It looks like the NFL sack leader isn’t too happy about a fine he is getting for one of his quarterback hits.
Eagles defensive end Jason Babin turned to Twitter to complain about his latest $15,000 fine levied for a hit he made on 49ers quarterback Alex Smith during Sunday’s 24-23 Eagles loss, according to ESPN.com.
“Attn: Guy at the NFL that decides on who and how much players get fined Stop being a puppet, if you want to protect QB's, get better linemen,” Babin tweeted Thursday morning.
After practice Babin, who already has seven sacks this season, said the NFL offices “got me a lot last year.”
He further explained what seemed to be his viewpoint of a double standard when it comes to levying fines to defensive players for doing their jobs.
“My fines aren’t for being ridiculous or punching somebody, for acting crazy -- they are for hitting the quarterback.
“You look at those plays where people get fined for hitting the quarterback and you’ve got offensive lineman hanging on them, pushing them, you’re spinning, you’re turning -- the quarterback is trying to duck -- there are so many moving parts that it’s kind of a little unrealistic. What are you just going to stop, not go for the sack?
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“To me it’s just a little tick-tacky.”
Babin definitely has a point. The NFL could be making the league too protective so that its poster boys -- mostly quarterbacks -- can excel. Yes, players need to be careful but to make defensive players play on eggshells for fear of losing money is unfair and possibly unsafe for the defenders forced to slow up suddenly time and time again. And where is the protection for defensive players getting chop blocked?
A lot of the excitement of the game is caused when defensive players force a QB to make a split-second decision to avoid the big hit. The more this is taken away the less the game seems like football and more like a synchronized dance routine. There is a way to be safe and be aggressive but the NFL has erred too far the other way.
Of course the crackdown on defense is directly responsible (along with my keen drafting style) for my fantasy football team putting up 140-plus points a week. So there is that positive.
