FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons wide receiver Kerry Meier will appeal the $20,000 fine from the NFL for his hit on Vikings long snapper Cullen Loeffler. The hearing will be held Tuesday.
Meier was fined for an illegal blindside block to the head area in the game Nov. 27 on a punt return by the Falcons. Loeffler broke a bone in his lower back on the hit in the second quarter and is out for the season. No penalty was called on the play.
“The big thing about it, first and foremost, it’s never my intention to go out and hurt somebody,” Meier said. “Sometimes in the violent sport we play, things like this happen. It wasn’t my intent. I was just executing my job. I went out and happened to get a shot to make a block, and it turned out to be something that escalated into something I didn’t expect. I’m sorry to the man, but we have to move forward.”
The appeal will be heard via conference call with the league.
Meier said he was surprised to hear from the league.
“Initially when the play happened I had a good feeling about it,” Meier said. “It was my first big block of the season. My adrenaline was pumping. I felt pretty good about myself. The next day I came in and watched the film and my coaches thought it was a clean hit, I thought it was a clean hit. All my teammates thought it was a clean hit. The league thinks otherwise right now.”
Eye on Newton
The Falcons will have to keep track of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton — again.
Newton ran for 50 yards on six attempts with a touchdown against the Falcons on Oct. 16, a 31-17 Falcons victory.
“There are some parts of their offense that they are emphasizing a little more than they did in the first game,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “[The Falcons scheme] is still going to be based on if they get in a set where they want the quarterback [Newton] to be a runner, we have to make sure we account for him. We prepared that way the last time we played them, they just expanded it. ... You don’t see a quarterback that you have to account for [every week].”
Newton, a rookie from Westlake High School, ran for three more touchdowns Sunday against the Buccaneers. He set the NFL single-season record for touchdowns rushing by a quarterback.
Injury report
The Falcons got several players back at practice Thursday in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
Brent Grimes (knee), Kelvin Hayden (toe), Stephen Nicholas (thigh) and Will Svitek (groin) did not practice. Smith said he hoped Svitek would be able to practice Friday.
Michael Turner (groin), who did not practice Wednesday, Julio Jones (hamstring), Harry Douglas (groin), Sam Baker (back) and Christopher Owens (hand) were limited. Owens is new to the injury report. John Abraham, Tony Gonzalez and Todd McClure were back from days of rest.
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