Miami Dolphins safety Yeremiah Bell drew three personal foul penalties last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bell, and the Dolphins, full expected the league to follow those flags with Bell's second fine of the year. In October, Bell was fined $15,000 following the Denver Broncos game for his hit to the head of quarterback Tim Tebow.
However, the league, apparently, realized how ridiculous the flags on Bell really were. The first of the penalties was the most likely to draw a fine - Bell was flagged for hitting a "defenseless" Dwayne Bowe on a reception. The tackle was a perfect form tackle, with Bell putting his shoulder into Bowe, breaking up the catch. At the time, Dolphins fans realized how horrible a flag that was, and the league must have agreed to not give out a fine.
"You can look at it; it's clean," Bell said after the game. "The refs are going to call what they call, but I have to keep playing and that's what I do."
The other penalties on Bell were for an unnecessary roughness play where he tackled Dexter McCluster out of bounds and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after an incomplete pass from quarterback Matt Cassel to Bowe.
"Y.B. is one of the tempo setters. He's a physical player. That's the way he's played since I got here," head coach Tony Sparano said of Bell. "The guy plays through every possible nick that you can get. He doesn't say a word. He just keeps going. He's a hard physical player. He only knows how to play the game that way. He's not going to back down in that kind of situation. That's not in Y.B.'s make up. That's what I love about the guy."
However, the Dolphins didn't get away completely clean this week. Right tackle Marc Colombo received a $7,500 fine. Colombo was penalized late in the fourth quarter for unnecessary roughness on a late hit following a Daniel Thomas rush for two yards.
The Dolphins play the Washington Redskins Sunday at 1pm.