NFL 2012

[jasonc]

Elway was not lying! Tebow traded to the Jets!

Sean Peyton suspended all season, Saints lost 2, 2nd rd picks, and Greg Williams is suspended indefinitly. Why weren't penalties this harsh on the Patriots for getting caught cheating??

#1, Player safety is THE hot button issue in the NFL right now if you have not already noticed. 

The Saints dug themselves into a deep hole by trying to cover it up during the 3 year investigation.  I'd be willing to bet that Payton would have only been suspended for 4-8 games if they admitted it 3 years ago instead of encouraging everyone to participate in the cover-up. 

Also, the fact that they continued the bounty program during the investigation did not help their case. 

[Jon Brakel]

Even if the NFL had no rules, a bounty for injuring someone is still morally wrong. Compared with stealing someone's calls. Without rules stealing calls is just being "clever". That's the difference to me. One is morally reprehensible whereas the other one is just simple cheating.

[jasonc]

Even if the NFL had no rules, a bounty for injuring someone is still morally wrong.

Although I am not an attorney or any legal expert whatsoever, I am pretty sure it is illegal as well.  I wonder if any state attorney or another government entity is planning to pursue criminal charges.  

From my POV this is very similar to someone paying a hitman or thug or whatever to hurt/kill another person.  

[Tom McManus]

We are talking about football.

[pdga#7648]

I heard on ESPN that the injured players have every right to sue the ones that hit them, so this may be far from over for those guilty ones?

Cheating is wrong either way you look at it, stealing plays, or reverting to such cheap tactics as these. hurting players with hits is cheating all the same. you can't beat a team, so injure their players, then we can beat them!  dont get me wrong, the Saints are getting what they deserve, but cheating and getting caught deserved more than just a $500,000 fine! thats my opinion anyway!

[pdga#7648]

but maybe this is a good thing. will give that ass of a commisioner some other team to look at for violent hits other than just the team from Pittsburgh! 

[Jon Brakel]

I heard on ESPN that the injured players have every right to sue the ones that hit them, so this may be far from over for those guilty ones?

Cheating is wrong either way you look at it, stealing plays, or reverting to such cheap tactics as these. hurting players with hits is cheating all the same. you can't beat a team, so injure their players, then we can beat them!  dont get me wrong, the Saints are getting what they deserve, but cheating and getting caught deserved more than just a $500,000 fine! thats my opinion anyway!

Think of it in disc golf disciplinary terms. If you get caught changing your score card to report a lower score than you know you threw and it gets reported to the pdga you are looking at a year probation or three months suspension. If you chop down a tree on a course (not as part of officially sanctioned maintenance) you will probably, based on historical data, get suspended for 5 or 10 years.

[pdga#7648]

how many years did they cheat before being caught? No one really knows. all of their SB's may have been during the cheating years?

I wouldn't pencil whip anyone at anytime, and I don't carry an axe or chainsaw, so I am good there. 


we could go back and forth on this until you quit, but I wont. If the idiot is going to discipline anyone to make his name or whatever, it should have been done against the cheaters is all I am saying. they cheated the fans of every team they played, not just the Jets. It is a mans sport and it is violent if they are paid to hit you to hurt you, or not. I have seen several times people on here say for the money, for the money. we all know how greedy these millionaires can be (coughs Pujols, coughs) they are offered MO money, no matter what it is someone will take the bait.
again, I am not trying to say what the Saints did was okay by any means, cause yes it is dispicable, I just thought that cheating, and getting caught red handed, would have had more of a penalty than what it did.
I still think the Saints will be right there in the playoffs again, fighting for the NFC title, head coach or not.

[Tom McManus]

There's only so many times a man that has done everything he's been asked to do can be disrespected! Guess the GOOD GUYS do finish last....

[pdga#7648]

Man, Forte has to be one   mother trucker!  he was franchised at I think a little over 7MIL. The Bears just signed Michael Bush from Oakland to a 4yr deal for like 14MIL is what the radio said on way home tonight! RBBC in Chicgao?

[pdga#7648]

sorry Tom, but I have to ask. I didn't really understand your post. whatt good guys finish last??

[Dan Michler]

jasonc hit the nail on the head.  The cover-up and in-your-face lying to Commissioner Goodell is what accounted for the harsh penalty for the coaching staff.  Payton by most accounts is a good guy, and I believe that, but in this case he dug his own grave and nobody should be feeling sorry for him.  The NFL knows he's not the only one handing out monetary rewards for big hits.  Had he come clean immediately and expressed regret, I truly believe the penalty would have been less than half of what it ended up being.

[Steven Jacobs]

sorry Tom, but I have to ask. I didn't really understand your post. whatt good guys finish last??

Tom's post was Matt Forte's first twitter post today I heard on the radio.

[Dan Michler]

sorry Tom, but I have to ask. I didn't really understand your post. whatt good guys finish last??

Tom's post was Matt Forte's first twitter post today I heard on the radio.

Ha.  I stopped feeling bad for Matt Forte a long time ago.  It'd be nice if the 'market value' for him was what he thinks it is, but its not.  Sorry Matt, take your $7.7M franchise tag or the $15M guaranteed you were offered, and shut the hell up.  If you want to hold out, feel free to do so.  If you wanted more money and a longer career, you should have been a QB or a WR.  So sick of hearing this guy feel sorry for himself.  Its like a disc golfer who can't shut up about the putts he had spit out.

[Tom McManus]

I think the Packers will take a linebacker/defensive end in the first round. They need to improve their pass rush.

Any idea on who the Bears will/should take?

[Jon Brakel]

OL? With the 19th pick it is so hard to say. If there's a top 10 pick out there that just happened to trickle down to 19th I think they might take him no matter what the position.

[Dan Michler]

Junior Seau's suicide reminded me of this article I read last year.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7559458/cte-concussion-crisis-economic-look-end-football

The notion of football leaving the mainstream seems less unlikely as these occurrences become more frequent.  I read that 8 members of the 1994 Chargers Super Bowl team are already dead.  Ridiculous.

[Bruce Brakel]

I think the survival of full contact football will depend on whether our culture evolves or devolves.  Most states have banned most forms of animal combat.  It is ironic that we continue to allow many forms of human combat.  I guess we think more highly of our dogs and chickens than we do of the people we pay to entertain us by maiming each other. 

I quit following boxing years ago because I thought it was exploitive of the men who participate.  Within the last couple of years I've been developing the same conviction about football. 

[Jon Brakel]

I think technology might be able to save people from head injuries. They could phase out body tackles and only allow arm tackles. They could make uniforms that are easier to grab onto. I've heard that some schools are teaching arm tackling over body tackles. I'd think it would have to be a league wide rule change at whatever level they play. I think football can be saved between technology advances and rule changes. I used to be against the rule changes to protect players but I'm starting to think that its the right thing to do.