|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HUGH DOUGLAS FINED $35,000 FOR ILLEGAL BLOCK ON JIM MILLER
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas has been fined $35,000 for illegally blocking Chicago Bears quarterback Jim Miller in last Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff Game. NFL Director of Football Operations Gene Washington, who administers discipline for player-against-player violations, issued the fine. During the second quarter of the January 19 game, Miller threw a pass from the Philadelphia 33-yard line that was intercepted by the Eagles at the 2-yard line. Douglas then immediately blocked Miller to the ground in an illegal manner, causing him to sustain a shoulder injury. In a letter to Douglas, Washington said that Douglas’ actions violated NFL Rule 12, Section 2, Article 11, paragraph 7. The rule states: “Passer Out of the Play – A passer who is standing still or fading backwards after the ball has left his hand is obviously out of the play and must not be unnecessarily contacted by the defense through the end of the play or until the passer becomes a blocker, or until he becomes a runner upon taking a lateral from a teammate or picking up a loose ball, or, in the event of a change of possession on the play, until the passer assumes a distinctly defensive position.” Washington noted in his letter to Douglas that Miller did not assume a “distinctly defensive position.” Instead, he was at least 25-30 yards away from the action and “as a result of the timing and character of your pass rush, he either did not have the time or he did not seek to engage himself in a distinctly defensive position with respect to the potential return of the interception.” Earlier this season, NFL Director of Officiating Mike Pereira brought this rule to the attention of all teams and coaching staffs through a memorandum and videotape that was shared with all players. The October 5 memo emphasized that on a change of possession the quarterback is “off limits” and “must not be unnecessarily contacted” by an opponent “unless and until he assumes a distinctly defensive position.” The videotape included examples of hits on quarterbacks in situations where the quarterback was either out of the play or had left the pocket. Douglas’ fine was his second in two weeks for unnecessary roughness. Following the Eagles’ Wild Card Playoff against Tampa Bay on January 12, Douglas was fined $5,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit against Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson. Each player in the Divisional Playoffs receives $17,000. Players on Division Champions receive an additional $17,000 each if they played in the Wild Card Playoffs. |