Getty Jamie Collins before a Super Bowl.
The Detroit Lions lost linebacker Jamie Collins halfway through the game in Week 1 following contact with an official, and opinions on the ejection were varied.
Some felt as if Collins made a silly mistake that he deserved to be punished for. Others believed the punishment totally did not fit the crime. Collins’ agency could be counted as someone that thinks that. During the moment Collins was flagged and ejected, the account unleashed about the decision.
Here’s the response, containing some foul language:
As a whole, the interpretation here in the tweet is fairly correct. Contact with officials is a no-no, but in this instance, a penalty would have sufficed seeing as there was no intent at bodily harm made by Collins. The referees should have huddled to discuss the matter, then stuck with a 15 yard personal foul penalty.
Instead, Collins was tossed, folks were upset and the Lions ended up losing the game. Could Collins have made a difference in the final result? It’s likely he would say he could have, and the truth is probably on his side. Not having an elite linebacker on the field certainly helped aid in the collapse on Sunday afternoon.
As Collins’ agent believes, things should never have come to that if the referees were doing their job.
Jamie Collins Not Suspended Over Incident
Collins isn’t going to be suspended for the head butt, which ended up being little more than a love tap. That news was revealed early on Monday by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.
#Lions LB Jamie Collins won’t be suspended for the incident with an official that led to his ejection Sunday, I’m told.
Whether or not Collins will be fined remains anyone’s guess. One could imagine that a fine later in the week will be heading in his direction even if he will not be suspended.
The head contact occurred early in the first quarter as the Lions defense was attempting to slow down Chicago. Frustrated with head movements up front, Collins attempted to explain to the referee physically what was happening. The problem was he got a little too close and too animated.
Fortunately for the Lions, however, no suspension is coming.
Jamie Collins Head Butt Video
During Week 1’s loss, Collins was frustrated with an official not noticing a Bears lineman bobbing his head. So he showed the official what he was talking about. One problem? Collins made contact with the official and head butted him drawing a flag and an automatic ejection during the game.
Here’s the play:
Lions LB Jamie Collins was ejected after making contact with an official with his helmet.
Obviously, the contact with the official was a mistake and not intentional, but the simple fact is a player can’t touch the officials or come close to them. That was a pretty obvious mistake on the part of Collins.
Truthfully, though, it wasn’t something which warranted a lengthy suspension whatsoever.
Jamie Collins Stats
Collins has been a solid performer in the NFL for years. He started with the Patriots where he got to know Matt Patricia, and later was traded to the Cleveland Browns for a few seasons before he got released and signed back in New England.
In terms of production, Collins has been solid as well. Collins has put up 577 tackles, 24.5 sacks and registered 16 forced fumbles as well as 10 interceptions. He’s been a terror in terms of his ability to come off the edge and make a variety of plays for a defense.
That experience was missing in the second half for the Lions, which according to some should have never happened.