Bernard Pollard Fined $10,000 For Hit On Deji Karim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G4e4THJ6cc&feature=related

"Bernard Pollard was fined $10,000 for unnecessary roughness. Specifically, on a pass play, he struck a defenseless player in the head and neck area. – AFC spokesman Corry Rush"

Bernard Pollard has been issued a $10,000 fine by the NFL for a supposed “illegal” hit on Jacksonville Jaguars running back Deji Karim. Pollard received a 15 yard penalty for the hit which was criticized by many including the Monday Night Football announcers.

More after the jump…

"Like I’ve said before, with these rules they’re putting in, you’re going to get guys hurt because now when you tell a guy, ‘OK, don’t hit in the chest. We know you can’t hit in the head, but don’t hit in the chest either,’ what everybody is going to start doing is going after people’s knees because you’ve got to bring them down some way, somehow. So now when you get those hits on the knees, you’re going to have some guys going out. So are they going to make this flag football? You never know. So I think with the rules they’re implementing, we’ve got to be ready to go. We’ve got to be ready as defenders. We respond, and we react, and we react to them. So when you have quick passes, you’ve got to get them down some way, somehow. We all know and understand that we cannot take the face shots because you’ve got the concussions and everything else. But you can’t shut us off and tell us that we can’t hit the chest or we can’t lean in with our shoulder and hit them in the shoulder or chest. – Bernard Pollard on his penalized hit"

It’s clear that Pollard’s helmet never made contact with Karim’s as he led with his shoulder. Karim was anything but defenseless as the ball he was bobbling the ball in an attempt to catch it.

"When the ball is in the man’s hands, how else can you make a better hit than what Pollard made on that play? That’s what football is. That’s the essence of football from a defensive side of the ball. – Ray Lewis"

Pollard made clean contact and a great hit. That’s what football is right there and I’m shocked to see that he was fined for it. When is it going to end? I’m all for player safety but when it starts to change the way a wonderful game like football is played, it must stop. I love football because it involves contact and some risk. Without it, football’s no longer enjoyable for myself and many others. This game is becoming way too soft for my liking and these rules need to fade fast if the sport is going to last much longer.

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