Saints players could be looking at "serious consequences"

[jocstrap 8]

New Orleans Saints players who participated in the team's bounty program could be looking at serious consequences, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested Tuesday.

 

In an interview with Rich Eisen of the NFL Network, Goodell flatly rejected the notion that Saints defensive players should not be punished because they were simply following the orders of former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

 

"[The] evidence was clear that the players embraced it," Goodell said. "I don't think they are absolved from responsibility."

 

Goodell, who said the penalties will be announced soon, has already leveled unprecedented sanctions on the Saints' coaching staff and organization, including a one-year suspension for head coach Sean Payton.

 

Goodell met last week with the NFL Players Association to discuss punishments against players.

 

Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was the only player named publicly by the NFL when it announced its probe of the bounty payments. The league said Vilma had personally offered $10,000 for a hit that knocked Vikings quarterback Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship Game in January 2010.

 

NFL.com reported last week that Vilma was anticipating being suspended between two and eight games.

 

Saints safety Roman Harper and defensive end Will Smith were also reportedly being looked at by the league. Former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita could be penalized for reportedly contributing money into the bounty pools.

 

 

...and the saga continues

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/new-orleans-saints-roger-goodell-hints-sanctions-for-players-042412

[phillybear 364]

NFL is on unstable ground with fans, and Goodell is swinging a dozen wrecking balls. Goodell is a moron.

[Doozer 0]

An eighteen game season will be great for players' health and safety.

 

Have 2 lb of weed delivered to your house = 3 game suspension.

 

Break the law and you will be punished a little bit.

 

Break Roger's law = you're ######.

 

Lying to Goodell = death sentence.

 

Might as well just banish the whole Saints organization for a year, that will teach them.

 

[GreenTD 56]

An eighteen game season will be great for players' health and safety.

 

Have 2 lb of weed delivered to your house = 3 game suspension.

 

Break the law and you will be punished a little bit.

 

Break Roger's law = you're ######.

 

Lying to Goodell = death sentence.

 

Might as well just banish the whole Saints organization for a year, that will teach them.

 

 

Don't forget about driving drunk & killing a jaywalker - one year unpaid leave of absence from NFL but we'll give ya a job when you're sentence is up

[Muggleborn 0]

Not so goodell has made it a good time for a spin off league to start again that actually plays football. Have not been impressed with his moves so far and can't help this bounty issue has been overblown which is why so little details seem to have been provided to the public.

[phillybear 364]

Not so goodell has made it a good time for a spin off league to start again that actually plays football. Have not been impressed with his moves so far and can't help this bounty issue has been overblown which is why so little details seem to have been provided to the public.

 

The Monster Truck Mixed Martial Arts Boxing Football League. sunday. SUNDAY. SUNDAY!!

 

See Truckzilla take on Brock Lesnar take on Butter Bean in a 3 Way Dance to determine who fights the Baylor Basketball Broad that sounds like Herman Munster and can dunk a basketball in a Falls Count Anywhere No Disqualification Lumberjack Tables Ladders & Chairs Ring Surrounded By King Cobras match for the heavy weight championship of the world. Ringside announcers include Drunken Pat Summerall, Ron Bennington, and D!ck Clark.

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

The thing that sucks for the saints is, even if they suck and end up with a great pick, they may lose it for this new spy scandal. And then Brees walks. This team may blow for a decade after all this.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,919]

 

Lying to Goodell = death sentence.

 

Might as well just banish the whole Saints organization for a year, that will teach them.

 

 

He's doing everything in his power to cripple the Saints this year. He made them stronger im my opinion. The Saints are a great football team and will do everything in they can to make Goodell look bad. Winning despite Goodell will be the ultimate FU.

 

What fans of other teams should be focusing on but aren't is the fact that Goodell is screwing the loyal fans and season ticket holders, not the Saints organization.

[jocstrap 8]

The NFL announced Wednesday that four current and former Saints players are being suspended for portions of the 2012 season.

 

The harshest penalty was levied to Saints middle linebacker Jon Vilma. He was banned for the entire 2012 campaign.

 

Saints defensive end Will Smith received a four-game suspension. Two ex-Saints – Green Bay defensive end Anthony Hargrove (eight games) and linebacker Scott Fujita (three) – also were sanctioned.

 

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/jonathan-vilma-scott-fujita-anthony-hargrove-will-smith-suspended-in-new-orleans-saints-bounty-scandal-050212

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

Goddell would like to make football as dangerous as the linserie league if at all possible. I think he secretly hates football and is laughing himself to sleep every night knowing he will have destroyed the game.

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

He's doing everything in his power to cripple the Saints this year. He made them stronger im my opinion. The Saints are a great football team and will do everything in they can to make Goodell look bad. Winning despite Goodell will be the ultimate FU.

 

What fans of other teams should be focusing on but aren't is the fact that Goodell is screwing the loyal fans and season ticket holders, not the Saints organization.

 

Yeah. He ought to mandate free tickets for the entire season. Let Tom Benson suck on that.

[Joey Gladstone 33]

Flex those commish muscles Roger! The NFL will forever be a safer, family-friendly product.

[remote controller 133]

I don't see this as being about goodell at all. This is about true pieces of $h!t named Williams, Loomis, Payton, Vitt, Vilma, and others, likely including Benson and Brees. This was not only deserved....they worked very hard to earn it.

[Cruzer 1,992]

I don't see this as being about goodell at all. This is about true pieces of $h!t named Williams, Loomis, Payton, Vitt, Vilma, and others, likely including Benson and Brees. This was not only deserved....they worked very hard to earn it.

I tend to agree. I mean it's not like this was out of the blue, a first time warning. These guys were warned, they ignored the league, and now they are facing the consequences. The organization focked the fans if anything.

[Kent 228]

I tend to agree. I mean it's not like this was out of the blue, a first time warning. These guys were warned, they ignored the league, and now they are facing the consequences. The organization focked the fans if anything.

 

Why warn if you know the "crime" is so harsh? Why was there a warning phase.

 

Its all about Goodell and his ego about being lied to.

 

If Goodell knows people are using bounties, why the warning? Why not just stop it in its tracks with harsh penalties immediately. Did he not care about player safety in 2009, and suddenly cares in 2011 or 12?

 

Goodell is a total clown.

[Doozer 0]

Why warn if you know the "crime" is so harsh? Why was there a warning phase.

 

Its all about Goodell and his ego about being lied to.

 

If Goodell knows people are using bounties, why the warning? Why not just stop it in its tracks with harsh penalties immediately. Did he not care about player safety in 2009, and suddenly cares in 2011 or 12?

 

Goodell is a total clown.

[Joey Gladstone 33]

Why warn if you know the "crime" is so harsh? Why was there a warning phase.

 

Its all about Goodell and his ego about being lied to.

 

If Goodell knows people are using bounties, why the warning? Why not just stop it in its tracks with harsh penalties immediately. Did he not care about player safety in 2009, and suddenly cares in 2011 or 12?

 

Goodell is a total clown.

 

Well said. Who's keeping this @sshole accountable?

[Cruzer 1,992]

Why warn if you know the "crime" is so harsh? Why was there a warning phase.

 

Its all about Goodell and his ego about being lied to.

 

If Goodell knows people are using bounties, why the warning? Why not just stop it in its tracks with harsh penalties immediately. Did he not care about player safety in 2009, and suddenly cares in 2011 or 12?

 

Goodell is a total clown.

I don't know. Maybe like a lot of bosses, he prolly thought he could get his point across w/out having to be a total d!ck and bringing down the hammer 1st time out. Had he acted like this the first time all would be up his ass for being a hard ass and unfair. Was it harsh? Yes. But I still think the Saints did it to themselves by ignoring him.

[Kent 228]

I don't know. Maybe like a lot of bosses, he prolly thought he could get his point across w/out having to be a total d!ck and bringing down the hammer 1st time out. Had he acted like this the first time all would be up his ass for being a hard ass and unfair. Was it harsh? Yes. But I still think the Saints did it to themselves by ignoring him.

 

No no no....we're talking about player safety here. This isn't a warning type scenario. People's lives are at stake. Their future's. Their careers.

 

The guy got lied too and flipped because he can't believe people would dare lie to him. He's a total head case. He's utterly transparent and I love reading the people try to defend him.

[e-factor 13]

Goodell did the right thing. Make it hurt.

 

Comical to see people defending a bunch of cheap shot artists who degraded the sport. Big difference between hard nosed football and cheap shots designed to end someones game, season or career.

[GreenTD 56]

The Saints players are responsible for taking part in it.

The Saints coaches are responsible for encouraging it.

The Saints management are responsible for allowing it to take place under their roof.

[phillybear 364]

a safer, family-friendly product

 

Anybody that truly gives a dam about their sport should shiver in fear at these worlds.

 

Family friendly = crap.

[Cruzer 1,992]

No no no....we're talking about player safety here. This isn't a warning type scenario. People's lives are at stake. Their future's. Their careers.

 

The guy got lied too and flipped because he can't believe people would dare lie to him. He's a total head case. He's utterly transparent and I love reading the people try to defend him.

I think he's an egomaniac as well - but facts are facts. What difference does it make if he dropped the hammer down the first time or after he was lied to? The Saints gambled, played with fire - and got burned. It's laughable to me so many are trying to deflect blame from the Saints. Demonizing Rog doesn't change the fact of what happened.

[RoadLizard 73]

Anybody that truly gives a dam about their sport should shiver in fear at these worlds.

 

Family friendly = crap.

 

I totally agree - Why dont the Saints just skip this season altogether? Screw it. Let the Nawleans people riot again, its been a few years since Katrina looting.

 

Seriously though - Goddell is a steaming pile of filth. Hes killing this sport very slowly, like a rectal tumor. It will take a few years but the polyp that is Goddell will eventually become a giant. blood sucking tumor. This guy has lousy policies, lousy ideas, lousy rule changes, just one focking thing after another. Just die already or something.

 

God, I miss Pete Rozzelle....

[Phurfur 70]

I totally agree - Why dont the Saints just skip this season altogether? Screw it. Let the Nawleans people riot again, its been a few years since Katrina looting.

 

Seriously though - Goddell is a steaming pile of filth. Hes killing this sport very slowly, like a rectal tumor. It will take a few years but the polyp that is Goddell will eventually become a giant. blood sucking tumor. This guy has lousy policies, lousy ideas, lousy rule changes, just one focking thing after another. Just die already or something.

 

God, I miss Pete Rozzelle....

 

The game was soft before this now it can only get worse. How many years will it be before NFL games look just like the last Pro-Bowl game?

[e-factor 13]

God, you guys sound like a bunch of old men. Just join a militia and head for the hills to keep the good life and avoid any change.

 

The players from the 50s and 60s thought the game of the 70s and 80s was soft. I'm sure the first guys to strap on a helmet were considered wimps by their peers who played the game helmetless like "real men".

 

The game is still plenty vicious, just ask Pierre Thomas. He still doesn't know his name after getting lit up by Goldston. Players attempting to hurt other players with cheap shots doesn't make the game better. Goodell stands out because he is the first commish to have the inclination to put a stop to this type of BS instead of looking the other way. The Saints actually got off easy from the standpoint of player punishment. Two of the guys aren't even on the team anymore and Smith only misses 4 games. Could of been a lot worse.

[RoadLizard 73]

God, you guys sound like a bunch of old men. Just join a militia and head for the hills to keep the good life and avoid any change.

 

The players from the 50s and 60s thought the game of the 70s and 80s was soft. I'm sure the first guys to strap on a helmet were considered wimps by their peers who played the game helmetless like "real men".

 

The game is still plenty vicious, just ask Pierre Thomas. He still doesn't know his name after getting lit up by Goldston. Players attempting to hurt other players with cheap shots doesn't make the game better. Goodell stands out because he is the first commish to have the inclination to put a stop to this type of BS instead of looking the other way. The Saints actually got off easy from the standpoint of player punishment. Two of the guys aren't even on the team anymore and Smith only misses 4 games. Could of been a lot worse.

 

No, No, No. Thats not it. Goddell is an egotistical jogazz. Its not just the changes where you cant hit anyone anymore its a whole slew of things: The guy wants to expand into Europe. He wants to add more teams in an already severely talent-starved league. He wants games to be played all week long. Hes allowing more TV breaks and other game stoppage like reviewing every focking turnover. No more kickoffs. Hes meddling where there doesnt need to be any meddling and is showing no signs of restraint.

 

Yeah, we should run to the hills because we want the league to stop changing things that dont need it. Huge difference between good change and bad change. Cheap shots can be dealt with as needed but this is gone too far.

 

Its a rough game. People get hit. Dont play if you dont want to risk getting hit and hurt. Dont be a fireman if you hate fire or dont want to risk being burned. This is very simple.

[Phurfur 70]

The players from the 50s and 60s thought the game of the 70s and 80s was soft. I'm sure the first guys to strap on a helmet were considered wimps by their peers who played the game helmetless like "real men".

 

 

 

They think this because it is true. The game sucks today and it is getting worse. I am sure there will be a new generation of virgin fans who will enjoy the watered down game at 100X the price of the old game. Enjoy!

 

BTW: Improvements in equipment were never considered wimpy. HTH

[Cruzer 1,992]

Rog is going to go down as the bad guy in all of this, and like I said he is an egomaniac - but I don't fault him for trying to do something. This isn't the same game we watched when Howard, Dandy Don, and Frank were in the booth - it's radically changed. Back then lineman dressed out at 250 lbs. - now you have linebackers topping 275 and running 4.7's. We all want to believe things were better back then, and in a lot of ways they were - but it's no coincidence that 100 former players are now suing the league for issues related to concussions. These guys were the manly men we all grew up pretending to be - are they poosays now too?

[Reality 2,710]

Over the top in every aspect and I still haven't seen any on the field actions or hits that leads me to believe this bounty system was anything more than locker room rah rah stuff.

[Doozer 0]

Over the top in every aspect and I still haven't seen any on the field actions or hits that leads me to believe this bounty system was anything more than locker room rah rah stuff.

I agree, for everyone trying to portray the Saints as being a bunch of immoral thugs that were ruining the purity of the game, where is the evidence.

 

Show me video evidence of games from 2009-12 where players were intentionally looking to take out a player. How many injuries have the Saints given to opposing players in those years?

 

Scott Shanle

"Guys say crazy things all the time," Shanle said. "Gregg is one of the greatest motivators I've been around, but when he says things like 'kill the head and the body will die,' people don't take it literally. It was more of a device to get guys in a frame of mind to play a violent game at an insanely high level of intensity. It takes you to a place mentally that guys can't go otherwise.

 

"It's the same with Vilma. If he made statements like that, it was about trying to get guys to play harder and more together than they ever knew they could.

 

"Let's think about it rationally: If there's $500 in a kitty for taking out [an opponent], do you think I'm gonna intentionally injure someone and risk a $75,000 fine from the league for an illegal hit? It makes no sense."

[phillybear 364]

Goodell really needs to re-watch Marshawn Lynch's playoff run through the entire Saints defense. Then dismiss all charges.

[The Moz 69]

I think the penalties are too steep but If Vilma himself put a 10K bounty on Favre in the NFC title game -- if Favre's ankle isn't hurt the Vikings are easily in the superbowl -- assuming he didn't pull a "Favre" and throw point blank INT out of nowhere. Point being if Favre isn't hurt that game the Saints have no superbowl trophy. IF that happened then I agree with the Vilma penalty. Peyton was too far - fine him 1 mil twice that of BB's fine and a 4 game sus.. Yes the DC suspended indefinitley.

 

 

Geez now the GM might of been listening to the other sideline feeds a few years ago.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,919]

I don't see this as being about goodell at all. This is about true pieces of $h!t named Williams, Loomis, Payton, Vitt, Vilma, and others, likely including Benson and Brees. This was not only deserved....they worked very hard to earn it.

 

 

Show me the cheap shots? And don't show me Favre or Warner in the playoffs like ESPN does constantly. Both players after each game said the hits were legal. Show me the "cheap shots". There aren't any.

 

And if there were a bounty system, Drew brees should have received the majority of it. The defense has played like sh!t the last two years. He deserves the so-called rewards. He earned it, not the defense.

[Doozer 0]

I think the penalties are too steep but If Vilma himself put a 10K bounty on Favre in the NFC title game -- if Favre's ankle isn't hurt the Vikings are easily in the superbowl -- assuming he didn't pull a "Favre" and throw point blank INT out of nowhere. Point being if Favre isn't hurt that game the Saints have no superbowl trophy. IF that happened then I agree with the Vilma penalty. Peyton was too far - fine him 1 mil twice that of BB's fine and a 4 game sus.. Yes the DC suspended indefinitley.

 

 

Geez now the GM might of been listening to the other sideline feeds a few years ago.

Favre himself after the game said the hits were legit. If his brain located in his ankle, which led him to throwing the dumb int that would make sense. If throughout his career he wasn't prone to making absolutely terrible decisions at key moments in games the ankle thing might make sense. Further, Brett's ankle didn't seem to bother him on the 3rd and 8 10 yard completion to Berrian, nor the 20 yard deep ball to Sidney Rice. Maybe they lost because of the 12 men on the field penalty that led to a third and fifteen, or running the ball on first and second only to be stuffed for no gain?

 

The bold part is my favorite.

[Klingman13 0]

I honestly believe they shouldn't be punished. Their being payed millions of dollars to take risks, if they want to waste their money trying to hurt other players then thats their decision. It may be wrong, but players are extememly competitive. Not to mention, taking away Kickoffs, Above the Head hits, and Quarterback Rushing, your wrecking the game. The game is leading down a road that it may not recover from, people want to see big hits and amazing plays, not safety procedures.

[e-factor 13]

Show me the cheap shots? And don't show me Favre or Warner in the playoffs like ESPN does constantly. Both players after each game said the hits were legal. Show me the "cheap shots". There aren't any.

 

And if there were a bounty system, Drew brees should have received the majority of it. The defense has played like sh!t the last two years. He deserves the so-called rewards. He earned it, not the defense.

 

 

Both shots on Warner and Farve were definitely cheap shots. Legal doesn't mean they weren't cheap. The were chickenshiot cheap shots. Not a fan of either Farve or Warner or a hater of the Saints. Just the way it was. Similar to the shot Sapp put on the unsuspecing OL guy on that interception return a few years back that was highly controversial. Brutal and technically legal, but totally unnessessary as the guy was trailing the play by 30 yards and blatently cheap.

 

The shot on Farve after he had handed off and the play was obviously a running play in the opposite direction was total BS and probably an attempt to collect on the bounty money. Same for the shot on Warner. All the guy had to do was get in his way, not launch himself at his head. Warner was no threat to make the tackle, but the defender decides to blow him up anyway, just because the shot was there. Another attempt to collect on a bounty? More than likely. Just unneccesary IMO. The game is still plenty violent. Unneccessary shots aimed at maiming somebody are weak.

 

I love big hits. Goldston hitting Thomas, Lott blowing up Icky in the Super bowl, Lynch putting a big hit on Barry Sanders (only one I ever saw on Sanders). Man on man, one on one. Great stuff. Cheap shotting a defensless QB is chickenshiot.

[Kent 228]

Both shots on Warner and Farve were definitely cheap shots. Legal doesn't mean they weren't cheap. The were chickenshiot cheap shots. Not a fan of either Farve or Warner or a hater of the Saints. Just the way it was. Similar to the shot Sapp put on the unsuspecing OL guy on that interception return a few years back that was highly controversial. Brutal and technically legal, but totally unnessessary as the guy was trailing the play by 30 yards and blatently cheap.

 

The shot on Farve after he had handed off and the play was obviously a running play in the opposite direction was total BS and probably an attempt to collect on the bounty money. Same for the shot on Warner. All the guy had to do was get in his way, not launch himself at his head. Warner was no threat to make the tackle, but the defender decides to blow him up anyway, just because the shot was there. Another attempt to collect on a bounty? More than likely. Just unneccesary IMO. The game is still plenty violent. Unneccessary shots aimed at maiming somebody are weak.

 

I love big hits. Goldston hitting Thomas, Lott blowing up Icky in the Super bowl, Lynch putting a big hit on Barry Sanders (only one I ever saw on Sanders). Man on man, one on one. Great stuff. Cheap shotting a defensless QB is chickenshiot.

 

It was Warner's fault he got blasted. He forgot he was playing football out there and didn't seem to think he wasn't a viable option to get clobbered.

 

Therefore, Warner deserved it and I'm sure he learned from that hit.

 

Its football. When you forget that out on the field, you pay for it. Well, you used to.

[Reality 2,710]

Both shots on Warner and Farve were definitely cheap shots. Legal doesn't mean they weren't cheap. The were chickenshiot cheap shots. Not a fan of either Farve or Warner or a hater of the Saints. Just the way it was. Similar to the shot Sapp put on the unsuspecing OL guy on that interception return a few years back that was highly controversial. Brutal and technically legal, but totally unnessessary as the guy was trailing the play by 30 yards and blatently cheap.

 

The shot on Farve after he had handed off and the play was obviously a running play in the opposite direction was total BS and probably an attempt to collect on the bounty money. Same for the shot on Warner. All the guy had to do was get in his way, not launch himself at his head. Warner was no threat to make the tackle, but the defender decides to blow him up anyway, just because the shot was there. Another attempt to collect on a bounty? More than likely. Just unneccesary IMO. The game is still plenty violent. Unneccessary shots aimed at maiming somebody are weak.

 

I love big hits. Goldston hitting Thomas, Lott blowing up Icky in the Super bowl, Lynch putting a big hit on Barry Sanders (only one I ever saw on Sanders). Man on man, one on one. Great stuff. Cheap shotting a defensless QB is chickenshiot.

 

Nothing wrong with either play. Until they start using flags expect to get hit.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,919]

Both shots on Warner and Farve were definitely cheap shots. Legal doesn't mean they weren't cheap. The were chickenshiot cheap shots. Not a fan of either Farve or Warner or a hater of the Saints. Just the way it was. Similar to the shot Sapp put on the unsuspecing OL guy on that interception return a few years back that was highly controversial. Brutal and technically legal, but totally unnessessary as the guy was trailing the play by 30 yards and blatently cheap.

 

The shot on Farve after he had handed off and the play was obviously a running play in the opposite direction was total BS and probably an attempt to collect on the bounty money. Same for the shot on Warner. All the guy had to do was get in his way, not launch himself at his head. Warner was no threat to make the tackle, but the defender decides to blow him up anyway, just because the shot was there. Another attempt to collect on a bounty? More than likely. Just unneccesary IMO. The game is still plenty violent. Unneccessary shots aimed at maiming somebody are weak.

 

I love big hits. Goldston hitting Thomas, Lott blowing up Icky in the Super bowl, Lynch putting a big hit on Barry Sanders (only one I ever saw on Sanders). Man on man, one on one. Great stuff. Cheap shotting a defensless QB is chickenshiot.

 

I was at both games and saw each hit. They were not anywhere near cheap. It's post season football. It's not regular season where you get a secnd chance. Lose and you go home. I'm guessing your team doesn't make the playoffs much.

 

Warner wasn't twenty yards away from the ball. He was following the play and would have been in play to make the tackle if needed. And the blocker didn't launch into his helmet. It was a great play that led to points. In your brand of football he should have just laid down and let the play unfold without him? He would have been called a coward. That's the way the game is played. Or used to be.

 

Favre got the sh!t beat out of him all game because his o-line couldn't hold their blocks as long as Favre was holding onto the ball. You can't hold onto the ball that long and not get hit. He's a veteran and knew that. You also can't turn the ball over five times and expect to win.

 

And the twelve men in the huddle call was a direct result of how loud the dome was that night. I've never heard it louder in there for a non-scoring play. That mistake is what cost them the game. Took all the momentum away and handed it to the Saints.