2012 NFL Offseason Thread

[Drake]

Tony Dungy of NBC’s Football Night in America tells PFT that he believes the Titans had put a bounty on Manning.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...eyton-manning/

[dirk diggler]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I'm not too worried about Brees going elsewhere (in the sense I don't think he will), but Carl Nicks. Losing the franchise tag basically means arguably the best guard in the NFL will be gone...though its starting to look that way anyway with the Brees negotiations stalling. Basically sounds like the Saints offered him Brady money, but he wants Manning (first 3 years) money.

Obviously going to be interesting as things go forward. I hate how I'm basically forced to follow this depressing storyline for the off-season, was already hurting enough from how the season ended.

not a real fan of Brees after he was so vocal during the lock out and now he wants 23 million a year, the Saints offer is more than fair here... this level of greed is over the top

[themedicineman]

Originally Posted by Montana Moe

You aren't grasping what they're going to be punished for. They'll be punished for ignoring the league directive after the fact. That's why the Ravens, Steelers, Eagles, whoever else you want to name, won't be punished.

Most likely because I haven't read a single thing pertaining to a warning to shut it down. They investigated the team after the 09 playoffs for hits on Warner and Favre after they found nothing worth building a case around the stopped the investigation in 2010. Then at the end of this season the league got more information (I have no idea how since those two hits were the last significant hits I remember). Also how does the $1000 to injure a player do anything when you'll be fined $10000+ for a malicious hit. These players aren't that stupid and things just aren't adding up.

[Saint Troy]

Saints will get clipped a first rounder, and likely a massive fine. No way in hell Goodell, touches a franchise tag, that would be catastrophic considering every bloody team does this in one way or another. The big issue is how stupid Loomis and Payton were for not squelching this the second the NFL began the investigation, especially considering how awful the defence was this season.

[themedicineman]

Originally Posted by Saint Troy

Saints will get clipped a first rounder, and likely a massive fine. No way in hell Goodell, touches a franchise tag, that would be catastrophic considering every bloody team does this in one way or another. The big issue is how stupid Loomis and Payton were for not squelching this the second the NFL began the investigation, especially considering how awful the defence was this season.

Agreed. Can't help but be thankful Williams isn't still with the team too.

[dirk diggler]

If Loomis pays the price with his job, i would imagine he wouldnt be unemployed for long, New Orleans does have a ton of talent and some pretty good drafts

[Montana Moe]

Originally Posted by themedicineman

Most likely because I haven't read a single thing pertaining to a warning to shut it down...

The stop order is mentioned in the official NFL statement:
" When informed earlier this year of the new information, Mr. Benson advised league staff that he had directed his general manager, Mickey Loomis, to ensure that any bounty program be discontinued immediately. The evidence showed that Mr. Loomis did not carry out Mr. Benson's directions. Similarly, when the initial allegations were discussed with Mr. Loomis in 2010, he denied any knowledge of a bounty program and pledged that he would ensure that no such program was in place. There is no evidence that Mr. Loomis took any effective action to stop these practices." http://mobile.nola.com/advnola/pm_33...tguid=fxyv3sgQ

[Sainters7]

Ya I hadn't heard about the cover-up either, just read about it in Duncan's column earlier this evening as reports came out. Why they wouldn't stop it after that - and then act like they did - is simply inexcusable. Sounds like they've rubbed quite a few officials the wrong way under this regime, this isn't going to end pretty. What a dumb decision by all involved.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by themedicineman

Payton was virtually completely hands off on the defensive side of things. He may have known, he may not have thought it was as serious as these allegations are making it seem. Darren Sharper was just on ESPN and refuted that there were pools of money for injuring players. They were just received for the first fumble/interception/sack. Oh and to say fire Payton and Loomis? May as well kill the organization.

That interview with Sharper proved 2 things:

1. Darren Sharper is completely lacking in credibility. "None of it happened" "Umm, Darren there are thousands of pages of statements that say it did" "How'd did they get thousands of pages, that number is ludicrous" "Did Vilma offer $10,000 to whoever hurt Favre?" "Not $10,000"

2. Darren Sharper is a F'in moron. See above.

[transplant99]

Saints need to be clobbered for this...regardless of whether or not anyone else does it.

The PA needs to get involved as well...afterall this is members doing this to one another in the end.

And yes, Sharper is an idiot.

[Flabbibulin]

Similar to the Pats back in 07, the Saints will get dinged for something many other teams are doing. But, its always better to make an example of the high profile teams.

[Montana Moe]

Brees gets the franchise tag. I've heard that he took the tag to allow the front office to focus on Nicks/Colston, then they can work on his long term deal. I hope that's the case.

[Sainters7]

Ugh...I have a feeling we've seen the last of Nicks in black & gold. Not a good week for Saints management, that's for sure.

[Drake]

A piece by former NFL player Matt Bowen who played under Gregg Williams with the Skins.

In a makeshift meeting room, with the whisper of evening traffic pouring in from the Beltway, we laid our bounties on opposing players. We targeted big names, our sights set on taking them out of the game.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...4015992.column

[flames_1987]

From some die-hard Saints fans I know and some on CP, very refreshing to see how they're viewing this. It's refreshing to see fans able to separate their fondness for the team and talk honestly about the whole thing. Very tough to find honest sports fans, especially in the NFL

[Drake]

Wire ended the career of Detroit Lions running back James Stewart with a clean hit in a 2003 preseason game. Wire had trouble justifying the idea of waylaying a man's livelihood against the rousing praise heaped upon him by teammates and coaches.

"Now, it's unthinkable that was my reality," Wire said. "I shattered James Stewart's shoulder, and he never played again. I was showered with praise for that. It's a shame that's how it was. Now I see how wrong that was."

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bi...icle747663.ece

[Drake]

The person, speaking on the condition of anonymity because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has not made final decisions on penalties, said some of the sanctions could be “unprecedented.” Payton and Loomis face discipline for failing to halt the practice of paying players for big hits on opponents. The bounty system was administered by Williams and involved 22 to 27 players, according to an NFL investigation revealed Friday.

The suspensions under consideration are a half-season or longer in some cases, the person said. Several other people in the sport said they expect Williams, now the defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, to be punished severely.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...oDrR_blog.html

[d_phaneuf]

Be interesting whether this leads to either problems from the IRS (the money here sounds like it was in the 10's of thousands for some of these guys) can't imagine it was reported

or if you get someone who's career was ended, or shortened, takes a saint player to court like Moore has done with Bertuzzi

[flames_1987]

3 days away from the deadline for Peyton Manning. More and more this drags on, the more likely I see it being that he could return to the Colts

[valo403]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Be interesting whether this leads to either problems from the IRS (the money here sounds like it was in the 10's of thousands for some of these guys) can't imagine it was reported

or if you get someone who's career was ended, or shortened, takes a saint player to court like Moore has done with Bertuzzi

Was thinking the same thing re: the IRS, could be interesting to see how they respond to this.

I think it would be hard to win a case based on this, largely because any hit that was so far outside of what is to be expected in the game would be something we'd already be talking about, and I can't think of anything like that. Bertuzzi on Moore was something that crossed beyond what players implicitly consent to when they play, and I don't really remember anything like that having happened in the NFL recently, bounty or not.

Schefter referenced the one year suspensions of Hornung and Karras back in the 60's for betting on games as a possible benchmark. I expected Goodell to come down hard, but I didn't expect this. I agree with it though, going out there to be physical and play the game with an edge is fine, I don't even have an issue with side rewards for things like big hits, but when you cross into targeting guys to be injured you've gone way too far. There's no place for that in any sport.