Adam Schefter twitter: NFL Security investigating The Saints for having a "bounty program" on defense

[HailGreen28]

Why do you say that? Do you think Smith knew about it? (sorry if its an obvious answer, I am not fully read up on the thread)

Danny Smith isn't even held accountable for his own foul-ups, like FG units.

I can't see any damning info on Smith getting to the league.

[Son of Gadsden]

Why do you say that? Do you think Smith knew about it? (sorry if its an obvious answer, I am not fully read up on the thread)

All I'm getting at is I think he is the only remaining coach on staff that coached at that time, and as the ST coach, he was coaching some of the hardest hits on the field. I haven't heard anything incriminating about him necessarily, I'm just saying that he and Snyder are the only POSSIBLE people that could face consequences in my mind.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Just heard Clayton on the radio. He's saying he doubts there would be any suspensions. He thinks the Saints will get hit with losses of draft picks + huge fines (at least a million). To me, this is the right way to go. They don't have a #1 pick this year. But take away next year's #1, plus several other picks + huge fines. That will get the point across.

See, that I would have a bit of a problem with. If this is, as it seems, a problem that has followed Williams from team to team, and you are going to hit his former team with a huge penalty, how do you not suspend Williams? This problem is mostly him. If you're going to only fine him, it better be a very large fine.

(I'm not trying to imply the Saints shouldn't be punished in the above, btw. They should be)

[Roger.Staubach]

See, that I would have a bit of a problem with. If this is, as it seems, a problem that has followed Williams from team to team, and you are going to hit his former team with a huge penalty, how do you not suspend Williams? This problem is mostly him. If you're going to only fine him, it better be a very large fine.

(I'm not trying to imply the Saints shouldn't be punished in the above, btw. They should be)

I agree with what you are saying about hold Williams accountable. I also agree that the Saints (and Skins, if found guilty), should surrender draft picks. Now, whether the penalty should be enacted this year (or next) would be the question. It would hurt an awful lot more for you guys to lose your 1st this year than it (likely) would for the Saints next year (assuming a #1 is the price).

Sad that we never found out about Belicheat and the level of cheating. I think it would be nice to use that punishment as a baseline. Roger is a crook.

[JimmyConway]

I agree with what you are saying about hold Williams accountable. I also agree that the Saints (and Skins, if found guilty), should surrender draft picks. Now, whether the penalty should be enacted this year (or next) would be the question. It would hurt an awful lot more for you guys to lose your 1st this year than it (likely) would for the Saints next year (assuming a #1 is the price).

Sad that we never found out about Belicheat and the level of cheating. I think it would be nice to use that punishment as a baseline. Roger is a crook.

Came here to say this. The Patriots taping scandal was briefly a story and they were slapped on the wrist. I personally think that the Saints shouldn't be punished as much as the Patriots were. It just isn't as severe of an infraction.

[MikeARedskinFan]

This is exactly the NFL and Goodell's hot button topic. The team was previously warned about the bounty system directly 2 years ago.

Spygate caused a 500k fine and loss of a 1st round pick. The punishment for this should (and probably will) dwarf that. Yeah Spygate was "cheating", but not dirty in my book. This is deliberate intent to injure another player, which crosses the dirty line in all levels of sports. We're talking multiple picks lost, suspensions for coaches/GMs, and heavy fines for both the team and coaches. I also think the Saints players involved will escape this mostly unscathed without additional punishment.

Edit: honestly I would not be surprised to see a punishment of 3 1st round picks and a $2M dollar fine. I just think the commish is going to give them the "death penalty" so to speak.

And I loved that Steve Smith vid that Fanboy posted. He gets cheap-shotted, does his TD celebration, then goes after Malcolm Jenkins - coincidentally NOT the guy who decked him

---------- Post added March-3rd-2012 at 09:22 PM ----------

Ha Adam I really enjoyed your post.I fell someone will suffer the fallout from the bounty system,Roger Goodell won't sit by on this one,Williams was wrong no matter how you look at it.I don't think it will carry over to his Redskin days.

[Mr. Sinister]

I really hope JG didn't know that any of this was going on, but nevertheless, I wonder:

1.) Whether or not he's lying, saying this just to save face with Redskins fans, who idolize him.

2.) If he really didn't know, which also means that either A.) GW (and the defensive players) went to great lengths to hide this from him, or B)That JG was just too out of touch to even recognize that there may be a problem like this going on, which kind of leads you down the "2 timeouts" path.

...

I also wonder how split this this locker room really was, and the turmoil that ocurred, especially with the arrival of Al Saunders, and exactly how much of that was swept under the rug. I always thought that Gregg Williams (though he may have respected Gibbs) was just a smidge resentful towards Gibbs, maybe because he thought that Gibbs was too lax, or too out of touch, or what, and thought that he could do a better job. I also wonder if that was the reason why he wasn't hired for the head coaching position here, when, at the time, it was pretty much a no brainer that heshould've been. It really makes you wonder...

[IONTOP]

---------- Post added March-3rd-2012 at 09:22 PM ----------

Ha Adam I really enjoyed your post.I fell someone will suffer the fallout from the bounty system,Roger Goodell won't sit by on this one,Williams was wrong no matter how you look at it.I don't think it will carry over to his Redskin days.

:doh:

^ Eh that'd just get me a week off...

So here's my theory...

I think just like everyone else in this thread that there's no way that the Skins get anything taken away, because it's one of those "We caught you, now stop" and they didn't stop...

[Mr. Sinister]

:doh:^ Eh that'd just get me a week off...

I saw that last night. I didn't say anything because I thought the dude was hammered.

[Oldskool]

Saints Offense - TM - Saints

SI's Peter King believes Saints coach Sean Payton could be facing a suspension for his role in the team's "bounty" scandal.

King's revelation came in response to a question on Twitter, but one of the league's most plugged-in reporters, it's doubtful he pulled his answer out thin air. By nearly every account, the Saints' program to incentivize injuring opponents was led by former DC Gregg Williams, but it appears neither Payton nor GM Mickey Loomis took any steps to stop it. It's looking more and more likely the Saints will be facing one of the most severe punishments ever handed down by the league office.

Source: Peter King on Twitter Mar 4 - 8:47 AM

Saints Defense - TM - Saints

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it would be a "major upset" if the Saints didn't lose 2012 draft picks as part of their "bounty" scandal punishment.

The Saints parted with their 2012 first-round pick in last year's trade for Mark Ingram, but could be docked lower-round selections this year in addition to their 2013 first-round pick. Schefter also expects fines and suspensions to accompany the Saints' loss of draft picks.

Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter Mar 4 - 10:11 AM

Jonathan Vilma - LB - Saints

SI's Peter King confirms the players involved in the Saints' "bounty" scandal will likely face disciplinary action.

Thus far, most of the attention has focused on former Saints DC Gregg Williams, but many players will likely be in for at least a fine. The most serious offenders could be facing suspensions. If the league is able to confirm MLB Jonathan Vilma offered $10,000 "to the guy that knocks out Brett Favre" ahead of the 2010 NFC Championship Game, a multi-game ban could be in his future.

Source: Peter King on Twitter Mar 4 - 11:03 AM

[HogNose]

I saw that last night. I didn't say anything because I thought the dude was hammered.

He must be hammered all the time then. Check out his other 21 posts. Very strange.

[RANSKINS98]

Don't all players kinda do this umm Deangelo Hall made comments of doing this to Romo sits to pee right? The only thing wrong with this "bounty gate," is they got paid for it. They should be penalized for getting paid under the table, but that's it; other then the money thing this is a non issue to me. Most players are trying to knock out the other team, stars or not.

[visionary]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/post/severe-sweeping-penalties-under-consideration-in-saints-bounty-case/2012/03/04/gIQAThoDrR_blog.html

Severe, sweeping penalties under consideration in Saints bounty case

The NFL is considering severe, sweeping disciplinary measures in the New Orleans Saints’ bounty case that could include lengthy suspensions of Coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and player leaders of the scheme, a person familiar with the deliberations said Sunday.

[Mr. Sinister]

In all honesty, I don't find the money part shocking, it's the fact that you have a coach at the center of it all, that actively encouraged/welcomed the possibility of severely injuring another player, or ending his career, using the money as a potential incentive.. Once you start the "Hey, go mess (cleaned up for message board purposes) this guy up, go out there and knock his ass out of the game" stuff, you're playing with fire.

To me, there is a big difference between hurting someone inadvertantly/in the natural flow of the game, and actively encouraging ruining a guys livelihood.

[BlueinBuf]

Has a coach ever been suspended from the NFL before?

[Mr. Sinister]

Has a coach ever been suspended from the NFL before?

Head Coach/Coordinator? I don't think so. I certainly can't think of anyone in the last 10-15 years, though I do remember a story about that Lions coach a few years back that got arrested for indecent exposure or something like that, but I think he was maybe a quality control coach or something like that.

I find it hard to believe that coaches like Buddy Ryan/Jerry Glanville weren't suspended for something though, but that would've been years ago.

[Whiskeypeet]

Has a coach ever been suspended from the NFL before?

Jets coach Sal Alosi sorry, suspended

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/news/story?id=5915776

[Mr. Sinister]

Completely forgot about Sal.

[IONTOP]

Completely forgot about Sal.

I always get tripped up when I try to remember an example...

[pointyfootball]

Don't all players kinda do this umm Deangelo Hall made comments of doing this to Romo sits to pee right? The only thing wrong with this "bounty gate," is they got paid for it. They should be penalized for getting paid under the table, but that's it; other then the money thing this is a non issue to me. Most players are trying to knock out the other team, stars or not.

I strongly disagree that the "only" thing wrong with this is that they got paid for it. Intentionally trying to injure opponents is not only incredibly unprofessional, it is very bad for a sport that is trying control one type of injury that would lead to players not finishing the game (concussions).

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Don't all players kinda do this umm Deangelo Hall made comments of doing this to Romo sits to pee right? The only thing wrong with this "bounty gate," is they got paid for it. They should be penalized for getting paid under the table, but that's it; other then the money thing this is a non issue to me. Most players are trying to knock out the other team, stars or not.

No, the money isnt' the only thing wrong with it.

If a D-Coordinator, head coach and GM are either directly or indirectly promoting it, that's far bigger than some $1,000 payments here and there. If they are caught and told to stop, yet still continue it, that's even worse. If you're given a chance to stop a certain behavior with the understanding that punishment will occur if you don't--and you STILL don't stop--then severe action seems to be warranted. And that goes for more than football.

Think about it...we all know that teenagers have sex. Not all teens, of course, but enough of them that it would be naive to think none did. But there's a difference between finding out some teens have been having sex, and finding out mom and dad have been organizing sex parties for the teens to attend and handing out free condoms to those who did lol...

[@DCGoldPants]

Williams is now 3 teams removed from Washington even if Sportscenter wants to mostly show him coaching the Skins.

Now I just read that Schwartz ran something with the Titans too.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120305/SPORTS01/120305012/Tennessee-Titans-bounties-Jim-Schwartz

and the quote that jumped out to me

"Former Lions safety Ron Rice said he saw player-run incentive programs during his tenure with the team from 1995-2001.

“You go out and say, ‘If you get an interception in this game,’ or, ‘I got $100 that I’ll get the interception,’” Rice said. “Or if you got a kick returner, he’ll pay the whole return team for every touchdown that he scores. Things like that. But that’s all internal things amongst players. Coaches were never involved in it.”

#1. How far back with with the NFL go to ding teams/coaches/players?

#2. Isn't the solution fixing it going forward? Not backwards?

[SkinsHokieFan]

Bram Weinstein with a terrific post on his blog about Gregg Williams and his time covering Williams in DC

http://metalkathlete.blogspot.com/2012/03/gregg-bounty-hunter.html

Gregg the Bounty Hunter

I liked Gregg Williams. I liked him a lot. And I could see why his players wanted to kill someone to make him proud. Gregg was as demanding a coach as I witnessed during my 8 year tenure covering the Washington Redskins, but what separated him from the others who prodded, chided and pushed was the fact that his players sincerely wanted to make HIM look good. And it had nothing to do with any kind of monetary inducements.

Link for rest

[Skin'Em84]

I always get tripped up when I try to remember an example...

Do you kneed help remembering then?

[IONTOP]

Do you kneed help remembering then?

I appreciate it, but I usually fall back on my friends for support.