The Buccaneers safeties were in a hitting mood last Sunday and the NFL has been in a taking mood as a result.
Dashon Goldson got hit with a $100,000 fine, after successfully appealing a one-game suspension, for his hit on Saints running back Darren Sproles and Ahmad Black will have to fork over $21,000 for his head shot on tight end Jimmy Graham. The two hits both came in the first half of the game and each drew flags for unnecessary roughness, with Black’s hit particularly standing out for its disregard of the league’s rules governing shots to the head of offensive players.
Black said Thursday that he and his Bucs teammates have to “lower the strike zone.”
“We’ve been playing football for a number of years now and to change it all of a sudden, its’ going to be tough for us, but it’s something we’ve got to do,” Black said, via Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. “It’s going to be tough, but in order to keep that check book heavy, it’s something you’ve got to do.”
With Black’s fine added to the total, the Bucs have now been fined $208,875 over the first two weeks of the season.