NFL fines Robinson for hit on Bulger
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, December 18, 2003
KIRKLAND – The long arm of the NFL law got extended Wednesday, and it slapped the Seattle Seahawks harder than the St. Louis Rams.
Seahawks free safety Damien Robinson was fined $7,500 for his helmet-first hit on Rams quarterback Marc Bulger in Sunday’s 27-22 loss, while St. Louis defensive end Grant Wistrom received a $5,000 fine for a hit on Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck.
Robinson was officially fined for roughing the quarterback, while Wistrom’s punishment was for unnecessary roughness. Wistrom wasn’t penalized on the play because none of the officials saw his hit on Hasselbeck.
Wistrom ran over Hasselbeck as the quarterback ran downfield on a play in which receiver Bobby Engram tripped over a game official. Hasselbeck got blind-sided by Wistrom so badly that trainers had to attend to the quarterback.
Teammate Chris Terry came to Hasselbeck’s aid, but no penalty was called.
Blackout lifted: The Seahawks sold enough tickets by Thursday’s 1 p.m. deadline to get the local television blackout lifted for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
The game will be shown at 1:15 p.m. on Channel 13.
There are still a limited number of tickets available for the game, which marks Seattle’s final home contest of the season.
Home cooking: If the Seahawks win Sunday, they have the potential of becoming the second team since the 1970 NFL merger to go 8-0 at home and fail to make the playoffs.
Only the 1981 Denver Broncos have that distinction. The Broncos went unbeaten at Mile High Stadium that year but finished 10-6 overall and got bumped out of the wild card berths by the New York Jets (10-5-1) and Buffalo Bills (10-6).
Quick slants: Cornerback Shawn Springs (foot) didn’t practice Thursday and was added to the injury report. He is listed as probable for Sunday’s game. … The Cardinals probably will be without former Seahawk Pete Kendall, an offensive lineman who is listed as doubtful due to a shoulder injury. Coach Dave McGinnis said Kendall is lobbying to play this week, but the center is listed as doubtful on the team’s injury report.
