Getty Rasul Douglas of the Packers
The NFL has spoken. It did not much like two plays the Packers were involved with in their Week 1 win over the Bears, and it handed out two fines in connection with them.
The first came in the third quarter, following a fumble recovery by the Packers on a third-and-3 play at the Green Bay 20-yard line. In the scramble after the recovery by Rasul Douglas, Cody Whitehair of the Bears appeared to lie on Douglas for a bit too long, and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell took exception, he tried to yank Whitehair off the pile. That’s a no-no, and Campbell was fined $10, 927.
The second occurrence came in the fourth quarter, on the play that sealed the game for the Packers, the pick-6 by linebacker Quay Walker with 12:36 to go in the game. Douglas was called for unsportsmanlike conduct during the celebration, and will be hit with a fine of $13,569.
Matt LaFleur Was Not Happy With Packers Penalties
When he met with the media last week, coach Matt LaFleur spoke about the penalties as one of the few dark spots on the Packers’ ledger from the otherwise jubilant win over the Bears. In addition to penalties for Campbell and Douglas, the Packers received two other whistles for unnecessary roughness, including one that was offset and another that landed on defensive back Rudy Ford, following a gain for the Bears that helped Chicago cinch its second touchdown of the game.
It’s possible that Campbell could appeal his fine, given that he was coming to the aid of a teammate. LaFleur noted that, “the guy was kind of putting his elbow into the neck of one of our guys,” and LaFleur added told Campbell, “You’ve just got to go slap his hand away or do whatever you can do to help your teammate out in that situation.”
But the penalty situation—nine for 90 yards, fifth-most in the league—was a problem.
“That’s definitely one thing we addressed today,” LaFleur said on Monday. “We’ve got to be smarter in those situations because those can really hurt you. … You’ve just got to keep your poise. Those are moments that you’ve got to learn and grow from. Thankfully, it didn’t cost us, but you never know when it can.”
League Handed Out 32 Fines in Week 1
According to the NFL, there were 2,468 total plays in Week 1, and 1.3%, or 32, resulted in fines. The heftiest fine given out was for Arizona’s Kyzir White, on an unnecessary roughness play in the Cardinals’ 20-16 loss to Washington, for which he was fined $18,056. Arizona was the most-fined team in Week 1 as well, with Paris Johnson, Rondale Moore and K’von Wallace also incurring fines totaling more than $45,000.
The fines are handed out as part of the NFL’s gameday accountability process, and according to the league, “The schedule of fines was jointly negotiated between the NFL and the NFLPA and is communicated to every NFL player prior to the season.”
Players may appeal the fines, and the appeals are decided on by appeals officers along with either James Thrash or Derrick Brooks, both former NFL players.