NFL: Specialist said there were no bounties in 2011

[Falconidae]

Sorry, Guido, but someone on the Saints' payroll denying the accusations just doesn't mean much. Saints' players denying the accusations doesn't either. Getting paid to injure someone else is illegal- lawsuits and criminal charges are unlikely, but possible. I'm sure that the player's attorneys have advised strict denial just in case they do go to court.

The NFL has already decided the Saints are guilty. That what the deniers fail to understand- Remember the first line from the fist article-
"After a lengthy investigation conducted by the NFL's security department, the league announced Friday that 22 to 27 defensive players on the New Orleans Saints maintained a "pay for performance" program that included "bounty" payments administered by then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. "

Note "lengthy investigation" "maintained" & "bounty"- there's no "may have been" or "possibly"

Another thing the deniers don't understand is how protective of its image the NFL is. There's no way the NFL takes the massive PR hit from this without being sure of the facts. There's no way they take this hit for "pay for performance"

[AsylumGuido]

(03-15-2012 09:44 AM)Falconidae Wrote:  Sorry, Guido, but someone on the Saints' payroll denying the accusations just doesn't mean much. Saints' players denying the accusations doesn't either. Getting paid to injure someone else is illegal- lawsuits and criminal charges are unlikely, but possible. I'm sure that the player's attorneys have advised strict denial just in case they do go to court.

The NFL has already decided the Saints are guilty. That what the deniers fail to understand- Remember the first line from the fist article-
"After a lengthy investigation conducted by the NFL's security department, the league announced Friday that 22 to 27 defensive players on the New Orleans Saints maintained a "pay for performance" program that included "bounty" payments administered by then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. "

Note "lengthy investigation" "maintained" & "bounty"- there's no "may have been" or "possibly"

Another thing the deniers don't understand is how protective of its image the NFL is. There's no way the NFL takes the massive PR hit from this without being sure of the facts. There's no way they take this hit for "pay for performance"

All I can say is wait and see once the real facts start coming out. To this point everything has been hearsay and media conjecture. The NFL said days ago that punishment would be coming down before the end of this week. The latest word is that it may still be some time before any punishment is dealt. It sounds to me that Goodell doesn't have his ducks in quite as straight a row as he first suspected.

[Falconidae]

(03-15-2012 10:43 AM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  All I can say is wait and see once the real facts start coming out. To this point everything has been hearsay and media conjecture. The NFL said days ago that punishment would be coming down before the end of this week. The latest word is that it may still be some time before any punishment is dealt. It sounds to me that Goodell doesn't have his ducks in quite as straight a row as he first suspected.

The real facts have come out- the NFL has decided to their own satisfaction that the Saints are guilty. That's what "after a lengthy investigation" means. There's no way this goes public without the NFL being sure of the facts.

Punishments have been delayed because the NFLPA wanted to do their own investigation, not because the NFL is unsure of what happened.

The players association is going to claim that Williams forced players to participate in the bounty program or lose their playing time. Punishments for players may be delayed, but the Saints are getting hit with fines, probably both the GM & coach being suspended and loss of draft picks.

[AsylumGuido]

(03-16-2012 09:40 AM)Falconidae Wrote:  The real facts have come out- the NFL has decided to their own satisfaction that the Saints are guilty. That's what "after a lengthy investigation" means. There's no way this goes public without the NFL being sure of the facts.

Punishments have been delayed because the NFLPA wanted to do their own investigation, not because the NFL is unsure of what happened.

The players association is going to claim that Williams forced players to participate in the bounty program or lose their playing time. Punishments for players may be delayed, but the Saints are getting hit with fines, probably both the GM & coach being suspended and loss of draft picks.

Of course they are. I have agreed with that point since day one. My point is that I expect the whole thing, once the facts all come out, to not be anywhere near as tawdry and ruthless as the media has been making it out to be.

[dmo_dlo]

(03-14-2012 08:01 AM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  He admitted to the pay for performance.

Yeah, this really sounds like pay for performance

Roger Goodell:

While I will not address player conduct at this time, I am profoundly troubled by the fact that players - including leaders among the defensive players - embraced this program so enthusiastically and participated with what appears to have been a deliberate lack of concern for the well-being of their fellow players," Commissioner Goodell said. "While all club personnel are expected to play to win, they must not let the quest for victory so cloud their judgment that they willingly and willfully target their opponents and engage in unsafe and prohibited conduct intended to injure players.