Mitchell Fined $48K For Smith Hit

[AtlantaDan]

The NFL has fined Pittsburgh Steelers safety Mike Mitchell $48,620 for his late hit on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith on Sunday, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Mitchell is appealing the fine....

Mitchell was fined as a repeat offender, having already accumulated two fines for unnecessary roughness.

A source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that Mitchell also got an additional fine for grabbing Smith's face mask on the same play. The minimum fine for such an offense is $9,115, but Mitchell might be docked $18,231

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...hit-alex-smith

No surprise - hitting a QB from behind at the knees was a blatantly cheap shot that happened in the national doubleheader game and prompted Smith to vocally complain (with good reason - seasons end on those sorts of hits). I would buy the "I got tripped" defense from other Steelers - not Mitchell - he could not control being upset because he missed tackling Smith on the blitz.

Maybe for Mitchell this will, in the words of Jack Lambert, cool his ass off. I doubt it. He is going to incur more penalties and continue the mindless celebrations. Probably a suspension later this year for good measure.

[BlackAndGold]

[steelreserve]

I mean, did any of these people watch the video of the play? You know, the one where he gets shoved in the back and appears to be falling on his face when he hits Smith "low?"

If you were trying to hit someone in the knees, that's not how you'd do it.

[86WARD]

They didn’t show the slight push in the back.

[ALLD]

I didn't think it was worth $48k, but Mitchell lacks self-control.

[SteelerFanInStl]

I'm not a fan of Mitchell but all of the crying about this supposed "dirty" hit makes me sick. The huge fine just makes it worse. It's ridiculous.

[DesertSteel]

I wish it had been $100K.

[tube517]

[SteelMayhem72]

I'm not a fan of Mitchell but all of the crying about this supposed "dirty" hit makes me sick. The huge fine just makes it worse. It's ridiculous.

Not a fan of mitchell but im taking his side...i dont like alex smith after his comments today...he had ample time to see he was tripped into him

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

[teegre]

I see it as a trip.

I slso see it as a $1,000 fine for each of his stupid celebrations.

[Count Steeler]

So when it is a Steeler that falls into a QB, $48,000. When it happens to Ben, just look the other way and ignore.

This is what is so frustrating. These plays are supposed to be reviewed by the crack video team in the NFL offices. How does this play warrant a fine yet when it happened to Ben last year (Philadelphia), nothing?

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/f...e-was-illegal/

[teegre]

So when it is a Steeler that falls into a QB, $48,000. When it happens to Ben, just look the other way and ignore.

This is what is so frustrating. These plays are supposed to be reviewed by the crack video team in the NFL offices. How does this play warrant a fine yet when it happened to Ben last year (Philadelphia), nothing?

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/f...e-was-illegal/

Cam Newton gets the same treatment: “He’s BIG... so, he can take it.” I’m sorry, but no matter how big a QB is, 200+ pounds launching at your knee WILL do damage to it.

That said, I also heard an official say that they do NOT blow whistles for “in the grasp” on BB (and Cam) as quickly as they should, because they know that he (they) can/will escape the pressure... and make an amazing play. In other words, BB (and Cam) should have a dozen more sacks on him per season (plays that gain yardage).

Now... the question is: are those extra dozen plays (extra yards) worth the risk of your franchise QB ending up on IR???

[Count Steeler]

Cam Newton gets the same treatment: “He’s BIG... so, he can take it.” I’m sorry, but no matter how big a QB is, 200+ pounds launching at your knee WILL do damage to it.

That said, I also heard an official say that they do NOT blow whistles for “in the grasp” on BB (and Cam) as quickly as they should, because they know that he (they) can/will escape the pressure... and make an amazing play. In other words, BB (and Cam) should have a dozen more sacks on him per season (plays that gain yardage).

Now... the question is: are those extra dozen plays (extra yards) worth the risk of your franchise QB ending up on IR???

I can understand the in game decision making by the refs. What I will never understand is the inconsistency from the NFL video review committee. No crowd noise, no home teams, just player x and player y on a video screen. Similar plays should ALWAYS get the same treatment. The only factor in the level of fine should be the number of previous infractions by the offending player.

[steelreserve]

Not a fan of mitchell but im taking his side...i dont like alex smith after his comments today...he had ample time to see he was tripped into him

I think in this day and age, bitching about being tackled is a rite of passage to becoming an "elite" quarterback. Unfortunately for Alex, he's been between average and awful for his entire career, except when in an offense designed to disguise his shortcomings, which is enabled by a talented supporting cast. Even then, he only gets about two-thirds out of such a favorable situation compared to what any competent QB would.

Cam Newton gets the same treatment: “He’s BIG... so, he can take it.” I’m sorry, but no matter how big a QB is, 200+ pounds launching at your knee WILL do damage to it.

That said, I also heard an official say that they do NOT blow whistles for “in the grasp” on BB (and Cam) as quickly as they should, because they know that he (they) can/will escape the pressure... and make an amazing play. In other words, BB (and Cam) should have a dozen more sacks on him per season (plays that gain yardage).

Now... the question is: are those extra dozen plays (extra yards) worth the risk of your franchise QB ending up on IR???

Yes. Injuries are random and happen just as often to "traditional" quarterbacks standing in the pocket, if not more often. I don't see any greater risk of injury on the handful of plays where someone like Ben is trying to break a tackle than on any normal play where the QB is getting pressured.

My very non-scientific observation is that most QB knee injuries tend to happen when the QB is close to the line of scrimmage, or has stepped forward to avoid pressure, and is close to a lot of other players being blocked and shoved around randomly in heavy traffic. It's usually someone being shoved or falling down who causes the injury. The "Ben" kind of plays are usually a couple of guys free in space with a lot less randomness to them, and nobody's being forced low and nobody's blindsiding him like a missile. Generally not the types of plays you see season-ending injuries on, and I think it speaks volumes that Ben got his one semi-serious knee injury on a regular pocket-passing play - not on a play he extended by breaking tackles.

Also, we want less rules, not more.

[SteelMember]

[Born2Steel]

Same rule should apply for punters as well. Flags are waved off for crippling a punter because, "player was blocked into the punter". But...nobody cares about those guys, who wears the punter's jersey? Rules should be there to keep all players safer, I agree. Rules should also be there to enforce 'fair' play for all players. However, most rules are there mostly to protect the money.

[steelreserve]

Same rule should apply for punters as well. Flags are waved off for crippling a punter because, "player was blocked into the punter". But...nobody cares about those guys, who wears the punter's jersey? Rules should be there to keep all players safer, I agree. Rules should also be there to enforce 'fair' play for all players. However, most rules are there mostly to protect the money.

Completely off topic, but one time years ago when the 49ers were really bad, I saw a guy rocking an Andy Lee Pro Bowl jersey. Now THAT person was either really dedicated or had a great sense of humor.

[SteelerFanInStl]

The other thing that you can clearly see in the video replay is that Smith was also backing up toward Mitchell.

It's funny that Smith was hit in the knees in last night's game and it was a much worse hit (it drew a flag) but he didn't say a thing about it and not a single person is complaining about it. Go figure.

[hawaiiansteeler]

[Shoes]

I see it as a trip.

I slso see it as a $1,000 fine for each of his stupid celebrations.

[teegre]

I can understand the in game decision making by the refs. What I will never understand is the inconsistency from the NFL video review committee. No crowd noise, no home teams, just player x and player y on a video screen. Similar plays should ALWAYS get the same treatment. The only factor in the level of fine should be the number of previous infractions by the offending player.

Right. I was only thinking about the refs (not thinking about the league/fine/office guys).

[tube517]

[43Hitman]

Makes more sense.

[SteelerFanInStl]

Now all of the crybabies will cry even more since he was "only" fined 9k for that hit.

[DesertSteel]

Either way, he's a dirty player and I hope they personally fine him every game till he reels it in.

[steelreserve]

Either way, he's a dirty player and I hope they personally fine him every game till he reels it in.

He won't, so it'll just be random stupid penalties and fines, so I'd just as soon not have any.

[SteelerFanInStl]

Either way, he's a dirty player and I hope they personally fine him every game till he reels it in.

I don't think that he's a dirty player but I'm not a fan of his either. I don't like the excessive celebrations and I don't like how he seems to always just want to go for the big hit.

[AtlantaDan]

Now all of the crybabies will cry even more since he was "only" fined 9k for that hit.

Mitchell is making $5,000,000 this year in salary along with his bonus

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsburg...mitchell-5895/

At either $48K or $9K the amount of the fines is monopoly money, not a life changing event - what is important is it sets him up as a repeat offender who is going to get a suspension sooner rather than later

Hopefully he will try to get under control (highly unlikely) for the rest of this season - with his cap hit I bet this is his last season in Pittsburgh

[Shoes]

When is his contract up? I hope it's soon.

[AtlantaDan]

When is his contract up? I hope it's soon.

2018 is last year on contract - with his bonus having been restructured after he signed his 5 year deal in 2014, Mitchell is an $8.1 million cap hit if he stays in 2018 - $1.76 dead money cap hit if released

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsburg...mitchell-5895/