24
Apr
2012
The hole just keeps getting deeper for Mickey Loomis and the Saints
It just keeps getting worse for Saints GM Mickey Loomis, who according to reports from ESPN’s “Outside the Lines”, “had an electronic device in his Superdome suite that had been secretly re-wired to enable him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons”.
(Photo: NYDailyNews.com)
The period in question was 2002-2004, and now state and federal officials have opened up a wiretapping investigation on Loomis, to see if he violated any eavesdropping laws in the process.
For their part, and not surprisingly, the Saints vehemently deny these allegations. On Monday, Greg Bensel, Saints VP of Communications, had this to say on behalf of Loomis and the organization:
“This is 1,000 percent false. This is 1,000 percent inaccurate.”
Loomis himself flatly denied to the charges on Tuesday via an email sent out by the team:
5
Apr
2012
Listen to Gregg Williams’ bounty speech that should end any hope of a Saints appeal (AUDIO)
On the very day that Saints head coach Sean Payton and GM Mickey Loomis are appealing their suspensions with the NFL for their involvement in the bounty scandal, Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports drops a bombshell that should effectively stop that appeal process in its tracks.
In it, Silver reveals that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams specifically directed his players to injure members of the 49ers prior to their post-season meeting in January, and made “hand gestures” signalling that he would pay money to whoever took out QB Alex Smith.
(Photo: Matthew Sharpe/Getty Images via BleacherReport)
Silver got the audio from filmmaker Sean Pamphilon of the United States of Football, who had access to Saints team functions for much of the 2011 season while working on a documentary. The speech in question came during a defensive team meeting the night before the Jan. 15 playoff game, in which Williams delivers a profanity-laced tirade intended to inspire his troops to battle. It would be the Saints last game of the season, and Williams would be fired two days later.
Perhaps most damaging to the Saints cause is the timing of Williams’ speech, which would have come well after the NFL had alerted the Saints that they were looking into the bounty program, and right after the league re-opened the investigation and specifically directed owner Tom Benson and Loomis to put a stop to it. The 49ers game was just two weeks later, and while you can’t actually hear the hand gestures, Pahmphilon says he believes “there’s no doubt at all” that Williams put a bounty on Smith in the meeting. And if that’s the case, it means that Loomis and Payton – who were not present at the meeting – clearly didn’t take enough action in policing their own staff.
UPDATE: The Saints are already trying to paint Williams as a “rogue” coach on his way out the door, who acted in defiance of his superiors. It’s clear that Payton and Loomis are going to set Williams up as the fall guy in an effort to lessen their own punishments, but we’ll see how much water that holds with Roger Goodell.
The relevant audio from Williams speech is below, but here are a few of the more notable gems:
QUOTES AND AUDIO AFTER THE JUMP
21
Mar
2012
Goodell drops the hammer on Saints; suspends Sean Payton for 1 year
The NFL finally handed down its punishment for the Saints bounty program today, and it’s about as severe as you’d expect from a commissioner trying to clean up the league’s violent image. Head coach Sean Payton has been suspended for one year without pay, and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (now with the Rams) has been suspended indefinitely for their part in a system that gave out cash rewards to players for injuring opponents from 2009-2011.
Payton was reportedly "stunned" by the news (Photo: SBNation.com)
As if that weren’t enough bad news for New Orleans fans, the Saints were also fined $500,000, and will forfeit their 2nd round picks in 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has been suspended for eight games, assistant head coach Joe Vitt has been suspended 6 games without pay, and individual player punishments are still forthcoming. All of the suspensions begin on April 1st except for Williams, whose suspension starts immediately.
You can read the complete release from the NFL here, but we’ll go ahead and highlight the most relevant sections:
“We are all accountable and responsible for player health and safety and the integrity of the game,” Commissioner Goodell said. “We will not tolerate conduct or a culture that undermines those priorities. No one is above the game or the rules that govern it. Respect for the game and the people who participate in it will not be compromised.”
6
Mar
2012
Remember the 1989 “Bounty Bowl”? It seems things haven’t changed all that much in the NFL (VIDEO)
Mike Golic might have a unique perspective on all this bounty talk
Here’s a fun little trip down memory lane! Back in 1989, the Buddy Ryan-led Philadelphia Eagles played their rival Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, in a nationally televised game that would forever come to be known as the “Bounty Bowl“.
In it, Ryan was accused by Dallas head coach Jimmy Johnson of placing a $200 bounty on kicker Luis Zendejas, and a $500 bounty on quarterback Troy Aikman. On the Cowboys’ only kickoff of the game, which Philadelphia won 27-0, Eagles linebacker Jesse Small sprinted straight at Zendejas (who had previously played for Ryan and the Eagles) in an obvious attempt to take him out. Zendejas dove to avoid the hit, but took a knee to the head resulting in a concussion, and setting off a firestorm of controversy.
Despite Johnson’s attempts to challenge Ryan to a fight in an alley, it was all fun and games in the media as Johnson made fun of Ryan’s “big, fat rear end”, who in turn deflected the controversy by making light of his own weight. Ryan also claimed that Zendejas was the one trying to injure Smalls, and wondered aloud “Why would we want to knock out that kicker? He wasn’t making any kicks at the time. We wanted him out there.”
On Monday, Mike Golic – who played for the Eagles in both games - said on ESPN that “there were bounties in that game”. But at the time, commissioner Paul Tagliabue turned the other cheek and exonerated Ryan of any wrongdoing - a claim that Ryan still clings to this day - and pretty much everyone got a big kick out the idea of bounties in football. Two weeks later, the league even promoted the re-match for ratings as “Bounty Bowl II”, which was marketed by CBS with wanted signs and became memorable for the snow/ice balls lobbed onto the field (and at announcers) by the Philadelphia fans.
BOUNTY BOWL VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
2
Mar
2012
Jonathan Vilma put a $10,000 bounty on Brett Favre, and other Gregg Williams-related bounty news
I wonder what the bounty on Larry Johnson was for this game (Photo: one4theotherthumb.com)
Today, the NFL announced that the New Orleans Saints were engaged in a “pay-for-performance” system from 2009-2011, including bounty payments for injuries to opposing players.
According to a league memo, 22 to 27 Saints players participated in the program that was administered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (now with the St. Louis Rams), and with the knowledge of head coach Sean Payton. Apparently, during their recent championship run, the Saints had specific payments of $1,500 for “knockouts” and $1,000″ for “cart-offs”, with escalating payments for playoff games. Sometimes, the incentives for less violent plays like interceptions or touchdowns, but the bounties occasionally came with specific targets attached to them, like Kurt Warner and Brett Favre.
The other big name at the center of all this is linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who reportedly plunked $10,000 on a table prior to the 2009 NFC Championship game versus the Minnesota Vikings, saying “this goes to the guy who knocks out Brett Favre”.
And while it may not come as a surprise to many in the game that bounties like this still exist, this is going to be an absolute nightmare for the Saints, and particularly Williams, who reportedly ran a similar bounty program during his time the Redskins defensive coordinator, from 2004-2007. For his part, Williams issued a lame apology, that rings wildly hollow when you realize that Williams has been guilty of this practice for no less than seven years, and probably with every team he’s coache with in the league:
“I want to express my sincere regret and apology to the NFL, Mr. Benson, and the New Orleans Saints fans for my participation in the ‘pay for performance’ program while I was with the Saints,” Williams said. “It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it. Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role. I am truly sorry. I have learned a hard lesson and I guarantee that I will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again.”
Yeah, good luck with that Gregg. It’s no secret around the league that Williams has had some questionable coaching tactics, and with the league’s increasing effort to decrease injuries in the game, this whole bounty thing isn’t exactly the look Roger Goodell was going for. Knowing Goodell, the hammer is going to come down on both the Saints and Williams, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Williams suspended for a long time – if not banned from the game for life – to make an example out of him.
One thing’s for sure: this is an unqualified bombshell, on par with the Patriots’ Spygate, and could quickly turn into the story of the NFL’s off-season. Williams has been a coach in the league with no less than six teams over the last twenty years, so look for even more tales of similar pay-for-performance programs to emerge, indicting even more of the NFL’s Boba Fetts.
16
Jan
2012
Vernon Davis gives 49ers “The Catch III” to defeat Saints (VIDEO)
(Image via Sportsgrid.com)
We’re obviously a little late to the party on this, but the San Francisco 49ers took down the New Orleans Saints 36-32 in the game of the Divisional Playoff weekend, with Alex Smith delivering the game-winning TD to Vernon Davis on what will undoubtedly forever go down in San Francisco sports history as “The Catch III”.
Both Smith and Davis turned in career-making performances and Smith finally delivered on his #1 pick expectations by out-dueling the NFL’s all-time single season passing leader (Drew Brees) in a game that saw four lead changes in the final 5 minutes! Smith had his NFL bar mitzvah and became a man on Saturday, finishing with 299 yards and 3 TDs passing, 0 INTs and one 28-yard rushing score to pus SF ahead late in the 4th.
For his part, Vernon Davis cemented himself in Niner lore with 7 catches for 180 yards and 2 TDs, including the game winner on a 14-yard strike from Smith with nine seconds remaining. After dominating all day long and when his team needed him most, Davis delivered a huge blow to Saints safety Roman Harper in the endzone and managed to hang onto the ball for the win.
On what was very nearly the 30th anniversary of the original “The Catch” – Dwight Clark‘s infamous touchdown grab in the 1981 NFC Championship game (1/10/82) – Davis’ play more closely resembled “The Catch II” by Terrell Owens in 1999, right down to crying on the shoulder of head coach Jim Harbaugh as he ran to the sideline (pic above).
VIDEO OF ALL THREE 49ERS “CATCHES” AFTER THE JUMP
10
Jan
2012
Harbaugh’s 49ers using Honey Badger as motivational tool (VIDEO)
(Image via ninersnation.com)
As the San Francisco 49ers prepare for their upcoming Divisional Playoff showdown with the New Orleans Saints, head coach Jim Harbaugh is using a rather unusual motivational tactic to get his players ready for battle. It seems that the crazy, nastyass Honey Badger has become the unofficial mascot for the Niners during their 13-3, NFC West championship run.
In addition to being the world’s most fearless animal, the Honey Badger is also the subject of a wildly popular (and hilarious) viral video. Apparently, prior to a recent game, Harbaugh spliced the video together with 2011 49ers highlights and showed it to the team. You see, much like their ferocious weasel-esque inspiration, the San Francisco defense “just takes what it wants”, leading to a league-high 35 takeaways this year. And since then, the “honey badger don’t care” mentality has taken over the locker room.
Check out this report from CSNBayArea:
VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
18
Dec
2011
It’s Bizarro Sunday in the NFL (PIC)
It's a good thing we're not the betting type (Image via Reddit.com/r/nfl)
And so it was that bizarro NFL Week 15 ended the quest for both the perfect and winless seasons in 2011.
Packers lose, Colts win. Up is down, in is out, bad is good … except for the Saints crushing the Vikings, not much from the early round of games made sense today.
Let’s see if Tebow can restore some sense of normalcy by pulling out a miraculous win against the Patriots.
UPDATE: Nope. Not only couldn’t Denver summon the late-game magic today in their 41-23 loss, but “Tebow Time” actually came during the first quarter instead of the fourth, with the Broncos scoring on their first three possessions and New England forced to mount the comeback.
Bizarro Sunday remains fully intact.
8
Dec
2011
Dominic Raiola thinks it’s time for the Lions to “grow the f@#K up” (AUDIO)
(AP Photo via MLive.com)
This season, the Detroit Lions have been working hard to change their image from perennial NFC North doormat to the new bad boys of the league. And along the way, part of this new image has included getting busted for dirty play and – as exemplified by Ndamukong Suh – committing all sorts of foolish personal fouls that ultimately hurt the team.
Well, following their week 13 loss at the hands of the Saints, in which Detroit committed 11 penalties for 107 yards, including several critical unsportsmanlike conduct calls, Lions’ veteran center Dominic Raiola had finally seen enough. Check out this profanity-laced, post-game diatribe from the Lions’ captain, in which he delivers a fairly singular message to his fellow teammates: “Grow the f@#k up!”.
Audio below (Curses are bleeped out, so its relatively SFW):
9
Sep
2011
Randall Cobb performs “Barrel Roll” en route to 108-yard kickoff return (GIF)
(Image via Imgur.com)
Packers rookie WR/KR Randall Cobb made a pretty strong impression on his new team last night with this record-tying 108-yard kickoff return in the 3rd quarter, which helped Green Bay on to a thrilling season-opening 42-34 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
The most impressive part of the play came as Cobb crossed the 20 yard line and got seemingly upended by Saints CB Leigh Torrance. Cobb then performed a “barrel roll” maneuver and managed to put down a hand as one of his teammates helped prevent his fall and keep him moving forward. The 2nd round draft choice then burst from the pack and used his speed to do the rest.
Since the NFL seems determined to have all kickoffs go into the endzone, it’s nice to know that there’s still plenty of young kids with no fear who are willing to eschew taking a knee in favor of taking one to the house.
WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
