Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson has been fined $40,000 for his late hit on Philadelphia's Jeremy Maclin on Sunday.
Second fine for second hit on Eagles receiver by Falcons cornerback
Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson has escaped a ban for his late hit on Philadelphia's Jeremy Maclin on Sunday, but was handed a $40,000 fine.
Robinson lowered his shoulder and led with the helmet on a deliberate hit on Eagles widout Maclin just after the receiver had taken in a catch.
Robinson was given 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness for the hit, which looked exactly the type of head-to-head collision the NFL is trying to stamp out.
The league had warned that suspensions would be used to stop hits like the one Robinson put on Maclin during the falcons' win on Sunday, but the Atlanta man has escaped with a fine this time.
Robinson may also count himself fortunate as he is a repeat offender, having done a similar thing last year, also against the Eagles, when his hit on DeSean Jackson left both players suffering from concussion.
Punishment
NFL vice president of football operations Merton Hanks did write a letter to Robinson when notifying him of the fine and warning that "future offences will result in an escalation of fines up to and including suspension."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell believed that just handing out a fine for Robinson was the correct course of action, but reiterated the desire to stamp out dangerous hits.
"There's no such thing as a perfect example," said Goodell. "There are individual elements of each hit. We're trying to identify the techniques that will make our game safer."
Maclin was slow to get up after the hit, but held the catch and returned to play the rest of the game, but was not happy with what he called a 'dirty' hit.
"He's two-for-two now. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as the hit on DeSean was last year," Maclin said after the game. "We'll see what (Commissioner) Roger Goodell has in store for him. The hit kind of shocked me at first, but I was all right."
Jackson, who was on the wrong end of a Robinson hit last season, wanted to move on from the incident but hit out at the cornerback for stepping over the line again.
"I guess that's the type of player he is. He tries to go for the kill shot," Jackson said. "He got flagged for it. I'm glad Jeremy's OK, but you've got to move on. It's football, so it's part of the business."
Falcons coach Mike Smith has insisted that he thought Robinson's hit was legal and did not deserve the fine.
