Punishment is WAYYY over the top IMO.
The NFL is stupid
Punishment is WAYYY over the top IMO.
The NFL is stupid
Punishment is WAYYY over the top IMO.
My guess is that the 1 year for Payton and other suspensions was so steep not because of the infraction but because Payton, Williams, et al repeatedly lied about it to the league office. I'd put money on the suspension being something like 6-8 games for running the bounties and 8-10 games for lying about it (if Goodell were forced to break it down and he was honest).
lolCan't... stop... laughing...
Shawne Merriman ‏ @shawnemerriman
Christ I wont even by use "Bounty" paper towels no more #Crazy
That was my initial reaction. However, reading through the NFL statements about the punishments, it's clear that Coach Payton new about the bounty program and lied to NFL investigators about his knowledge of it. The attempts to cover it up to the NFL was what did the GM and Coach Payton in, despite not being active in the program.
It's very important to realize that Roger Goodell is on a mission to help make the game safer for players (look at all the roughing QB rules passed within the past few years). Anything that would undermine that initiative is going to result in some heavy penalties/fines.
The media is taking the bounty thing and running with it.
Reports around the team for the past 2 seasons have been a little bad. Rumors were that the Saints front office thought it was untouchable with the success they had over the last 5 years. They took a franchise that was in shambles and was on the verge of being moved, and managed to put together a staff/team that won a Super Bowl. But clearly disobeying the NFL brought the hammer. Hell, they let Mike Ornstein associate with the team.
Look for "Bounty: Goddell. $10,000" signs at Saints games.
lol
I don't trust his motive as being so humanitarian. I believe he's simply being sensible, in this age of 'liability' and making an effort to protect the league from current and future lawsuits. That said, I don't disagree with the direction either.
At some point they are going to have to introduce a new style of football helmet that will reduce concussions. There are ones out there that absorb impact much better, yet the league has done nothing about it for some reason.
How do commentators say how to control a great QB? As a Saints fan I hear it every game. "If you want to control Drew Brees you have to hit him hard and often."
Are people so dense that they think the players would not have hit Favre as hard had there not been a meager reward? That these guys did not want to win the game, they just wanted a small bonus?
I think the issue isn't that there were bounties, just that hits with the express intention of injuring other players were encouraged. It effect, it was extremely stupid of the Saints' staff to do this; without bounties, they would have plausible deniability and could claim that they were simply telling their players to play hard.
3. Coach Williams acknowledged that he designed and implemented the program with the assistance of certain defensive players. He said that he did so after being told by Saints Head Coach Sean Payton that his assignment was to make the defense "nasty." Coach Williams described his role as overseeing record keeping, defining payout amounts, deciding on who received payouts, and distributing envelopes with cash to players who "earned" rewards.
10. When interviewed in 2012, Sean Payton claimed to be entirely unaware of the program, a claim contradicted by others. Further, prior to the Saints' opening game in 2011, Coach Payton received an email from a close associate that stated in part, "PS Greg Williams put me down for $5000 on Rogers (sic)." When shown the email during the course of the investigation, Coach Payton stated that it referred to a "bounty" on Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
11. In early 2010, Mr. Loomis advised Coach Payton that the league office was investigating allegations concerning a bounty program. Coach Payton said that he met with his top two defensive assistants, Coach Williams and Coach Vitt, in advance of the interview with league investigators and told them, "Let's make sure our ducks are in a row." Remarkably, Coach Payton claimed that he never inquired of Coach Williams and Coach Vitt as to what happened in the interviews, never asked them if a "pay-for-performance" or bounty program was in fact in place, and never gave any instructions to discontinue such a program.
12. In January 2012, prior to the Saints' first playoff game of the 2011 season, Coach Payton was advised by Mr. Loomis that the league office had reopened the investigation. Coach Payton made a cursory inquiry but took no action to ensure that any bounty program was discontinued.
How do commentators say how to control a great QB? As a Saints fan I hear it every game. "If you want to control Drew Brees you have to hit him hard and often."
There's a world of difference between "Knock him on his ass!" and "There's $10,000 in it for you if you knock him on his ass!".
There's a world of difference between "Knock him on his ass!" and "There's $10,000 in it for you if you knock him on his ass!".
no
there is a difference between knocking him on his ass and knocking him out of the game. That is what has everyone upset.
Warren Sapp tweeted that Jeremy Shockey was the snitch, LOL
they can't be seen as condoning this kind of thing. Think about the billion dollar lawsuits if they did...
If it had been a wink wink, nudge nudge thing, this wouldn't even be a headline. But the dumbasses put it in writing.