NFL: Saints Bounty Thread

[mdrake34]

Was anyone else OUTRAGED that Sean Payton showed up in Canton this weekend and talked to Saints players in front of God and everyone? Apparently the NFL immediately looked into it and said the terms of his suspension weren't violated, but the sheer audacity of it infuriated me. This is why (apart from running an illegal bounty scheme) the saints were punished, they think they're above reproach. Benson seems to purposely see how close he can toe the line between renting Payton an office in the building across the super dome, to putting Payton's picture in the locker room, to now allow him to be around the team in public.

[phocis850]

I think you are over thinking this whole thing. He would have never been there if it wasn't for a Saint going to the HOF.

[Capitan]

(08-05-2012 08:48 PM)phocis850 Wrote:  I think you are over thinking this whole thing. He would have never been there if it wasn't for a Saint going to the HOF.

I think you are right about that...hate the Saints....

[mdrake34]

(08-05-2012 08:48 PM)phocis850 Wrote:  I think you are over thinking this whole thing. He would have never been there if it wasn't for a Saint going to the HOF.

He should have thought about that before sanctioning an illegal bounty system. He lost the right to be there this weekend.

[papachaz]

i saw this interview with Goodell over on the NFL site today, thought I'd share it. He was asked about the taints of course, and was pretty point blank that the evidence for the bounty system has been proven and admitted to. doesn't sound like a man who's worried about any ex fbi guy doing some paid for by the company investigation, nor does he seem to be worried about repercussions of any lawsuits. aint fans, just give it up, your lame BS is beyond laughable....here it is:

Roger Goodell: I think the saints are ready to move on now (if only their idiot fans were)

When Around the League spoke with Goodell on Saturday night, he sounded primed for the campaign to get underway:

"It's been an interesting offseason for you. How do you feel about being here at the Hall of Fame, focusing on something closer to football?

Goodell: It's great, because, you know, this weekend is a chance to celebrate the great players that helped make the game and also (celebrate) the game itself. ... It's back to football time. We have our first game tomorrow night and that's a great thing.

Speaking of that, with everything that's surrounded the Saints, is there some relief for you in having this team play Sunday? Doing something on the field for a change?

Goodell: Sure, I think it's always good. I think they want to move on and get back to focusing on football and moving forward. I understand that, we all do. We all want to get back to playing football.

Throughout this episode with the Saints, have you been heard? Do you feel at all misrepresented by the accusations from some of the Saints players?

Goodell: Listen, the facts are clear. There was a bounty system in place. They've admitted it, even in court, that they were paying players when they were carted off the field. That's not what football's all about. We don't reward players for hurting people or taking them off the field, and that's a bounty. And there are accusations even beyond that. So, it's clear this was in place, and we're not going to tolerate it. That's not good for the health of the players or the game itself.
The St. Louis Rams haven't named a defensive coordinator and some speculate they're waiting for Gregg Williams to be reinstated, perhaps next season. Is he going to get another chance?

Goodell: Well, we suspended coach Williams indefinitely, and we'll make those decisions sometime over the next six or seven months."

how does that NOT sound cut and dry? THE FACTS ARE CLEAR, THERE WAS A BOUNTY SYSTEM IN PLACE, THEY ADMITTED IT EVEN IN COURT. it just doesn't get ANY more clear than that.

[FireDawg85]

I love how the saint players hate how RG has all this power. Every time I hear them complain, I just think of it like this... someone gives you a cookie to eat and then they get mad at you for eating the cookie. If they didn't want him to have all the power when it comes to discipline, why agree to and sign the new NFLPA contract. SMDH

[JDaveG]

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/201...ly_ha.html

The New Orleans Saints have only themselves to blame for the bounty scandal
08/04/12 6:06PM

Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune AKRON, Ohio -- So you thought Roger Goodell was backpedaling on the bounty scandal?


You thought the NFL might be wavering in its defense of the unprecedented sanctions it levied against the Saints in the face of a flurry of litigation and public criticism.

Think again.

Goodell and the NFL aren't backing down one iota. If anything, they're coming after their critics more forcefully than ever.

That was clear Saturday when a small pool of reporters hijacked an NFL-sponsored event during Pro Football Hall of Fame festivities to question him about the bounty scandal and the league's subsequent discipline in the case.

Roger didn't dodge questions. In fact, he took them head-on and made a couple of things perfectly clear along the way:

(Bullet) The league believes the Saints ran a bounty program from 2009 to 2011 and not a pay-for-performance scheme as coaches and played have claimed.

(Bullet) Its evidence further suggests the Saints targeted opposing players with malicious intent.

(Bullet) The sanctions would have been reduced had players and team officials been more forthright and contrite in their handling of the situation.

"When you reward players for injuring other opponents that's a bounty," Goodell said. "That's not pay for performance, that's a bounty. And that's what the players and, I believe, (Saints linebackers) Coach (Joe) Vitt said occurred. And that's what our evidence indicates."

Goodell was just getting started. After months of taking the slings and arrows of critics and litigators, he seemed to relish the opportunity to defend his actions.

He clearly distinguished the difference between a pay-for-performance program, which Saints players and coaches have openly admitted took place, and the institutionalized scheme the league alleges the Saints conducted from 2009 to 2011.

"Anything that would target or reward people for injuring other players, that's not part of football, that's not what we're teaching these kids, and it's not what we're going to do in the NFL," he said.

And he dismissed the notion that the sides are trapped in a game of semantics. As the story has taken dragged on, sources from both sides have been accused of parsing words and mincing their meanings.

Pay for performance or bounty. Cart-off or clean, legal hit. Spoken word or clenched fist. Where Saints coaches, players and fans see 50 shades of gray, Goodell sees only black and white.

"They understand the rules," Goodell said. "When you reward somebody for injuring somebody -- and the only way you cart off somebody is when they're injured. So that's an injury. So when you do that, that's not semantics."

Maybe. But there is a difference between deliberately trying to injure players and rewarding a clean, hard hit that defenders are taught to deliver.

I've been around the Saints defensive players and coaches long enough to know they're not a bunch of hooligan headhunters as they've been portrayed to be.

Still, these pay-for-performance/bounty programs, however benign in original intent, often morph into something more sinister if left unchecked, especially when the stakes are raised.

I believe that's exactly what happened in New Orleans.

Regardless, one thing is abundantly clear in this whole sordid affair: the Saints and NFL Players Association bungled this thing from the start.

Goodell indicated the sanctions on the team, its coaches and administrators would have been reduced -- perhaps significantly in some cases -- had the club simply cooperated or agreed to end the practice when the league first inquired about it in 2009-2010.

"The fact that they said it didn't happen and they continued to do it is certainly a big issue," Goodell said.

In fact, it's likely the entire ordeal never would have seen the light of day had Saints officials handled it the right way privately.

"It'd have been just like Green Bay," one league official said, referencing a 2007 bounty investigation of the Packers for lesser infractions, which resulted in no punishment after the club agreed to discontinue the program.

Suspensions to Jon Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove likely would have been reduced as well if the players had participated in the appeals process rather than forgoing it at the behest of the NFLPA.

Vilma probably would have faced a four- or eight-game suspension and the others even less had they simply pleaded their case to Goodell in New York when given the opportunity.

Instead, they're howling at the moon after the fact.

If only the Saints had discussed the situation with Michael Vick beforehand things might have turned out differently. The star quarterback and reformed dog fighter learned the hard way what trying to deceive Goodell gets you.

"(Goodell) is the real deal; he don't play," Vick told NFL rookies at the league's rookie symposium in late June. "If he asks you a question, answer with honesty. Tell him the truth. If you get into some trouble, be honest, truthful, forthright. Don't play with this man. He'll love you to death, but the minute you cross him, he'll be all the way turned up."

If the Saints didn't understand this before they certainly do now.

[papachaz]

(08-05-2012 08:48 PM)phocis850 Wrote:  I think you are over thinking this whole thing. He would have never been there if it wasn't for a Saint going to the HOF.

well, he shouldn't have been allowed. did he coach Roaf? like that old sayin goes "never let the dog eat at the table, no matter how good his manners are"

he just plain and simple shouldn't have been allowed

[pauliwood]

I wonder how much Ellis got for injuring Kolb last night

[phocis850]

(08-06-2012 06:47 PM)papachaz Wrote:  well, he shouldn't have been allowed. did he coach Roaf? like that old sayin goes "never let the dog eat at the table, no matter how good his manners are"

he just plain and simple shouldn't have been allowed

Sorry, but I just don't agree. He got permission. End of story.
He was banned from team activities, not NFL celebrations.