FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson was fined $40,000 for his hit on Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin during the third quarter of the Falcons' 35-31 victory on Monday night.
Robinson was fined after putting a similar hit on Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson last season. He was docked $50,000, but the amount was reduced to $25,000 on appeal. He'll likely appeal again.
With 6:12 left in the third quarter, Robinson leveled Maclin. The league said Robinson violated player safety rules.
Falcons coach Mike Smith and Robinson were convinced that Maclin was running and not a defenseless player. Robinson was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty.
“I saw him catch the ball,” Robinson said. “Last year, they said the receiver didn’t have time to see me. He was a defenseless receiver. But I saw him catch the ball. I saw him run, trying to get upfield to score. So me as a defender, if I whiff on him, he’s probably going to run around me [for] a long touchdown.”
Robinson felt he had no choice but to take a shot at Maclin, who had already scored two touchdowns. In last year’s game, Jackson had two scores before Robinson decked him and both players suffered concussions.
“This is a physical football game,” Robinson said. “That’s the way I play. If I don’t play that way, I wouldn’t make it in this league. I definitely didn’t think it was a dirty play. I’m not a dirty player. I don’t go out there and hit players illegally.”
Smith concurred with Robinson.
“In terms of Dunta’s [hit], that was not a defenseless player in my opinion,” Smith said. “It was called a defenseless player. It was not a defenseless player. He was a runner. He had taken two steps."
Smith, a former defensive coordinator, approved of Robinson’s tackle.
“It was a clean shot, the way we coach it, and the flag was thrown so it was a penalty,” Smith said.
The Eagles were irate with Robinson.
"It's two-for-two now," said Maclin of Robinson's record with the Eagles. "Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as Jackson was last year. I was all right. It almost shocked me."
After the game, Philadelphia coach Andy Reid wouldn't say if he thought Robinson deserved another fine or more punishment from the league.
"That's up to the league," Reid said.
Sanders starts
James Sanders, who started for Thomas DeCoud at free safety, had three tackles against the Eagles. After being released by New England, he was signed on Sept. 1.
“It felt good to get out there with the guys, but I personally have a lot of work to do,” Sanders said. “That was my first extended action on the field this entire season. I only played one quarter in the preseason.”
Cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who was also signed on Sept. 1, started at nickel back. He came up with a third-quarter interception before leaving the game with a hamstring injury.
"I had some pressure on [Michael] Vick," Sanders said. "I had to break down so as to not let him [escape] the pocket. He stepped up and [Sean Weatherspoon] had a good hit on him when he delivered the ball. Kelvin made a great play."
Edwards to nose tackle
Defensive end Ray Edwards, who returned a fumble 64 yards, played some nose tackle in the Falcons' 3-3-5 nickel alignment.
With nose tackle Jonathan Babineaux out and Corey Peters slowed by injury, the Falcons used three defensive ends to rush the passer at times. John Abraham was on the left, Edwards in the middle and Kroy Biermann on the right.
“It was fun,” Edwards said. “I definitely respect our defensive tackles, going against three guys when we are in the 30 defense. I got a little bit of push inside.”
Baker’s plight
Left tackle Sam Baker had a tough time with Philadelphia defensive end Trent Cole, who had a sack and two quarterback hits. Cole had two sacks against Baker in last season's game in Philadelphia.
“We just had to fight and claw for everything that we got,” Baker said. “We are lucky that we put some drives together at the end and we came out on top.”
Ryan has been sacked nine times and hit 17 times in two games. Last season, he was sacked just 23 times and the offensive line was a finalist for the Madden most valuable protectors award, which goes to the NFL’s best offensive line.
The big play
The Eagles had nine plays that went for 20 yards or more, including a 43-yard Mike Kafka pass to Maclin.
“They’ve got so many weapons, you knew they were going to get something,” Weatherspoon said. “But I felt like some of the stuff, we gave them. They came out and we played hard. We knew it was just going to be one of those fourth-quarter games.”
Etc.
Going into the Monday Night game, running back Michael Turner is third in the NFC with 214 yards rushing. ... The defense missed 17 tackles against the Bears. "We tackled much better," Smith said. ... Defensive tackle Carlton Powell played about 16 snaps. "We needed everybody. ... there were a number of unsung guys," Smith said.
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