San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Quinton Dial confirmed that he was fined for his roughing the passer penalty, and he will appeal. He was fined $17,363 for this first "offense".
Dial sacked Carson Palmer in the fourth quarter, but jostling of Palmer's helmet resulted in Pete Morelli's crew throwing a flag for roughing the passer. Here is a look at the hit. This GIF is not a perfect angle, but you see Dial come in with perfect technique, including head up and aiming for the chest (GIF from maxpower212):
Later in the day, FOX officiating analyst Mike Pereira discussed the hit, and did not think a flag should have been thrown. Here are his thoughts on it:
Regarding the critical roughing call on Dial in #AZvsSF... The best call would have been no call at all. Via: @KFC https://t.co/CnEcxK8cdi
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) November 30, 2015
Although Dial could win on appeal, the fine would indicate someone looked at the play after the fact and still felt it was an illegal hit. I don't understand how that is possible, but it also shows that even if there was instant replay of personal fouls, Dial could have still been hosed on the call. Carson Palmer claimed it was a legit penalty, but one of many problems in this play is the fact that Palmer hunches down a bit, and so his head is not in the same position it was when Dial started the sack.
What exactly was Dial supposed to do on this play? Can anybody possibly tell me?
Fooch's update: Apparently the fine is an automatic thing, and not something that is first reviewed. It is on Dial to fight it.