I can do about it now. I can’t take it back.”
You could make a good case that Woodson should be suspended: If you’re supposed to be kicked out of a game for throwing a punch, and the officials mistakenly left you in the game, why shouldn’t you be barred from the next game? But Woodson can probably expect to get off with a fine of $25,000, as that’s what Andre Johnson, Cortland Finnegan and Richard Seymour all got for throwing punches last season.