Eagles cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie launched at Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich in last week’s preseason game and was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but Rodgers-Cromartie doesn’t think he did anything wrong.
Rodgers-Cromartie told Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com that he doesn’t think he’ll be fined, and that there’s “no question” in his mind that his hit on Leftwich was clean. He also said he has no regrets about his hit on Leftwich.
“Regrets? We’re playing football, man,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “The Bible said don’t live a life of regret.”
Rodgers-Cromartie may have the Bible on his side, but he doesn’t have the rulebook on his side. It’s a foul if a player leaves both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent and uses any part of his helmet to initiate contact. It’s also a foul if a player initiates unnecessary contact against an opponent in the act of throwing a pass or just after throwing a pass. That’s what Rodgers-Cromartie did to Leftwich, and that’s why he’ll be fined.