A few notes on NFL fines from NFC West games in Week 12:

• Kam Chancellor, Seattle Seahawks: The safety was docked $40,000 for his hit on St. Louis Rams tight end Lance Kendricks. Coach Pete Carroll saw nothing wrong with Chancellor's hit.
• Dashon Goldson, San Francisco 49ers: The safety incurred a $25,000 fine for fighting against Arizona. This was a foul for retaliation.
• Early Doucet, Arizona Cardinals: The receiver was fined $10,000 for unnecessary roughness, specifically striking an opponent in the helmet area. He struck Goldson in the apparently mistaken belief that Goldson had hit him with a cheap shot moments earlier.
• Patrick Willis, 49ers: The league fined him $7,500 for a late hit on Cardinals quarterback Rich Bartel. The hit drew a penalty.
• Russell Okung, Seahawks: The league fined him $7,500 for striking an opponent late. Officials flagged Okung on the play, a 1-yard gain for Marshawn Lynch.

A former NFL safety emailed me in disgust this week, complaining about fines for hits defenders could not reasonably avoid, particularly those when offensive players ducked into more dangerous contact. He also blamed quarterbacks for hanging out receivers over the middle, claiming fines were enabling these throws. I tend to agree, but might take a different view as a receiver trying to catch those passes over the middle.