NFL fines Roddy White $10,000 for conduct during the Atlanta Falcons' victory against the Saints

The smack talk leading up the Atlanta Falcons' victory against the now-defunct New Orleans Saints last weekend was feverish. Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis pushed a funeral analogy, and the Falcons ran with it. That of course led to prolific pushing, shoving, and face mask grabbing during the game, for which Roddy White will be fined. Money well spent, eh? Roddy had this to say after the game:

"If you're going to go out there and be talking about funerals and arranging funerals and bringing in flowers and doing all that stuff, you've got to finish the game," White said of Lewis, who was sidelined during the game while taking an IV. "Unfortunately, he didn't even play the whole game. ... [Sunday], at [3:48 p.m.], we just woke up out the grave. So right now, we're going to get ready for next week."

The fine amount is $10,000, so it's not going to break Roddy's bank. In fact,he apparently didn't even open the envelope he received from the league detailing the forfeiture.

White actually received a letter from the league this week for his personal foul penalty against Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis in last week's clash with the rival Saints. He hasn't opened the envelop yet to see how much he was fined.

I know we've discussed this ad nauseum, but I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the sheer absurdity of Lewis' actions. They simply made no sense. Here's why:

Lewis had rated negatively in the four games leading up to the Falcons game. That four game crap streak was capped off by his season-worst performance against the Chicago Bears. He was the Saints' second-worst defensive player in that game, only outsucked by former Falcon dump truck Curtis Lofton. With that sort of prelude, you'd think he'd keep his mouth shut and just play. But that's just not the Saints way, is it?

At the end of the day, Roddy did the right thing. He was definitely towing the line, inasmuch as he risked an ejection. But a little toughness, be it a bit late in the season, goes a long way. Good on ya, Roddy.