Quote:The New Orleans Saints can expect to find out their penalty from the NFL for their illegal "pay for performance system" by the beginning of the NFL's annual owner meetings March 25, sources told Fox Sports insider and NFL Network contributor Jay Glazer on Saturday.

The March 25 date appears to be at the end of the timeline, and the Saints could learn of their fate within the next week or two, Glazer reported.

The NFL's report detailed the Saints' involvement in a three-year program administered by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, which ran in violation of league rules. The investigation showed that Saints players received $1,500 for a "knockout" hit and $1,000 for a "cart-off" hit, with payouts doubling or tripling during the team's three playoff appearances.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will determine the appropriate discipline based on the investigation, the league said in a statement released Friday.

(03-04-2012 04:44 PM)NOVAFalconFan Wrote:  I am hoping they kill the franchise and create an expansion team in L.A.

No justice! No peace!

No justice! No peace!

(03-04-2012 05:01 PM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  LOL!

The most they can do is take a draft pick or two, fine Payton as the head man in charge, fine Williams and fine the team. They could also suspend Williams or Payton a few games if they wanted to take it to that extreme.

(03-04-2012 05:24 PM)FullMetalFalcon23 Wrote:  To be fair that is not the most they can do. It won't be extreme but it won't be soft either. Its been going on for a sustained period of time I would think the punishment equally will reflect this. Also the fact that there was a cover up to the original league investigation.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. The leagues big thing has been player safety. And this is something that Williams has been orchestrating for a long time across teams. I think it will be far worse for him alone. But I don't think new Orleans will get off lightly.

Hell as it's been said many other teams could be investigated or penalised.

(03-04-2012 06:05 PM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  There are league rules on maximum penalties. That's what the Patriots got after that silly camera affair. What I stated is about as severe as the bylaws allow.

And to be equally fair, the majority of this dealt with "pay for performance" which paid for fumbles, picks and sacks. Yes, knocking a player out of the game was a part of it, but it wasn't the main part of it. And no where has it been said an injury had to be dealt.

(03-04-2012 06:17 PM)swanlee Wrote:  There are also league rules on no bounties either and that did not stop the Saints. Hopefully the Saints are made an example of and the owenr Fired the GM and Payton and I'm willing to bet GW gets lifetime ban since he ran this cheme every where he went.

The punishment is going to be bad dude I know the waiting sucks but you posting here isn't going to fix that.

Quote:Williams, Payton, Loomis, Saints players all may face long suspensions

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 4, 2012, 7:16 PM EST

Lengthy and unprecedented suspensions appear to be coming for those involved in the Saints’ practice of paying bounties to players who injured opponents.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that the NFL is considering long suspensions for head coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and players who were involved in bounties.

How long? Maske cited an unnamed source who said suspensions could be half a season or longer. One person familiar with the NFL’s thinking on the matter mentioned the decision in 1963 by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to suspend Packers running back Paul Hornung and Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for an entire season for gambling.

Williams, who ran the bounty program and who’s now the defensive coordinator of the Rams, would seem to be the person who would get the longest suspension. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher should probably be in the process of coming up with a Plan B at the defensive coordinator position on his coaching staff because Williams, the Plan A, may be unavailable for some or all of the season.

But Payton and Loomis appear to be facing discipline as well, and players involved could also be suspended. The NFL said 22 to 27 players on the Saints were involved, but the league hasn’t said who those players are. We don’t know how many are still in the league, how many are still with the Saints and whether some players were ringleaders of the bounty program and will face more significant than others.

What is clear is that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is preparing to come down hard. After the Spygate scandal, Goodell stripped the Patriots of a first-round pick, fined Bill Belichick $500,000 and fined the Patriots $250,000. All indications are that the sanctions for the Saints will be significantly more severe.

(03-04-2012 08:24 PM)Va Falcon 88 Wrote:  What is clear is that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is preparing to come down hard.