Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
That's a bit much but I don't wish any success to Brees or that franchise. I don't pretend to believe that the Saints were the only league running a bounty program or similar but man to have been warned multiple times and still continue just shows the arrogance of Payton and the organization.
As far a Brees goes in what has been one of the most difficult off seasons any team has had to ensure what does their leader do? He holds out to make it twice as bad because he wants to be the highest paid QB in the league. The players agreed to the collective bargaining agreement so when you get franchised accept that you signed on for it and play out the season like most players that get franchised. Instead he made it all about himself in forcing the Saints hand and saying he wasn't going to report to camp and of all seasons this was the season that the team needed it's leaders. I think he deserves to be paid amongst the highest QB's in the league but I don't like the way he went about it.
|
RE your first paragraph, I agree, if there was a program in place, despite the fact that its not the first time something like this has existed, the GM, HC, DC and anyone else at a coach or admin level then they should be hammered by the league. It's telling to me that Peyton just took the suspension and basically disappeared. Its a good way to shut this kind of thing down in the future. The Commissioner has a problem on his hands where for generations the NFL had looked the other way at what has become an very unsafe league, and he now has the mountains of lawsuits to deal with to prove it.
As for Brees though ... this is his one shot at top shelf $$$, and nobody can despute that he's deserved a top shelf contract. The Franchise tag is just a tool. It's not an obligation on the players part to accept it, it's simply a mechanism that keeps top end salaries down a little bit. However I'd say that it doesn't work well on QB's because top end QB's don't want the risk of being injured during a franchise year and lose out on a 5-7 year deal. When do you ever see QB's playing on a franchise tag? For DT's or other positions where the shelf life is much shorter, the risk is lower.
The team and Drew were both playing a game of chicken and neither blinked. I don't blame Drew for not being pushed into whatever contract the team wants. According to you, he needs to give up his leverage and just sign so he can be a leader through near meaningless spring workouts. What is it as a leader do you expect him to do after not getting the deal he feels entitled to that would have the team so better off now?