The NFL has a unique, to say the least, procedure for disclosing the fines imposed on players for various infractions happening in games. The league doesn’t affirmatively disclose all fines. It will, however, provide specific information about specific situations that may or may not have resulted in fines, on request.
It typically results in a rash of tweets every Saturday afternoon with reports regarding fines, or non-fines, based on the prior week’s games. More often than not, the hand-in-glove relationship between the NFL and NFL Media means that one or more NFL Media employees will have that information.
This weekend, those tweets will surely relate to one specific foot-in-crotch moment.
Rob Maadi of the Associated Press reports that the league will review the controversial roughing-the-passer call against Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett in an effort to determine whether Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady attempted to kick Jarrett, and whether Brady should be fined.
Spoiler alert: Brady did indeed try to kick Jarrett. Twice. It happened not only in a fourth-quarter moment that, thanks to the flag thrown on Jarrett, kept the Falcons from getting the ball back with a chance to win, but also during Tampa Bay’s opening drive of the game.
At 13:50 of the first quarter, Jarrett hits Brady and takes him to the ground after Brady threw the ball. On the ground, Brady clearly kicks at Jarrett. Brady didn’t connect, but he undoubtedly unleashed a #TommyTemperTantrum reaction toward the man who had dared to lay hands on the GOAT.
Brady did the same thing in the fourth quarter, and that’s the one for which he’s definitely under scrutiny. He should be under scrutiny for both.
It’s not the first time Brady has used his feet against an opponent. In January 2013, he was fined $10,000 for sticking a shoe into Ravens safety Ed Reed’s crotch during a slide. Last year, he went cleats up against the Giants, jamming his foot into the lower leg of defensive back Xavier McKinney. Brady wasn’t fined for that one.
Regardless of the accolades Brady has earned, it’s inappropriate and downright dirty to be kicking or spiking opponents. He doesn’t get criticized for it the way he should, because he’s Tom Brady. Regardless, he shouldn’t be immune from scrutiny.
Stay tuned for Saturday afternoon to see whether he’s fined for one or both of those kicks. And then stay tuned for the next episode of Let’s Go! to hear how he tries to laugh it all off by saying something like Jarrett ended up in far better shape than one of the many tablets Tom has destroyed in a moment of preschool petulance.