It was announced earlier today that Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was fined $7,500 for his horse-collar tackle of Seahawks linebacker David Hawthorne in the third quarter of the Ravens 22-17 loss to Seattle last Sunday. The tackle happened after Flacco threw a pass that ended up being intercepted by Hawthorne. While I am glad to see Flacco was fined, it is curious as to why he was fined half what Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was fined for his horse-collar tackle on Ravens running back Ricky Williams back in week 1. Polamalu was fined $15,000 for his tackle. The minimum for such fine is $15,000 according to the league.
I agree that both of the tackles could have caused serious injury, but to say one was more egregious than the other and worth the extra $7,500 is pretty ludicrous. Was Polamalu fined more because he plays defense? If so, shouldn\’t the rules work both ways? The NFL is splitting hairs right here that it has no business doing and it is injustices such as this that drives Steeler Nation and the Steelers organization crazy. A horse-collar tackle is a horse-collar tackle. Both are penalized the same distance and both should be fined the same amount.
Here are some still screen shot pictures below of both tackles. You tell me what you think.
