+- Atlanta Falcons Talk (http://atlantafalconstalk.com)
+-- Forum: Falcons Fans Message Boards (/Forum-Falcons-Fans-Message-Boards)
+--- Forum: Talk About The Falcons & So Much More (/Forum-Talk-About-The-Falcons-So-Much-More)
+--- Thread: NFL: Saints Bounty Thread (/Thread-NFL-Saints-Bounty-Thread)
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187
RE: Saints Bounty Thread - phocis850 - 11-18-2012 02:44 AM
He could just have a girl scout read his statement that he gave the NFL last month.
Williams sees it for what it really is, an act to try and tarnish his image in a court of law. I wouldn't go either. He's done in the NFL either way.
RE: Saints Bounty Thread - AsylumGuido - 11-22-2012 07:51 PM
New Orleans Saints DE Will Smith has no issue with Paul Tagliabue's appeals timeline
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith said he has no problem with the timeline established by former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue in the bounty appeals as the series of hearings are to be held Nov. 27 through Dec. 4 in Washington D.C.
The Associated Press reported Tagliabue wants the NFL to produce two of the NFL's most prominent whistleblowers in the bounty scandal investigation as Tagliabue wants former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and former defensive assistant Mike Cerullo to testify.
Smith said having Williams and others testify is the most vital aspect of the entire Tagliabue appeals process.
"It's going to be important that Gregg and those guys get a chance to get cross-examined as we were cross-examined," Smith said. "It's good to have those guys finally stepping forward and actually talking instead of hiding."
Smith added later on in an interview Wednesday, "The most important thing is that Gregg Williams and those other guys are going to have to testify and be cross-examined. I think that's the most important thing and see if their stories stay the same."
Smith (four games), Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma (season), Browns linebacker Scott Fujita (one game) and free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove (seven games) have not served any of their suspensions. The original punishments were vacated just before the Saints' Week 1 game against Washington. The league issued new sanctions against the four players Oct. 10, but the players have been free to play since they appealed the newer sanctions.
The AP also reported Tagliabue will make a decision shortly after the hearings wrap up Dec. 4. Smith said he has no issue with the appeals being decided during the season even though an upheld suspension could mean Smith and Vilma missing games with the Saints fighting for the playoffs.
"He's (Tagliabue) got to make a decision eventually," Smith said. "I know everyone wants a fast decision, so after everything is heard and the hearing has taken place and we're caught up to speed with everything, we'll see what happens. ... You try not to think about it. My job is to play football and to help the New Orleans Saints win games and play at a high level. If it means dealing with that as a distraction, I've got to put it on the back burner while I'm playing. Whatever happens, happens."
A motion in U.S. District Court filed by the players to recuse Tagliabue as the lead officer in the Saints appeals process is still in play as there's been no decision yet by Judge Helen Berrigan.
RE: Saints Bounty Thread - AsylumGuido - 11-28-2012 07:59 PM
Former New Orleans Saints assistant Mike Cerullo to face cross examination in bounty hearing Thursday
Washington D.C. - Former New Orleans Saints defensive assistant Mike Cerullo already has told his side of the story in the Saints bounty case to NFL investigators. On Thursday the attorneys for the four accused players will get to cross examine him as part of the appeals hearings conducted by former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
![[Image: 11924135-small.jpg]](http://media.nola.com/saints_impact/photo/11924135-small.jpg)
Mike Cerullo
It will be the first time the legal teams for Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Will Smith, along with former Saints players Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove, will be able to question the former Saints defensive aide. Vilma and Smith won't be able to attend Thursday's hearing because the Saints are playing in Atlanta that night but they have said they plan to attend Friday's session when former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is scheduled to appear. The hearings, which began Tuesday, are expected to be continued in New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday with Tagliabue making a determination shortly after they're over.
Cerullo's handwritten documentation of alleged earnings, fines and payouts and information submitted to the league via interviews has been some of the NFL's primary evidence against the players and team officials. The information that Cerullo and Williams provided led the league to suspend the four players on two occasions, as well as Coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis, and linebackers/interim head coach Joe Vitt. Williams is still serving an indefinite suspension handed down by the league for his role in organizing the program. Payton is out until after Super Bowl XLVII while Loomis and Vitt have served their suspensions.
According to Cerullo's signed May 22 affidavit, Vilma asked to address the Saints before the 2009 NFC divisional game against Arizona. Cerullo said Vilma raised his hands in the air holding "two five stacks," which Cerullo interpreted as $10,000, for anyone who knocked Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner out of the game. Cerullo said he collected the money from Vilma and gave it to Williams. The money wasn't paid, though, because Warner wasn't knocked out of the game, although he was forced to leave the field following a brutal hit by defensive end Bobby McCray.
Cerullo said Vilma addressed the Saints the next week leading up to the NFC championship game and Vilma said his offer from the divisional game "still stands" for any player who knocked out Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. Cerullo said other players, including Smith and Fujita, began pledging money to the pool.
Williams told Cerullo after Super Bowl XLIV to get rid of the pay-for-performance documents from a computer and Vitt followed up to see if Cerullo deleted the files, according to the affidavit.
Cerullo said he was in a meeting where Vitt told Hargrove to deny any knowledge of the pay-for-performance program. Cerullo added that to the best of his recollection, Hargrove responded by saying, "I can lie with the best of them."
Cerullo admitted in the affidavit that Williams put him in charge of the pay-for-performance program. Cerullo also said players were paid $1,000 for "cart-off" hits and $1,500 for "knock-out" hits and the plan was to up the price during the 2009 playoffs.
According to Cerullo, players who felt they unfairly had to add money to the pool could appeal to Cerullo, who was known as the "lower court," or to Vitt or Williams, known as "supreme court judge."
The affidavit was used against Vilma when the Saints linebacker met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at NFL offices in mid-September after the initial suspensions were vacated by an arbitration panel. Goodell has since recused himself from the appeals process and appointed Tagliabue as the lead official. A motion filed by all four players in U.S. District Court to recuse Tagliabue from the process has never been ruled upon.
On the same day the Cerullo affidavit came to light, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune reported that Vilma's legal counsel found instances in his investigation that Cerullo lied to the Saints during the 2009 season. Vilma's counsel hopes this will paint Cerullo as an unreliable source and a former employee with an axe to grind.
According to the investigation by Vilma's counsel, Cerullo twice lied to the Saints about personal leave of absences. The first instance allegedly involved an accident with his girlfriend who lived out of town and Cerullo asked Vitt to leave the Saints for a brief period of time. The second allegedly happened during the 2009 playoffs when Cerullo asked for time away after a death to someone close to Cerullo's girlfriend.
Cerullo wasn't retained after the 2009 season. He spent time on the Connecticut football staff during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and now serves as Princeton's director of football operations.
The NFL responded in mid-September with a statement defending Cerullo: "Mike Cerullo should be commended for coming forward. The information and detail he provided was credible and has since been confirmed in numerous respects both by other witnesses and by supporting documents. It is unfortunate that some have sought to unfairly attack his integrity rather than give attention to the substance of his declaration."
Ginsberg included in a Oct. 29 court filing an email Cerullo sent to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello on Nov. 11, 2011:
"So I have info on Saints Joe Vitt Lying to your NFL Investigator on Bounties from 2010, along with proof!!!
"I was there, in the cover up meeting, with players and Joe, I love the NFL and want to work there again, but I am afraid if I tell thge (the) truth I will never coach again in NFL, But I was fired for a situation that the Saints encourage..
"All I want is a Job back in the NFL as a QC Coach anywhere, so If talking to you jepodizes (jeopardizes) that I will have to get back to you, but The Saints are a Dirty Organization
"Contact me
"mike c"
Cerullo has never commented publicly on the scandal despite numerous requests for an interview. Ginsberg, the attorneys for the other three players and Tagliabue couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.
RE: Saints Bounty Thread - phocis850 - 11-28-2012 10:03 PM
So.... THAT isn't distracting for a big game that the Saints MUST win tomorrow.
RE: Saints Bounty Thread - AsylumGuido - 11-29-2012 12:21 AM
(11-28-2012 10:03 PM)phocis850 Wrote: So.... THAT isn't distracting for a big game that the Saints MUST win tomorrow.
You'll see after the Saints win the game how distracting it was. Besides, Cerullo being grilled about his lies would seem to be invigorating.
RE: Saints Bounty Thread - ATLBound - 11-29-2012 01:24 AM
I must say Cerullo looks like a shady character...yeesh!
RE: Saints Bounty Thread - ATLBound - 11-29-2012 01:27 AM
(11-29-2012 12:21 AM)AsylumGuido Wrote: You'll see after the Saints win the game how distracting it was. Besides, Cerullo being grilled about his lies would seem to be invigorating.
Now that this is not considered a distraction....please don't come on here Thursday evening or beyond and say the Saints were distracted
Brees needs a Piss test..... - Xanthri - 11-29-2012 12:37 PM
As good as he is....he is STILL publically claiming that there was no BOUNTY program.....
The fact that Sean Payton is suspended the whole year and NEVER appealled or fought this decision very hard....as well as Gregg Williams admitting to it....and all the other leadership positions that took their punishment.
It is obvious that Brees must be smoking something....because he seems to have memory loss and the things he says are SO unbelievable....
I am hoping Goodell called the Refs and told them to pull the Katrina Refs.....because Brees needs to go down hard for being an idiot.....LET IT DIE DUDE.....YOUR TEAM CHEATED AND PUT BOUNTIES ON OTHER PLAYERS.....IT WAS CHEAT AND UNSPORTSMAN LIKE AND IT IS A BLEMISH ON YOUR FRANCHISE.....just like our blemish Vick and Dogfighting.....and Petrino and the mess of a season afterwards......
SHUT UP!
I am praying for a nice Falcons win at home tonight......then we can stop talking about the Saints for this year......
RE: Brees needs a Piss test..... - ChrisD - 11-29-2012 01:03 PM
Him claiming that there is no bounty is just as crazy as people in Atlanta claiming that the Refs favor the Saints every week.
Who cares? What's done is done. If people weren't still caught up on everything, you wouldn't have to listen to Brees talk about it or anyone for that matter. It's not them that can't get over it, it's the general media and public.
RE: Brees needs a Piss test..... - swanlee - 11-29-2012 01:26 PM
He's an idiot in denial
Stat padding moron, with an ego the size of Louisiana.