We knew the fine was going to come, and according to reports, Browns QB Brady Quinn was served a letter—the customary practice in the NFL—by the league office today after he took out Terrell Suggs Monday night following one of his two picks in a 16-0 loss.

And I have to applaud the move for a couple of reasons.

Regardless of what you think or hear about the Ravens as a defense—or any team for that matter—cheap shots are going to happen in this league. Unfortunately, they are part of the game, as are the frustrations of players during competition.

I wouldn’t go as far to say that it is an ugly part of the game—because that would be a stretch—but during my own career I witnessed many guys come to the sideline after a series and single out an opponent, announcing that he was going to go after him the next time we took the field. Not with the intent to hurt the guy, but just to let him know that you remembered his hit.

In this instance, Quinn obviously let the course of Monday night affect him—and we all know what he was doing by going after Suggs. He was trying to get a cheap hit in on him. As much as he wants to apologize to Suggs, the Ravens and the league, we all know better in this situation.

However, that is exactly why the NFL has this system of fines in place. I would hope that when the fine amount does become public, it is for a considerable amount because—QB or not—that hit looked dirty.

And I understand why Suggs’ agent, Gary Wichard, expressed his disdain for Quinn and the hit last night to the NFP’s Aaron Wilson, saying, “That cat should be fined as much as anybody is fined that hits the quarterback. That’s ridiculous. I don’t understand what he was trying to do. It was blatant. It was absolutely criminal. It’s about as nasty as it gets.”

Sure, it’s an agent sticking up for his player, right? Of course, but you have to agree with him in some regard, correct? His player is now out for a period of time with an injury because of the low blow from the Cleveland quarterback.

And Wichard does bring up a good point about quarterbacks. You and I both know that this league is driven and paced by the quarterback position, and that is something I will never argue. Because at the end of the day, those are just the facts. But, they have to be treated equally in this situation, because if Suggs was the one delivering this hit on Quinn, I am sure we would hear an uproar from Browns fans over the incident. And it would be a story that wouldn’t die for awhile. Taking out a QB and putting him on the shelf? That would be an issue.

Hey, players get frustrated, just as Quinn did on Monday night when he couldn’t figure out the Baltimore defense. And I can understand that, as long as he has to pay some big coin for it.

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