Fine Friday again for Week 14

More may be forthcoming, but we begin with frustrations in Seattle with the blowout loss last week.  (per ESPN's Rob Demovsky):

• Seattle Seahawks:  Richard Sherman:  $18,231 for a cheap shot (not defenseless, or it'd have been far more, he was penalized double for a repeat offender).
• Seattle Seahawks:  K.J. Wright got a big one as a repeat offender.  His defenseless player hit cost him $48,620.
• A third Seattle player, Cliff Avril, escaped a fine for hitting an opponent in the nuts -- probably because it was one of those "in the pile" situations and no one could actually pick it up on the video, or at least that's what Demovsky says.
• Those two large repeat-offender fines catapault Seattle all the way from the middle of the table to threshold-passing range, so the team has another $50,000 to cough up.  (For the record, their opponents last week passed that threshold a couple weeks ago.)

Any other fines I can find:

• Denver Broncos:  Emmanuel Sanders:  For an illegal touchdown celebration -- throwing a football like a fastball in baseball????  Are you SERIOUS, NFL??  $12,154, and he did get flagged 15 for it too.  (Pro Football Talk)

OK, it's clear, and I'm not even sure at this point it's going to wait til next year.

First off, if the league is going to go this far, then it has to finish it:  15 from the previous spot for anything but handing the ball to the ref and going back to the sideline (no Lambeau Leap, no spikes, etc.), and it starts NEXT WEEK, No Fun League.  If you're going to go this far on it, then you might as well go the rest of the way too.

COME ON, MAN!!

• Sanders was chastised by his coach for the penalty, and the team probably added to it.  Denver has now crossed the first threshold, so, if the same penalties apply as in past years, that's $50,000 from the Broncos -- the sixth team to cross.
• Washington Redskins:  DeShazor Everett:  TWO TIME LOSER in the same game, and why wasn't he tossed for the pair???  Injured Brett Celek on a helmet shot, then took out Darren Sproles less than two minutes later!!  $24,309 for each, $48,618 for the pair.  (24-7 Sports)
• And, as you might suspect:  Washington becomes the seventh team to pass the first $50,000 threshold.
• The Aqib Talib situation was NOT FINED.  Talib started a fight after Harry Douglas cheap-shotted one of his teammates on the previous play with a helmet to the knee.  
• Douglas was NOT FINED FOR THE LOW BLOCK!!!
• Cincinnati Bengals:  Carlos Dunlap:  $18,231 for a horse-collar on the quarterback.
• Cincinnati Bengals:  Tyler Eifert:  $18,231 for a crackback block. (Pro Football Talk again for the Bengals fines.)

And more found Monday on Spotrac:

• Houston Texans:  Chris Clark:  $9,115 for a facemask.
• You guessed it:  Houston is also past the first threshold.
• Indianapolis Colts:  Erik Walden:  $9,115 for unnecessary roughness
• Indianapolis Colts:  T.J. Green:  $9,115 for roughing the kicker.
• Chicago Bears:  Cornelius Washington:  $9,115 for a facemask
• Oakland Raiders:  Jihad Ward:  $9,115 for a facemask.
• Atlanta Falcons:  Ra'Shede Hageman:  $18,231 for roughing the passer
• Atlanta Falcons:  LaRoy Reynolds:  $18,231 for a facemask

That's over $237,000 in direct player fines, tacking on another $200,000 for four teams crossing the first threshold this week (Houston, Washington, Denver, and Seattle).

Interesting statistic here, the eight teams (by what I have seen reported) to cross the first threshold for fines, and their current situation vis-a-vis the playoffs:

• New York Giants:  First NFC wild-card at 10-4, only two victories over Dallas this year.  Can win division and homefield throughout with two wins and two Dallas losses.
• Cincinnati Bengals:  Eliminated from the playoffs this week at 5-8-1. 
• Washington Redskins:  Playing Carolina tonight -- if they win, they're second NFC wild-card at 8-5-1.  If not, they're behind Tampa (who would have the wild-card with common games over Green Bay) and Green Bay.
• Seattle Seahawks:  Clinched the NFC West this week at 9-4-1, sit as the #2 seed in the NFC right now.
• Denver Broncos:  In it, but barely.  They're the third team at 8-6, and, hence, the ninth-placed team in the AFC.  They lose a three-way tiebreaker to Baltimore and Tennessee, and then lose head-to-head with Tennessee.
• Houston Texans:  Leads AFC South (#4 seed) at 8-6 and the one game won over Tennessee.  They play again in Week 17.
• Green Bay Packers:  One back from Detroit in the NFC North at 8-6.  Currently #7 or #8, depending on what happens with Washington -- of course, see post below on the division.
• New York Jets:  Just End The Season -- again.

So only two of the eight teams are out of the playoffs.  One is definitely in.  And the other five are all knee-deep or deeper in the run.

Next three teams on the list are Pittsburgh (#3 seed, 9-5, AFC North leaders), Buffalo (7-7, almost out but not quite), and Detroit (see Green Bay, #3 seed, 9-5, NFC North leaders).

So 9 of the 11 most-fined teams this year are in the playoff chase, and there's only 20 teams with any real shot left!

A little behind, so here's the Score Report for Week 14

• One of the lightest scoring weeks in years (weather may have had a role -- if it did, expect another low-scoring week this week):  39.812 PPG  Only one game went over 50 (Atlanta's finishing off of Jeff Fisher.).
• For the 14 weeks and 208 games:  44.524 PPG
• Home teams were 9-7 this week, but it took the national 4:00 game, the Sunday nighter, and the Monday nighter to get there.  119-84-1 for the year (.586)
• First five afternoon games on the board went under.  Washington and Philly pushed at 49, and the Over finished at 6-9-1 for the week, 103-102-2 with one middle for the year.
• Favorites were 10-6 against the number last week, 11-5 straight up (Detroit was the only favorite to win but not cover -- geez, giving 7 when every game save one has been within one score?  I know The Bears Still Suck, but...).  99-91-7 ATS, 126-70-1 SU.  (Quite a number of Pick Em games this year.)
• Team with more penalties was 4-11 this week, 72-102 for the year. (.391)
• 3 Cliffhangers this week, 40 for the year.  (Washington, Miami, and the Jets)  (19.2% of the games this year are Cliffhangers.)
• 5 Last Chance Misses, including one overlap in the Washington game.
• 4 other games finished within one score (for 10 of the 16 total), and one more was within a score in the 4th.  5 non-competitive games.
• Percentage of competitive games now down to about 74%.

Storyline update:

• New NFC contender:  With the Giants sweeping the Cowboys and giving them their only two losses, looking suspiciously like the year the Giants ended 19-0 for the Patriots.  Looks like a match-up situation, and with Ezekiel Elliot and the drug suspensions, one has had to wonder (with one, until last week, having to wonder if the Super Bowl was pretty much set, for reasons I hope to get into in another post) if maybe the NFL is either telling Jerry Jones to get a leash on some of his players or prepared already to go another direction.
• Dallas still the NFC #1 at 11-2, but they can lose the division if they fall flat down the stretch -- Giants are two back with three to play and have the tiebreak.
• Detroit is now the #2 at 9-4, Seattle #3 at 8-4-1 (before last night's game), and Atlanta #4 at 8-5 (wins tiebreak over Tampa Bay on common games).
• Giants #5 at 9-4, Tampa #6 at 8-5.  Three teams at seven wins, so basically nine teams in the NFC in the running.
• Tampa at Seattle, Giants at Atlanta.

AFC:

• New England #1 at 11-2, Kansas City #2 at 10-3 (tiebreak over Oakland with Head to Head sweep).
• Pittsburgh #3 at 8-5, Houston #4 at 7-6 (all tiebreakers to Houston).
• Oakland #5 at 10-3 (with a better record than all the other playoff teams except the two #1 seeds), and Denver #6 at 8-5 (wins tiebreak with Miami on common games).  Tennessee and Baltimore have seven wins, so, nine AFC teams appear to be in the running.
• Oakland at Pittsburgh, Denver at Houston.

We've got a match-fixing scandal in the ACC...

(Blogger's Note:  I regret the obvious error.  Wake Forest in the Big Ten???)

Just WHY is the one remaining question...

Thank you to my anonymous bullshit detector and to Deadspin for this one.

The announcer of Wake Forest University football has been thrown off the campus and fired.

And I think the FBI is going to have a talk with him real soon now.

According to Wake Forest University, Tommy Elrod gave game materials, with game plans and everything, on multiple occasions, dating back to at least 2014.

He was found out when, after Wake Forest was trashed by Louisville (this year, and there was talk there was sabotage involved...), Wake Forest found out that Louisville knew of plays Wake Forest had never run.

First thought my friend had was gambling debts.

Why?

• Elrod was an assistant at Wake Forest for at least 11 years, including six (at least) as quarterbacks coach. (From cached searching, he's already been pulled off the Wake Forest official site.)
• Elrod also played for Wake Forest.
• He certainly had access to all that as a trusted member of the Wake Forest community for so many years.

And the worst part of it:  Louisville was a 34.5 point favorite in the game he was caught.

Louisville only won by 32.

Drug Suspension Blotter: Another Repeat Offender out of the league

• Sammie Lee Hill has been thrown out of the league for at least a year.  His second drug suspension of the year, though his first may have been the end of his NFL career to begin with (he was cut by the Titans after it)
• Indianapolis Colts:  D'Qwell Jackson, 4 games, PEDs
• Green Bay Packers:  Mike Pennell, 4 games  Substance abuse, his second suspension of the season.
• Cleveland Browns:  Jordan Payton, 4 games, PEDs
• New Orleans Saints:  Kenny Vaccaro, 4 games, PEDs

And, speaking of blood on the field...

Someone care to explain to me why this was not even flagged today?

Harry Douglas took out Chris Harris' knee with a helmet shot early in the game today.  No flag, no call.

Bush league play by Harry Douglas #DENvsTEN https://t.co/lQE4biOFVK

— The Sports Junky (@TheSportsJunky1) December 11, 2016

I have little use for Aqib Talib, but one has to take note that Talib got flagged for fighting Douglas on the next play.

So which fine is bigger, Goodell?  Or does Douglas get fined at all??

Oh. My. God. They're serious....

(Deadspin)

Someone wants a fucking bloodbath in the NFL.

Three legislators in the state of Washington actually want to legalize guns in football stadiums, sports arenas, convention centers, etc.

And if you can't see the myriad ways this goes pear-shaped (especially with respect to the "12th Man", both with respect to the opponents and members of the "12th Man" they find disloyal, for whatever (non-)reason...), I don't know what to tell you.

Sounds like the blood on the field is not enough for some Rethuglipigs.

This, two days after a Turkish stadium was bombed and 28 Turkish soccer fans killed.

Fine Blotter: Getting weird in Oakland...

• Oakland Raiders:  Marquette King, $12,154 for unsportsmanlike conduct -- he made the official's flag into a prop and was penalized late in the fourth quarter.

Why is this weird?

This makes King a TWO-TIME LOSER, as he was fined for a cheap shot earlier in the year.

He's the Raiders PUNTER.