Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate earned himself a FedEx envelope for his crushing block of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee on Sunday, but he doesn't appear to be a man wallowing in regret.
Well then.
The hit came when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson fled the pocket and was running for a first down. Tate turned, saw Lee trailing the play, put a shoulder into him and sent the linebacker flying to the turf.
NFL.com and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Tate likely faces a $21,000 fine, the minimum amount for a blind-side block for a first-time offender. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said that Tate plans on appealing the fine, according to The Associated Press.
Lee said Wednesday he didn't take issue with Tate's block, though he acknowledged he wasn't thrilled with the receiver's celebration after the fact.
"Of course, he's trying to extend the play," Lee said, via the Cowboys' official site. "I don't blame him for blocking me. That's part of football. The only issue I had a little bit was him celebrating like he did. But then again, that's part of football, too. I'm ready to move on."
"The crackback hit, that's not a definition of toughness," Lee said. "The definition of toughness is hitting, squaring up, being able to do your job as hard as you can every single play. That's at least what I believe. Anybody can crackback block, but the key is can you get up and play hard every single play."
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
