Danny Amendola fined for vicious block on Chiefs gunner

Amendola was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but the penalty only cost the Patriots two yards because the hit occurred on the four-yard line. The penalty of the foul was half the distance of the goal.

According to the NFL bylaws, unnecessary roughness can be called when a player launches himself into an opponent who “should not have reasonably anticipated such contact by an opponent, before or after the ball is dead.” The penalty can also be called when a player uses his helmet or face mask to “butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily.”

It appears as if Amendola led with his shoulder, so it’s fair to surmise the referees flagged for unnecessary roughness because they didn’t think Fleming was expecting to be hit. It’s worth mentioning, though, the NFL doesn’t categorize players on the kicking team as defenseless.

After the game, Fleming said Amendola’s vicious block was calculated. “Of course he knows he stuck me and everything,” Fleming said, via the Boston Globe. “€œAnd the crowd knows it, but there’€™s nothing I can do about it. We have one of the best pooch-area punt teams, of course, and I find the ball very good. Of course that was calculated. That wasn’€™t no fluke play. Everybody knows that, your own fans know that. So that’€™s how you know it’€™s bad.”

Amendola, meanwhile, is adamant it was a clean hit. Bill Belichick defended Amendola after the game as well.

“Saw him trying to block the guy trying to down the ball” Belichick said, via WEEI.com. “It’s hard to tell from the coaching film where the hit occurred. It was a legal play. We’re allowed to block him. [Amendola] didn’t give a fair catch signal so he’s allowed to block.”

Amendola says he’ll appeal any fine the league hands down on him. Let’s see if he’s a man of his word.