FOXBORO -- Last Sunday, Vince Wilfork said he would take whatever fine was handed out for his personal foul in the fourth quarter of the game against the Jaguars. On Friday, the NFL fined the perennial Pro Bowl nose tackle $30,000 for his hit on Steve Vallos at the end of Patrick Chung's interception return.
The NFL deemed the hit "unnecessary roughness for a forearm to the back of the head" after Wilfork took exception with the way Vallos hit Patriots defensive end Trevor Scott just moments earlier on the return. Vallos was not flagged but Wilfork and the Patriots were assessed a 15-yard penalty.
Meanwhile, Chung was not fined for his hit to the head of Cecil Shorts III during Jacksconville's final drive. Four different flags were thrown in Chung's direction when he dropped his shoulder into Shorts with Devin McCourty already applying the tackle. Chung was assessed a 15-yard penalty for a hit on a defenseless receiver but the NFL confirmed Friday that the hit did not warrant an additional fine.
For more, visit the Patriots team page at weei.com/patriots [1].
Links:
[1] http://www.weei.com/patriots
[2] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/patriots