NFL officials have been proactive by enforcing ways in which they want to make the game safer. That includes heavily fining players who don't follow the new player safety rules.
After a week in which the league fined two players for violating the crown-of-the-helmet rule, ESPN's Ashley Fox looked at how the NFL is taking a hardline approach against illegal hits, and said that suspensions are on the way.
She talked to Ray Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, who said repeat offenders like Dashon Goldson and Ndamukong Suh do not get the benefit of the doubt on safety violations.
Fox pointed out that the appeals for such fines are administered by former player Matt Birk, who is now an independent appeals officer. But Anderson said the league will not be deterred by the fact that Birk reduced Goldson's penalty from a game suspension to a $100,000 fine.
-- Bill Bradley, contributing editor