Chris Baker and Jason Peters Fined For Brawl; More Fines Coming?

Washington Redskins NT Chris Baker and Philadelphia Eagles LT Jason Peters were both fined for their roles in a brawl during their game on Sunday.  The fight started after Chris Baker blocked Eagles QB Nick Foles during an interception return that was later ruled an incomplete pass.  The hit was considered unnecessary and dirty by many people, and Jason Peters immediately ran over to Baker to expressed his feelings for why the hit was not okay.  The ensuing fight involved a lot of players on both sides, with several players throwing punches.  Baker and Peters were both ejected from the game.  Baker received a $8,268 fine, and Peters received a $10,000 fine yesterday from the NFL.  Neither player was suspended, and Troy Vincent explained why the Chris Baker hit that was the spark that lit the fight was legal under NFL rules.  Neither Baker nor Peters expressed any regret for their actions for the hit or the fight, and both said they would do the same thing again.

The hit:

Jason Peters going after Chris Baker:

Some clips from the fight:

According to ProFootballTalk, more fines will be coming from the fight that happened 6 days ago.  The tape will need to be reviewed before any decisions are made but there were plenty of punches thrown on both sides, and this fight was highly publicized.  Troy Vincent doesn't want to appear "soft" again.

Per a league source, two or three more players will be fined this week as a result of the bench-clearing brouhaha.

The fines weren't imposed already because the officiating crew didn't specifically list other responsible parties in the post-game report submitted to the league office.  As one source previously explained it, the absence of a specific recitation of the offense on the post-game report saved Ravens receiver Steve Smith from getting fined after he threw Bengals cornerback Adam Jones to the ground by the facemask in Week One.

As to Baker and Peters, both were fined for unnecessary roughness.  The Peters fine arose from Rule 12, Section 2, Article 12(c) of the NFL Official Playing Rules, which prohibits "striking, swinging at, or clubbing the head, neck, or face of an opponent with the wrist(s), arm(s), elbow(s), or hand(s)."  Baker's fine comes from Rule 12, Section 2, Article 14 of the NFL Official Playing Rules, which states that "[n]o player shall grasp and control, twist, turn, push, or pull the facemask of an opponent in any direction."