Dolphins safety Chris Clemons’ wallet got a little lighter on Friday when the NFL fined him $2,500 for an unnecessary roughness penalty he committed against receiver Jerricho Cotchery in Sunday’s loss to the Jets. The NFL deemed that Clemons “unnecessarily struck the opponent in the head and neck area†in the second quarter of the Dolphins’ 31-23 loss. The penalty on second-and-20 gave the Jets a first down on Miami’s 36, and three plays later the Jets had their second touchdown to take a 14-0 lead. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano declined to comment on the penalty this week, but several of Clemons’ teammates were upset with the call, believing that Clemons did not have enough time to get out of the way before incidentally hitting Cotchery. “I thought it was crap,†fellow safety Yeremiah Bell said after the game. “But (the refs) make the calls, and that’s what happened.†Clemons is the second player to be disciplined by the NFL this week. Source: Palm Beach Post
