Meanwhile, spotrac.com lists 55 fines handed out in 2016 for violations including impermissible use of the helmet, roughing the passer, and blindside blocks the likes of which Landry delivered to unsuspecting Aaron Williams of the Bills. Williams crumpled to the ground and had to be transported to the hospital. Those infractions resulted in the single suspension (Burfict) and an average fine of $16,500 in a league with an average annual salary of $1.9 million. That's an average of 0.8 percent of a player's salary.
Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward, the team's union representative, says the players would appreciate more clarity.
But he said the suspension helped change his outlook, in part because "if you can't play within the (rules), they'll find somebody else to do it."
A week before that, Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry took a running start at a defender who couldn't see him, slammed his shoulder into the player's neck and sent him to the hospital. Landry played on after a 15-yard penalty and later received a $24,000 fine.
After the hit on Williams,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, for which Landry expressed remorse, NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told NFL Total Access it would've been a difficult call to eject Landry because "it's still a football play, and it's tough to read intent there." He conceded "we have few automatic ejections in the game today."
"There's so many gray lines. Everybody is always waiting for someone, or what Goodell is going to say," Heyward said. "If you have a set rule and a set amount and how it's going to be addressed,NFL Jerseys Outlet, I think you'll see more clarity and you're not going to have to deal with those (questionable hits)."
It's not to say the league is shy about ejecting and suspending players. Since the start of 2016 through Week 7, 47 have been suspended a total of 219 games and docked more than $18 million, according to the website spotrac.com.
The increased emphasis on technique and safety has undoubtedly played into the decline in fines for hits on defenseless players,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, which is one subset of the hits the AP reviewed as part of the spotrac.com numbers. The NFL says there were 40 such fines in 2012, and only 10 in 2015. Yet, the league's ability to police the violence this season came under scrutiny as early as Game 1, when MVP Cam Newton received four hits to the head in the season opener against the Broncos, none of which resulted in penalty yardage.
"As much as the league wants and needs to get rid of dirty plays and players, they don't want to take actions that compromise,Wholesale Authentic NHL Jerseys, or even appear to compromise, the actual contests themselves,Wholesale Jerseys China," said Doug Hartmann , a sociology professor at University of Minnesota, who teaches a course on sports in society. "Fines and such, in other words, have much less impact on actual games and outcomes than suspensions or expulsions."
But of those suspensions, the majority were for drug use or legal- and violence-related issues off the field. A four-game ban went to Tom Brady for "Deflategate." And spotrac.com lists only one illegal-hit suspension — for three games — which went to Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict after his vicious hit to Steelers receiver Antonio Brown's head in last season's melee of a playoff game.
That is the rule in college football, which also can use replay to pass final judgment on the legality of a hit.
Newton has complained to the NFL, going all the way to Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss. This week, Newton's coach, Ron Rivera, echoed Ryan, saying it might be time to crack down harder.
Since then, a total of 10 players have been suspended for illegal hits and other over-the-top physical play on the field, according to spotrac.com. Four of those suspensions, including Griffin's, came in 2013. Another four have come over the past three seasons.
"Ten years ago, when I came into the league ... the sky was the limit when it came to hits," said two-time Pro Bowl defensive back Michael Griffin of the Panthers. "You lived for hits like that."
The NFL has resorted to a more-direct approach before.
"What do you do when you want to punish somebody? You take something away," Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis said. "The money, yeah, cool, but depending on who you are, you're good as far as the money goes anyway because you know it's going to keep coming. When you take somebody out of the game, I think that's harsher."
No suspensions.
Last Sunday, Chiefs