If Macho Harris’ performance on Sunday against the Broncos wasn’t forgettable enough, the NFL is making sure he remembers at least one more thing about it: that he should be writing them a check for $7,500 on account of his borderline hit on Tony Scheffler. Harris was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play, a result of the fact the refs deemed that Harris aimed his hit at the head of a defenseless player. After watching the video, it’s quite likely that Harris wasn’t even aware of the fact that Scheffler didn’t have the ball because Asante Samuel had picked off the pass. Harris had clearly timed his hit and in a bang-bang, split-second play, he laid-out Scheffler. A good instinctive play on Harris’ part but in today’s NFL, a play that’ll get a yellow flag every time.

The problem is that the NFL is doing everything in its power to reduce hits to the head. Despite the incessant bellyaching of Eagles fans about the unfairness of the penalty, a fan would have had to have just crawled out from under a rock to not get the fact that the NFL is going to react to plays like this in a punitive fashion, both on the field and in the post-game fining department. Thanks to uber-nerd Malcolm Gladwell and his anti-head trauma campaign, the NFL has a p.r. nightmare on its hands and is going to structure play in the way it sees fit to reduce (at least) the image that football is ruining its players.

The part I like is Jeff McLane’s title for the article at philly.com: “Macho Fined $7,500 for Block.” I love the fact he’s calling the hit a “block.” As if Harris were blocking on the interception return when he crushed Scheffler. Nothing could be more ridiculous than that assertion as a.) Harris doesn’t even turn his head to see where the ball is and b.) even had he seen the pick, the micro-second within which the play occurs would require a decision of incredible quickness and the body control of a cyborg to pull off. Calling the Harris hit a “block” is as euphemistic and pouty as labelling a Mike Tyson uppercut a “love tap.” Then again, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the homerish reporting on the issue; after all we are in Philly.