Wow, these guys are full of sour grapes. They go on to accuse Wilfork of more cheap shots from other games.
From the Bills' web site today:
http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=5321
Not long after New England defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was fined $12,000 by the league for his late hit that buckled J.P. Losman's left knee on the first play from scrimmage last Sunday, Bills players were questioning the severity of the penalty.
The victim in the incident isn't sure the punishment fit the crime.
"I know there are some people that are saying that he deliberately did this and if that's the case then I don't think it's enough," Losman told buffalobills.com. "I don't think you can fine somebody enough money to justify it. (The fine) is really nothing, but I really don't know what a proper punishment would be."
Bills safety Coy Wire, who is recovering from a sprained MCL much like Losman, doesn't believe the penalty is strong enough either.
"It doesn't seem justified," Wire said. "Is justice served? Is $12,000 worth your starting quarterback missing however many games? I don't think so."
Bills guard Derrick Dockery was fined $5,000 for not buckling his chin strap in last week's game. For him it was obvious that his infraction compared to Wilfork's shouldn't even be in the same financial stratosphere.
"You look at it and think that it's not fair, but the league made it that way," Dockery said. "They come up with the decisions and we have to abide by them and live by them. But you would think it would have been worse than what it was. You thought he would have been fined much more compared to what I got for not buckling my chin strap."
Wilfork was quoted by NFL Network as saying the hit wasn't intentional. But Losman says there's just one person that knows the truth.
"As a player I think you realize you're in a tough sport," said Losman. "You realize that deep down inside that nobody wants to hurt anybody intentionally. But there's only one person who knows if he tried to do something deliberately."
After the fined was levied against him the Patriots' defensive tackle stated that he's not one to hand out cheap shots.
"I'm far from a dirty player," Wilfork told the NFL Network. "If you know me as a person, you'd understand that. If you don't know me, don't judge me. If you don't know me, get to know me."
But this is not the first time Wilfork has been accused of playing dirty against the Bills. In a Bills-Patriots game in Buffalo on Oct. 3, 2004, Wilfork was accused by former Bills offensive linemen Jonas Jennings and Chris Villarrial of taking cheap shots at them during the game.
The incident happened behind the play. Following a six-yard completion from Drew Bledsoe to Eric Moulds, Jennings who was blocking Richard Seymour on the play was blindsided by Wilfork who initiated a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Buffalo tackle.
The hit cracked Jennings helmet near his jaw and Jennings was knocked out cold sustaining a concussion.
"It was almost like it was premeditated, like they set me up," Jennings told the Associated Press at the time.
Jennings had exchanged words with Wilfork earlier in that game when he saw the defensive tackle kick Villarrial in the ribs when he was on the ground following a first quarter field goal by Rian Lindell.
"It was a dirty thing to do," Villarrial told the AP a few days after the game. "Let's be obvious, anybody that's down on the ground, you don't kick them."
Losman, who was a rookie with the Bills that season, said he remembered the incident.
Wilfork reportedly has tried to reach out to apologize to Losman, but Buffalo's quarterback doesn't see the purpose of it.
"I don't think there's an apology needed," said Losman. "I'm not looking for an apology. At this point the damage is done. An apology will do nothing at this point. I'm fortunate that it wasn't as serious as I thought initially. So the quicker I get back on the field, the quicker this won't be as much of an issue, but it could have been a serious injury that would have taken a long time to come back from."
As far as Losman is concerned he has put the hit behind him. He's more focused on getting back on the field.
"Right now my mind is clouded with trying to get my knee better," he said. "My mind is not really thinking about the hit. I watched the tape once and it was enough for me. It was pretty nasty. It looked like he had an opportunity to pull up. He's trying to make a play for his team and its football, but I think he got off easy."
Losman: "Wilfork got off easy."
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