Quote:• Michael Vick went to prison for nearly two years for harming dogs, which he should not have done. Williams offered players money to harm people. And there was no misunderstanding: Williams told the league Friday, "We knew we were wrong while we were doing it.'' The situations are not directly analogous. But if prison was the fair punishment for causing harm to animals, the punishment Williams faces must be severe.

• The Vikings-Saints NFC title game two years ago may have been where the Saints' deliberate rule-breaking was worst. Immediately after that game, I wrote, "Saints players came after [Brett] Favre so hard -- four times slamming him in ways that invited late-hit or roughing penalties, only two of which were called -- Williams [seems to have] told his charges something along the lines of, 'Pound Favre every time you can; we will take a couple of roughing flags in return for making an old guy worry about the next hit.'"

So did I do a good job by noting two years ago what is suddenly considered obvious? No, I did a terrible job. Yesterday I watched every New Orleans defensive snap of that game and found four, not two, instances in which unnecessary roughness should have been called against the Saints but was not. In retrospect, my column should have led with dirty play by the Saints. The four unnecessary roughness penalties that were not called:

• On the game's first snap, Favre handed off, turned away from the play and was hammered with a forearm to the chin by New Orleans linebacker Scott Fujita. Not only should a personal foul have been called -- Fujita should have been ejected on the game's first offensive snap. Instead, no call. Scott, were you paid for behaving like a street thug?

• At 6:14 of the first quarter, after Favre released a pass he was hit with a forearm to the chin by safety Roman Harper. No flag. Roman, were you paid for delivering that cheap shot?

• At 4:15 of the first quarter, Favre released a pass and then Darren Sharper slammed him in the chest with a foreman. No flag. Darren, were you paid for having low standards?

• At 13:29 of the second quarter, Favre released a pass and then was hurled to the ground by Bobby McCray. No flag. Bobby, were you paid for doing something you should be ashamed of?

Reviewing the tape, another aspect of the game jumped out at me that I missed when watching live, and so far as I can tell, all sportscasters and commentators missed, too. Beginning midway through the first quarter, whenever Favre handed off, he immediately ran backward 10 yards -- to get away from New Orleans late hits.

Gregg Williams the psycho:
• Gregg Williams has a classy first name, but may be a man of twisted values. Monday on NPR's "All Things Considered," Mike Pesca dug up audio of Williams speaking after the Saints' Super Bowl win. Williams says, "My whole life … I've been trying to get people to play nastier." Can he seriously think lack of aggression is a problem in football? Williams also had this to say about his two sons' youth football days: "I told their little league coaches my kids will play fast, they're going to play nasty, they're going to play tough. Tell the rest of the babies around them to speed up."

What kind of a man boasts that his sons are nasty and denounces as "babies" 10-year-olds who want to participate in a sport safely? Williams needs to take a long look in the mirror -- and by his distorted values, he has forfeited any claim to a leadership role.

• Monday on ESPN, Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said rewarding illegal play "goes to the integrity of the game." Referring to the NFL safety crackdown that began in 2009, Young said, "under their noses, the Super Bowl champion had an institutionalized program to go hurt players." Young, who holds a law degree from BYU, supposed, "If I'm hurt against the Saints in the last couple of years, I'm suing the Saints." Young's comments begin at about six minutes here.

Whether paying players to injure others within the context of an obviously dangerous game can lead to prosecution, or is actionable in the civil sense, remains to be seen. State laws in states in which NFL games are played, and the exact wording of player contracts and collective bargaining agreements, may determine whether legal action occurs. If a lawsuit on this point succeeds, the sport of football will be in serious trouble.

• The Saints' Super Bowl win is now tainted. The Saints' feel-good story is over. Severe penalties must be handed out, while Saints supporters, who are not to blame, must accept that what their team seemed to accomplish is forever diminished. The larger question is whether Sinnersgate shows there is rot throughout the structure of America's most lucrative sport.

• Here is the disturbing comment made by Aikman during the Saints' NFC title win. Favre released the ball, then was body-slammed to the ground by Anthony Hargrove of New Orleans. A flag flew, for roughing the passer. "I think that's a bad call," Aikman said. "That's the way they teach Pop Warner kids."

That's the way they teach Pop Warner kids. Certainly Aikman is correct -- and that is why football must be reformed, from youth leagues up to the NFL, to eliminate the encouragement of vicious play. Spygate threatened the reputation of a coach. Sinnersgate threatens the entire sport.

(03-23-2012 10:15 PM)Radical Wrote:  One thing to note is that Vick KILLED dogs, not just hurt them.

(03-23-2012 10:28 PM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  Or more precisely, tortured them by forcing them to fight to the death, if lucky. If not, they were killed in horrific ways. But, that has nothing to do with football.

You can watch any game played in the NFL since film was invented and you will see exactly the same plays you are pointing out in your exercise. Go back over the Falcons' tapes play by play and I will guarantee you will see the same type of hits made by your players. The same hits that you thought were so awesome at the time.

(03-24-2012 01:23 AM)illmusic Wrote:  exactly, everybody was ranting and raving about meiers block on special teams and appalled when the league fined him....youre kidding yourselves if he didn't have the intention of hurting the player he threw his body into. The only fuck up the saints did, in my eyes, is pay for cart offs and let the shit leak out.

(03-24-2012 06:53 PM)Templar Wrote:  I still keep wondering if we're going to see actual litigation from this.

There is legal precedence that a pro football player accepts a certain risk factor by playing the game, just as each of us accepts a certain amount of risk each time we get on a plane or drive a car.

However, it is verified that these players, coaches and outside contributors were putting up money to pay for the intentional injury of another player. Thereby, the acceptance of risk no longer applies.

For example, if I put up an offer of $10,000 for someone if they injured Guido in a car accident, that overrides the acceptance of risk. On top of that, such an offer made public would likely bring litigation and perhaps criminal charges against me.

Vilma put up $10,000 on knocking Favre out of the game, and he received several violent and questionable hits during that game. If Favre were a vindictive man, he could probably bring charges against Vilma, Williams and anyone else who contributed to that pot, and against any aint player who hit him in even a questionable manner during that game. Warner could do the same, and perhaps even sue for massive damages as he received a concussion during that game.

Again, this argument of "everyone does it" and so on doesn't really fly. Hermann Goring tried that defense once and you know how that turned out. Payton and Williams both said that they knew it was wrong and they didn't stop it. There you go. They knowingly committed the crimes and fucked the aint nation in the process.

Personally, I find the aint nation getting fucked hilarious and hope that it never stops. I find it hilarious that the fans are getting behind these guys who knowingly fucked them. I can't wait to hear all the excuses and crying and moaning once the player suspensions come down. I'll laugh my ass off if I get to see Vilma behind bars.

Of course, it's also going to be beautiful to see the depleted aint defense get 40,50 and even 60 points put up on them week in and week out.