Smith’s fines adding up

Harrison Smith received the second large fine of his rookie season for what was deemed a horse-collar tackle on Robert Griffin III last week.

At this rate, Harrison Smith may have to take out a loan from one of his Notre Dame teammates to pay his bills.

The NFL dropped more punishment on Smith, fining his $15,750 for a horse-collar tackle on Robert Griffin III last week. The fine could signal that Smith “is on the list” of the NFL fine police.

Smith has already forfeited almost $37,000 in fines and missed a game due to his aggressive style of play. He was fined $21,000 for a preseason hit against San Diego and was thrown out early in the Tennessee game for shoving aside an official following a turnover by the Vikings that led to a post-turnover scrum of players. He wasn’t fined for that incident.

While the tackle on Griffin Sunday was deemed a horse-collar tackle and he was penalized on the play, it appeared more that he got Griffin’s jersey rather that the shoulder pads that qualify as a horse-collar.

The most recent punishment for Smith begs the question as to whether Smith is on the “watch list” by the NFL. It didn’t appear as though what Smith did was worthy of that fine of that amount, but the league could be viewing him as a recidivist. Smith isn’t likely to change his hard-nosed style, but it may continue to end up costing him money in the end.

SATURDAY NOTES

Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb and safety Kerry Rhodes are both going to miss Sunday’s game due to injuries and nickel cornerback Greg Toler is listed as doubtful.

Adrian Peterson and Jerome Simpson are both listed as probable for the Vikings.

The Vikings are six-point favorites for Sunday’s game – the largest favorite they have been since the 2010 season.

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John Holler has been writing about the Vikings for more than a decade for Viking Update. Follow Viking Update on Twitter and discuss this topic on our message boards. To become a subscriber to the Viking Update web site or magazine, click here.

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