Lions guard Stephen Peterman and linebacker Julian Peterson were both fined by the NFL this week for penalties they received during last Sunday's Jets game. Peterman's fine was $10,000 for a pair of chop block penalties and Peterson was docked $7,500 for a late hit on LaDainian Tomlinson at the end of the fourth quarter.
↵Fines are nothing new in the NFL, especially this season, but these two are pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Yes, it is true that Peterman received two chop block penalties against the Jets, but did the NFL even go back and watch the tape? The penalties were awful calls, which both Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker, the game's announcers, even noticed. Peterman did not cut block engaged defenders and no flags should have been thrown. If anything, the referees that threw the flags should be fined for the awful calls, especially when this was the explanation for the penalties:
↵↵↵"I went and talked to him (the official) and he basically told me I was baiting the guy into chopping him," Peterman said.
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Peterman is appealing the fine and rightfully so. The calls were terrible and the explanation was even worse. Peterson, who clearly did make a late hit, is not going to appeal his fine. He probably wouldn't win the appeal, but I still don't see how his hit was cause for a $7,500 fine. It was basically a shove just as Tomlinson stepped out of bounds. A penalty? Yes. A fine? Only in the NFL, I guess.