The former NFL VP of Officiating says T.J. Ward's hit on Jordan Shipley was a cheap shot and in his opinion, the NFL should fine him at least $25,000.
The former NFL VP of Officiating thinks T.J. Ward's hit was a cheap shot.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira, now the rules analyst for Fox Sports, said in a phone interview today that he thinks T.J. Ward's helmet/shoulder-to-helmet hit on Bengals receiver Jordan Shipley Sunday was a cheap shot and that in his opinion, the NFL should fine Ward at least $25,000.
"Nobody in the league likes to say that somebody took a cheap shot at somebody. But I'm not in the league,'' said Pereira, in his first season with Fox. "And I think it was a cheap shot and I think he deserves to be hit and he needs to be hit hard.''
Pereira said, "to me, I'd look at the severity of the hit and even the fact that it led to the concussion and this is just my opinion -- but I'd start at the $25,000 mark To me, I'd make it stiff. He needs to learn his lesson. If people say you're making an example of T.J. Ward, I'd say 'so be it.' There's no place in the game for that stuff.''
Other highlights of the 10-minute Pereira interview:
• "I think it's one of the worst I've seen in awhile. I think it's the exact hit that the NFL is trying to get out of the game. There's no intent to tackle. There's just a lead with the shoulder to the head and helmet-to-helmet hit and it's after the ball has gone by. I don't consider it late, but it's the exact act you don't want in the game.''
• "I can understand why the Bengals would be upset. In my mind, it's worse than just the normal shoulder or helmet-to-the-head hit.''
• "You can see why Carson Palmer went in there and the Cincinnati players were upset. Sometimes it happens when you're making a legitimate play to try to break up a pass, sometimes helmet-to-helmet contact or shoulder to head contact could be considered incidental, but this was a shot. He knew exactly what he was doing.''
• "I think it's a hit that every other player in this league needs to look at and realize that's not acceptable.''