Roger Goodell Is A Hypocrite and Out Of Control

Last week I had to stay out of it, when Dictator Goodell wrongly suspended 4 players from the Saints in their dealing with "Bountygate" our own Captain of course took Goodell's side with these columns about how the message has been sent, and it was right for Vilma to lose a year and Goodell is the greatest. He is in reality just happy that this deflects the attention off the tainted championships in New England. Goodell is a hypocrite, liar and is nothing about an ego maniac.

This doesn't make it right, however, I would bet that most teams in the NFL used a pay for play system behind the scenes, it would be stupid to think otherwise. Darren Sharper of the New Orleans Saints said that every team he has ever played for (Green Bay and Minnesota) had these scenarios.
In 2011 Rex Ryan wrote a book Play Like You Mean It. From pages 16-17 of the chapter called Blunt-Force Trauma: “Each game we might also designate an opposing player with a dot. Players don’t want to be dotted by the New York Jets, because that means we want that dude knocked out of the game. Of course, it has to be legal and by the book. We don’t play dirty, and no way will we intentionally hurt a player with an illegal, cheap shot. We dot players fair and square. There are players out there who think they are badasses, and you just might see two of our players knock the hell out of him. Pow! Pow! That’s our mentality. Everything we do is aggressive and, hey, we may make a mistake, but we will go one hundred miles per hour and we will knock the hell out of you. Big hits create turnovers. You haven’t been Punked — you’ve been Dotted!” What is the real difference between the Saints and Jets other than money? It just seems as if they wanted to knock the players out of the game.

Now let's get to the suspension of Jonathan Vilma, Anthony Hargrove, Scott Fujita, and Will Smith. 1. they are way to long and extreme, 2. reports said that 20-27 people were involved in Gregg Williams bounty system, so why suspend 4. 3. The grey area is beyond significant for Goodell to make this statement, I saw a comment on this site last week that said there are reports that Gregg Williams gave Vilma 10k, our own BMack decided to put a link to Wikipedia as a reference (which is slightly embarrassing since it's written by people) but according to ESPN and NOLA.com, it seems as if Williams INDEED gave Jonathan Vilma 10K as a prop and a motivational tool since he was a captain and wanted it to last with the players. Reports also say, he gave back the 10K to Williams. From 2009-2011, the Saints did not get flagged anymore than the league average, there was no spike in Illegal hits, or knockouts. Most of the hits in the NFC Championship Game against the Vikings were legal, so who cares if they were hard, shouldn't players hit hard anyways, that's what I was always taught. Also when Anthony Hargrove knocked Kurt Warner out it was completely legal, even Kurt Warner said it was legal and thought other teams actually seemed to have it out for him more. So in fact, the spotlight of these 2 games, doesn't really prove anything, and in fact was that players were frowned upon for playing football.

Also, for players to be suspended for listening to orders from coaches is ridiculous. I get Gregg Williams getting banned, he can't run a program like this for the NFL to save face about player safety. And I'll even somewhat defend the suspensions on Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and Joe Vitt. But for suspending players for following orders that the higher ups in the team, embedded, allowed and embraced is asinine. In a players mind, coaches dictate playing time, playing time dictates your next contract, your next contract gets you rich and helps your family, why would you want to risk that and not go along with Gregg Williams orders or way of dealing with things?

Also, if the Dictator was all for player safety why was he pushing for an 18 game season? He sees what has happened to former players and how the concussions and lingering injuries really mess up the mental health with some. So making the season longer and putting the players mental health in more jeopardy to me seems like he cares about 1 thing and 1 thing only. Money. And speaking of the former players, that Goodell says that he really cares about, take this quote from Jay Feely; "A lot of players don't believe he has their best interests at heart," Feely said. "If he did, he wouldn't have 200-plus workmen's compensation complaints caught up in the appeals process. He wouldn't be dismissing disability claims right off the bat. There are so many things that happen behind the scenes that fans don't know about that make players distrust him." The League could give 2 shits about player safety and it all starts and ends with money.

The Game Isn't Played That Way Anymore

From across the country, NFL players rallied around the four Saints that were suspended yesterday. The players felt as though Vilma, Hargrove, Smith, and Fujita were being punished for "playing football." That trying to hurt an opponent was "part of the game."

Not anymore.

That's what the players and some fans don't seem to get. The NFL is trying to get rid of that part of the game.

The scandalous part of this scandal was the money. Pay-to-injure. The Saints coaches and players like Vilma paid cash to players for injuring opponents. Which is a salary cap violation. And it also goes against what the NFL has been trying to do in order to limit injuries.

And I know Goodell and the owners are concerned about the safety of their money more than the safety of the players. I know Goodell is an autocrat, a king operating without restrictions. But that's what his position requires.

Everyone in the NFL is concerned about money. Players hold out for money. Players switch teams for money. Neither the owners or the players can use the greed argument against the other. They're all greedy. We're all greedy.

The NFL wants to protect their investment. They invest in the players and invest in the game. The League wants the game to be as hard-hitting and as safe as possible. It's a tenuous balancing act. The NHL is struggling with a similar problem. The NHL wants the game to be as fast and physical as possible, but they don't want to see players carted off the ice with their heads in neckboards. Both leagues want the game exciting so fans watch, but not so violent that they turn away.

The Saints' bounty program unbalanced what the NFL is trying to produce. The Saints' bounty program was purely about hard hits and injuries. The NFL can't allow that.

Vilma, Hargrove, Smith, and Fujita helped Gregg Williams and Sean Payton set up this bounty program. And before this off-season, such a program might have seemed to be part of the way football has always been played.

But it isn't how the game will be played anymore.

Enough of this Saints stuff. I'm going to take Bills' linebacker Kirk Morrison's advice:

Instead of following this Bounty fallout, I'm going to google "Kate Upton Cat Daddy" again. Yeah that's a great idea. Now that's a fallout.
— Kirk Morrison (@kirkmorrison) May 2, 2012

-The Captain

Captain's Thoughts: Saints Suspensions

When Jonathan Vilma put $10,000 cash on the table and offered it as a reward to any of his teammates who could knock Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship game in early 2010, he had no idea that he would be costing himself $5.5 million. That was the punishment handed down by Roger Goodell today. Vilma has been suspended for the season, without pay.

And I'm all for it. Vilma offered a financial incentive (which is a violation of the salary cap) to injure a player. Anyone who thinks the punishment is too harsh must take into consideration those two points. The Saints were violating the cap. And they were encouraging their players to injure other players. I don't know if you've noticed, but the NFL has been trying to clamp down on injuries, especially to QBs.

Oh, and then the Saints repeatedly lied about it, and continued to do it even while under investigation. Like a burglar continuing to rob a house even after the police show up.

And maybe this took place with other teams. I doubt the Saints were the only team that had such a program. It won't happen anymore, though, after what happened to Sean Payton and now these four players.

Anthony Hargrove was suspended for 8 games. Probably due to his obstructing the investigation and initially lying to the NFL.

Will Smith was suspended for 4 games (and sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle in California). He reportedly helped former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams set up the bounty program.

Scott Fujita, who is now on the Browns, was suspended for 3 games.

What the Saints did was wrong. And even if other teams did it, that's a lame excuse. If you got pulled over by a State Trooper would you say to him "You know, I'm not the only one speeding on 128 right now." Yeah, good luck getting out of that ticket.

No head coach will promote or allow a bounty program after what happened to Payton.

And now, no player will try to set up such a program on their own, or even participate, after what happened to these four guys. The risk has become greater than the reward. Thanks to Roger Goodell.

-The Captain

Breaking News: NFL Suspends Vilma For 2012 Season (2 UPDATES)

Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the 2012 season for his role in the Saints' bounty program. Three other players are also suspended.

We are waiting to hear the rest, but this is obviously a big deal. Vilma was set to make $5.5 million this year, so he is losing all of that.

***UPDATE***

The other 3 players suspended are Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove, and Will Smith. Fujita (now with the Browns) got a 3 game suspension without pay, Hargrove (now with the Packers) is suspended without pay for the first eight games, Will Smith of the Saints is suspended without pay for the first four games.

***UPDATE 2***

"In assessing player discipline, I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation," Goodell said in a statement.

Added Goodell: "No bounty program can exist without active player participation. The evidence clearly showed that the players being held accountable today willingly and enthusiastically embraced the bounty program. Players put the vast majority of the money into this program and they share responsibility for playing by the rules and protecting each other within those rules (WEEI)."

I Don't Mind What Harbaugh Said

When someone first told me that Baltimore Raven's Head Coach John Harbaugh said something about the Patriots and SpyGate and asterisks, I got pissed. How dare he? That bastard!

Then I looked past the inflammatory headlines, and actually heard what Harbaugh said. And it wasn't that bad. Here's the quote:

"In the end, everything is brought before the light of day, when it’s all said and done. What happens, even the thing in New England, no matter whether those things had any impact on whether they won their championships or not, they got asterisks now. It’s been stained.

"To me, it’s never worth it. You have to figure out ways to use the rules to your advantage, you have to figure out ways to make the most of everything. We have new work rules here as far as what we can do and what we can’t do with our players, and we're going to make the most of it. What we're finding is, man, maybe we can do some things even better than we did before, because these rules make us focus more on some things that we didn’t focus on before. You just have to make them work for you. That’s what success is in the world. You have to find a way to do things better than somebody else. But if you’re cheating, in the end, you’re going to get discredited. It’s not worth it."

To me, as a Patriots fan, the key words he said are "...whether those things had any impact on whether they won their championships or not..." That's a qualifying statement. That tells us that he's not belittling the Patriots' Super Bowl wins, he's not saying they should have asterisks attached to those wins. He's talking about the perception of those championships. How some people view those championships.

And he's right. Many people do not think the Patriots truly deserved to win those titles. I disagree with them, but I can't deny that such people exist.

And these people are not just the Arlen Specters of the world, not just whiny Jets fans. There are people inside the NFL too. And Harbaugh would know better than any of us what the perception of those titles are in the League.

Harbaugh was being asked about the Saints, he mentioned New England as another example of a team that cheated (yes, the Patriots cheated, breaking the rules is cheating. I don't think it affected the outcome of games, but it was a violation of the rules). All he talked about was perception. He didn't talk about how HE saw Belichick and the Patriots. He talked about how Belichick and the Pats are seen by OTHERS.

And he wasn't incorrect.

-The Captain

Draft Grades

New England Patriots: B
Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 21 DE Chandler Jones Syracuse
(1) 25 LB Dont'a Hightower Alabama
(2) 48 S Tavon Wilson Illinois
(3) 90 DE Jake Bequette Arkansas
(6) 197 CB Nate Ebner Ohio State
(7) 224 CB Alfonzo Dennard Nebraska
(7) 235 WR Jeremy Ebert Northwestern
I would have given the Patriots an A if they didn't reach on Tavon Wilson and trade that last 2nd round pick. Wilson seems like an absolute special teamer for life. However, I love the Chandler Jones pick, it may take some time and he may not be THE GUY immediately, but he can be a monster later. The only thing I ponder is whether the Patriots would have been better off taking Courtney Upshaw who can play immediately and be as impactful THIS year. I love the Dont'a Hightower pick, he's a mean motherfucker, he's somewhat versatile, I'm intrigued by how the Patriots are going to use him. I also love the Alfonzo Dennard pick, I see no risk in taking a potential top 2 talent in the 7th round, could be a steal here and potentially way more impactful than Wilson who they took in the 2nd.

Pittsburgh Steelers: A

Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 24 G David DeCastro Stanford
(2) 56 T Mike Adams Ohio State
(3) 86 LB Sean Spence Miami (FL)
(4) 109 NT Alameda Ta'amu Washington
(5) 159 RB Chris Rainey Florida
(7) 231 WR Toney Clemons Colorado
(7) 240 TE David Paulson Oregon
(7) 246 CB Terrence Frederick Texas A&M
(7) 248 T Kelvin Beachum Southern Methodist
I have never been so excited to see my team select offensive line players. David Decastro was supposed to be selected mid first so for him to fall to them in the late 1st is a steal. he is already getting Alan Faneca comparisons, always a good thing. Mike Adams was another steal here, who could have been a 1st round player if he didn't get caught smoking pot, he convinced the Steelers he's not an asshole and he will be a good soldier from now on. The Steelers line is finally coming together with Pouncy, DeCastro and Adams. Sean Spence is your token Dick LeBeau guy, will be a fast rushing LB and Alameda Ta'amu will be the heir apparent for Casey Hampton. Ta'amu isn't the best pass rusher but he is perfect for a 3-4, he's fat and will clog up the middle. Chris Rainey will be an explosive option in every facet in their offensive game.

Philadelphia Eagles: A

Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 12 DT Fletcher Cox Mississippi State
(2) 46 LB Mychal Kendricks California
(2) 59 DE Vinny Curry Marshall
(3) 88 QB Nick Foles Arizona
(4) 123 CB Brandon Boykin Georgia
(5) 153 T Dennis Kelly Purdue
(6) 194 WR Marvin McNutt Iowa
(6) 200 G Brandon Washington Miami (FL)
(7) 229 RB Bryce Brown Kansas State

Fletcher Cox is a god damn monster. The Eagles were atrocious with their stopping the rush, so what did they do? Got Flethcer Cox at DT than Mychael Kendricks at ILB and then Vinny Curry at DE. These are 3 guys who can be groomed into that defensive line and be a huge factor. I also love Nick Foles, I like his crazy hair, and I like his arm. It's not a bad thing to add a QB with fragile Vick back there.

Baltimore Ravens: B

Round Pick Position Player College
(2) 35 LB Courtney Upshaw Alabama
(2) 60 T Kelechi Osemele Iowa State
(3) 84 RB Bernard Pierce Temple
(4) 98 G Gino Gradkowski Delaware
(4) 130 S Christian Thompson South Carolina State
(5) 169 CB Asa Jackson Cal Poly
(6) 198 WR Tommy Streeter Miami (FL)
(7) 236 DE Deangelo Tyson Georgia

I loved their first 3 picks. They traded out of the 1st round and still ended up with Courtney Upshaw, it's ridiculous. How do teams allow this to happen? Upshaw is a huge talent and a mean defensive player and the Ravens find a replacement for Jarrett Johnson right off the bat. Osemele is a starter on the line and Bennard Pierce is a great "in case" player if/when Ray Rice goes down.

Green Bay Packers: A

Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 28 DE Nick Perry USC
(2) 51 DT Jerel Worthy Michigan State
(2) 62 CB Casey Hayward Vanderbilt
(4) 132 DT Mike Daniels Iowa
(4) 133 S Jeron McMillian Maine
(5) 163 LB Terrell Manning North Carolina State
(7) 241 T Andrew Datko Florida State
(7) 243 QB B.J. Coleman Chattanooga

Love everything they did here. The Packers were horrendous on defense, so they drafted mostly defensive players. Nick Perry can be a monster and adds versatility, Jerel Worthy was a 1st round talent and Casey Hayward is going to be able to be huge in that nickle formation. They just got a whole lot better on the pass rush and now will not be a defense composed of 3 people (Matthews, Raji and Woodson).

New York Giants: B

Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 32 RB David Wilson Virginia Tech
(2) 63 WR Rueben Randle LSU
(3) 94 CB Jayron Hosley Virginia Tech
(4) 127 TE Adrien Robinson Cincinnati
(4) 131 T Brandon Mosley Auburn
(6) 201 T Matt McCants UAB
(7) 239 DT Markus Kuhn North Carolina State

They didn't need much, but they still got some excellent talent. I would have preferred Lamar Miller over David Wilson but whatever they needed RB help. But the pick I love is Rueben Randle. Randle is a big receiver who was not talked a lot about in the SEC because shitstain Jefferson was throwing him the ball at SEC. Randle can be a big time replacement for Mario Manningham and will be another tool for Eli to throw to.

New Orleans Saints: C

Round Pick Position Player College
(3) 90 DT Akiem Hicks Regina, Can.
(4) 122 WR Nick Toon Wisconsin
(5) 162 S Corey White Samford
(6) 179 G Andrew Tiller Syracuse
(7) 234 T Marcel Jones Nebraska

Akeim Hicks was at LSU before moving to Canada and has some upside, and Toon sounds awfully like Marques Colston.

New York Jets: B

Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 16 DE Quinton Coples North Carolina
(2) 43 WR Stephen Hill Georgia Tech
(3) 77 LB Demario Davis Arkansas State
(6) 187 S Josh Bush Wake Forest
(6) 202 RB Terrance Ganaway Baylor
(6) 203 G Robert Griffin Baylor
(7) 242 S Antonio Allen South Carolina
(7) 244 WR Jordan White Western Michigan

I love the Coples pick and I love the Hill pick. Quinton Coples is a hell of a talent, there are reports that he took some games off at UNC, but this kid can be a huge talent for Rex Ryans defense. And Stephen Hill can replace Plaxico Burress as that tall receiver, it also doesn't hurt that he runs a 4.3 40. I know he only had 40-something catches at Georgia Tech his WHOLE career, but they ran an option offense, so you can't really hold that against him.

Cleveland Browns: A

Round Pick Position Player College
(1) 3 RB Trent Richardson Alabama
(1) 22 QB Brandon Weeden Oklahoma State
(2) 37 T Mitchell Schwartz California
(3) 87 DT John Hughes Cincinnati
(4) 100 WR Travis Benjamin Miami (FL)
(4) 120 LB James-Michael Johnson Nevada
(5) 160 G Ryan Miller Colorado
(6) 204 LB Emmanuel Acho Texas
(6) 205 DT Billy Winn Boise State
(7) 245 CB Trevin Wade Arizona
(7) 247 TE Brad Smelley Alabama

I absolutely love what the Browns did this draft, they got the next Adrian Peterson, and they got the 3rd best QB in Brandon Weeded late in the 1st. Brandon Weeden is 28, but is a much better option than Colt McCoy. You got a starting tackle in Schwartz (plus a funny name) and travis benjamin is a decent WR.

That's all I care to write on this, if you have any more questions, ask.

Mickey Loomis Is A Scumbag (Maybe)

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reports that New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, who will begin serving an eight-game suspension for his role in the team's bounty program, had an illegal eavesdropping device that allowed him to listen to real-time playcalls of opposing coaches during the 2002-2004 seasons. ESPN

If this is indeed true, Mickey Loomis needs to be fired or banned indefinitely, and the Saints 2013 draft should be removed. It was from 2002-2004 so it wasn't during the Superbowl, I initially thought it was, and if this eavesdropping thing did happen, I would have been completely OK with them stripping the Saints from their only championship. But in 2002-2004 there were 24 home games and 12 wins. Jim Haslett was the coach at that time.

Mickey Loomis is in a lot of hot water already since the bounty thing. And many of his apologists have already came out and said, "This really doesn't effect the game." If that's true Mark Schlereth, etc, then why do it? This effects a lot since he could know about injuries, strategy and what they are setting up.

The Saints need to find a way to distance themselves from Loomis in the future, he has been in the news way too much lately. Oh yea, Drew Brees is still not locked up.

Either way Goodell is up in his tower petting his hairless cat, ready to suspend.

Parcells Not Coming Back To NFL

According to a report from Chris Mortensen of ESPN, Bill Parcells will not serve as interim coach for the New Orleans Saints in 2012.

As we all know by now Payton has talked to Parcells about taking over coaching duties while he serves his 1 year suspension. At first I didn't believe it at all, then it really seemed like Bill was interested, but I guess I should've stayed with my first thought. The Saints will now look inside their own franchise to get through this mess. Rumor is Joe Vitt will take over, but he has to first serve his 6 game suspension.

You have to wonder why Parcells ended up turning it down, or did he? I could be the Saints decided it was a bad idea. Another reason could be it would've delayed Pacells entrance into the Hall of Fame, and that could've been on his mind.

Audio Tape Exposes Gregg Williams

"Documentary filmmaker Sean Pamphilon was following around the former Saints player Steve Gleason, who suffered from ALS. And during the final game of the season, he captured audio of Gregg Williams telling his players to injure members of the 49ers, uploaded it to YouTube and passed it along to Yahoo Sports Michael Silver. In the audio, Williams allegedly makes reference to a cash payment and repeatedly uses the word "kill" in addition to violent and intense language.

“At one point Williams says, ‘We hit [expletive] Smith right there' – then he points under his chin [and continues] – ‘remember me.' Then he rubs his thumb against his index and middle fingers – the cash sign – and says, ‘I got the first one. I got the first one. Go get it. Go lay that [expletive] out,'" Pamphilon told Silver.

Williams also made specific reference to 49ers running back Frank Gore and what we can only hope is a metaphorical decapitation.

"We've got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore's head," Williams said. "We want him running sideways. We ... want ... his ... head ... sideways."

Williams catchphrase on defense is "kill the head and the body will die" -- until he was busted for the bounty programs he (allegedly?) ran for multiple teams, it was viewed as a slightly crazy but effective motivational tactic (Sportsline)."

"Williams brought up the name of wide receiver Michael Crabtree, hinting about a severe knee injury, and told his players to "put a lick on" receiver Kyle Williams in an effort to “find out” if he was still suffering from the effects of a late-December concussion (WEEI)."

Sorry for the long paste job here, but kind of needed you to read the whole thing. I think this will be the last nail in the coffin for Williams, who is suspended indefinitely already. I would actually kind of be shocked if he is ever back, but I don't think he will be back for at least 2 years. There is no mention yet of Payton in this tape, but you would assume he has heard these kind of rants before. I don't see Payton getting a longer suspension or anything, but I this will all but kill his appeal of this.

Do I think the Saints were the only team doing this? No, but I think they were warned, I think that the most important thing to the NFL now is player safety, and I think the Saints did this the most blatantly. That's why they are getting hit this hard.