(via Twitter.com)

Mind = Blown.

It really makes you wonder why anyone would ever want to be on the cover of Madden at this point … let alone campaign for it like Rob Gronkowski did this off-season.

Fortunately for Pats fans, Gronkowski got knocked out of this year’s voting in the quarterfinals by Calvin Johnson, who will now square off against Aaron Rodgers in the semis, prompting Packers Nation to flood the voting for Johnson to keep Rodgers away from the cover.  On the other side of the bracket, favorite Cam Newton is up against surprise #11 seed Patrick Willis, who narrowly defeated Victor Cruz to advance in the quarters, much to the delight of Giants fans everywhere.

I’m not sure if this is quite what EA Sports had in mind when they opened the cover up to fan voting, but it at least makes things interesting.

CHECK OUT A LIST OF MADDEN CURSE VICTIMS AFTER THE JUMP

• Garrison Hearst, 49ers – 1999: Broken ankle, out for two seasons
• Barry Sanders, Lions – 2000: Retired before the season. Never played again
• Daunte Culpepper, Vikings – 2002: Broke single season record for fumbles, 23 INTs in 2002
• Michael Vick, Falcons – 2004: Broken fibula in pre-season, played 5 games that year. Later sent to prison for dog fighting ring
• Donovan McNabb, Eagles – 2006: Sports hernia in first game of season, torn ACL and meniscus ending his year
• Shaun Alexander, Seahawks – 2007: Broken foot, missed six games. Never returned to form
• Vince Young, Titans – 2008: Injured his knee in first game of season. Benched for Kerry Collins and didn’t start again that year
• Brett Favre, Packers – 2009: Came out of retirement to play for Jets. Embroiled in sexual harassment scandal after texting pics of his junk
• Troy Polamalu, Steelers – 2010: sprained MCL in first game of season, missing four games. After returning, suffered a torn PCL ending his season.
• Peyton Hillis, Browns – 2011: hamstring injury in first game forced him to miss 6 games and was in the doghouse all season in contract disputes. Released without an offer.

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

ON ALEX SMITH

‘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.’

ON FRANK GORE

“We’ve got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore’s head,” Williams told the players. “We want him running sideways. We want his head sideways.”

ON KYLE WILLIAMS

“We need to find out in the first two series of the game, the little wide receiver, No. 10, about his concussion,” Williams said to the Saints’ defenders. “We need to [expletive] put a lick on him, move him to decide. He needs to decide.”

ON MICHAEL CRABTREE

“We need to decide whether Crabtree wants to be a fake-ass prima donna or he wants to be a tough guy … We need to find that out, and he becomes human when you (expletive) take out that outside ACL.”

And that, my friends, would appear to be the smoking gun. As we’ve said all along, once all the information comes out, we’ll be shocked if Williams ever coaches again in the NFL.

(WARNING: NSFW FOR LANGUAGE)

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.”

“A combination of elements made this matter particularly unusual and egregious,” Commissioner Goodell continued. “When there is targeting of players for injury and cash rewards over a three-year period, the involvement of the coaching staff, and three years of denials and willful disrespect of the rules, a strong and lasting message must be sent that such conduct is totally unacceptable and has no place in the game.”

It’s definitely a huge blow to a Saints program that has been at the top of the league in recent years, and one has to wonder if it was all worth it – all of this, just to give a little walking around money and bragging rights to a bunch of millionaires for doing what they’re already paid handsomely to do. The Saints clearly crossed the line when they added the layers of “knock outs” and “cart-offs” to the mix, but most high school and college football programs have similar performance-based incentives … they just use stickers instead of money.  Stick to the stickers, guys, and everything will be just fine.

A few other interesting tidbits from the league’s findings:

• The investigation showed bounties being placed on four quarterbacks of opposing teams – Brett Favre, Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers, and Kurt Warner. 
• Coach Williams acknowledged that he designed and implemented the program with the assistance of certain defensive players. He said that he did so after being told by Saints Head Coach Sean Payton that his assignment was to make the defense “nasty.” 
• Coach Williams described his role as overseeing record keeping, defining payout amounts, deciding on who received payouts, and distributing envelopes with cash to players who “earned” rewards.
• In each of the 2009-2011 seasons, the Saints were one of the top five teams in the league in roughing the passer penalties. In 2009 and 2011, the Saints were also in the top five teams in unnecessary roughness penalties; in 2010, the Saints ranked sixth in the category. 
• In the January 16, 2010 divisional playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, Saints defensive players were assessed $15,000 in fines for fouls committed against opposing players. The following week, in the NFC Championship Game against the Minnesota Vikings, Saints defensive players were assessed $30,000 in fines for four separate illegal hits, several of which were directed against quarterback Brett Favre.
• Coach Williams now acknowledges that when he was first questioned about this matter in early 2010 he intentionally misled NFL investigators and made no effort to stop the program after he became aware of the league’s investigation.

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.

Sean Payton sees a future where kickoffs might be kicked out. (Cox Sports TV)

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton spoke with ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio on Tuesday about the future of kickoff returns.

Payton understands that fans — and many players — are miffed about kickoffs moving from the 30 to the 35, effectively reducing chances for big kick returns. He also knows that with the information the league had about  injuries, kickoffs were a central target for change.

“Then you have to be able to take steps, so that 10 years down the road when someone is asking you, ‘Hey at this time, when you knew it was such a dangerous play and you continued on with the kicks from the 30 — and now you have someone who is seriously injured.’”

Payton acknowledged that kickoffs could eventually vanish from the landscape of football.

“Sitting in on John Madden’s coaches committee, and discussing this topic, this is a tough one, in regards to trying to reduce collision speed.  There are a number of things you can do offensively and defensively, but when it comes to kicking that ball and these guys are running down the field (at) a pretty good rate of speed, even if they have a five-yard start as opposed to, last year, the 10-yard start.  I wouldn’t be surprised, Mike, if down the road that’s where it was headed.  Unless we come up with some good answers.  And that’s the trick.”

Payton is clearly not on board with the league removing onside kicks.

PFT did the hard work on this one, so here’s the link to the story.

A picture says 1000 words (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images via ESPN.com)

The New Orleans Saints shocked the world and defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win Super Bowl XLIV, and bring the Lombardi Trophy home to the city of New Orleans.

Trailing 10-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, head coach Sean Payton made a series of gutsy calls – including a failed 4th and goal attempt in the 2nd quarter and successful onside kick to start the 2nd half – that helped the Saints chip away at the lead and put themselves in a position to win.

Drew Brees went 32-39 for 288 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions to collect the MVP award, and the Saints defense came up big when it mattered to preserve the lead.  The game winning-play came when Tracy Porter picked off Peyton Manning and brought it 74 yards to the house with 3:12 remaining.

WATCH VIDEO OF PORTER’S INTERCEPTION AFTER THE JUMP

Porter also picked off Brett Favre to seal the NFC Championship game two weeks ago (video here).  And for Manning, who is already regarded by many as the best QB of all time, it is a legacy-defining play.

Full Super Bowl XLIV highlights from NFL.com here

Congratulations to the Saints … and good for the city of New Orleans.

Sean Payton acts out a scene from "The Xbox Kid". The refs are unimpressed.

Nola.com reports that Saints head coach Sean Payton is currently shopping a movie screenplay around Hollywood. And this isn’t just another crappy re-hash of a 1970s TV series or something. Oh no. Get this:

The movie, currently titled “The Xbox Kid,” is about a boy from a poor family in New Orleans who starts controlling the outcome of NFL games through a refurbished Xbox given to him by his grandfather following a devastating hurricane.

Payton said the idea came to him when his son Connor would play upcoming Saints games on his Xbox during the 2006 season.

“I just wrote about four pages, piddling around with it,” said Payton, who later turned the idea over to a professional screen writer to flesh it out.

The best joke that I could make right here has already been made, so I’ll just re-print it (from the comments of the Nola.com article):

“Hope the kid doesn’t run a reverse to kill the clock.”

BAAHAAHAAHAA!  Too funny.

CAA is currently shopping the script on Payton’s behalf, and let’s not kid ourselves, it’s more original than anything Hollywood has come up with in years. This thing is going to get picked up tomorrow.

Read on after the jump for an extended tirade on Sean Payton’s play-calling abilities.

But as the headline might have suggested, I’m not a big fan of Sean Payton. The Saints’ wunderkind has done pretty well for himself in the Big Easy, and before that in Dallas where Bill Parcells tagged him as the next disciple-in-waiting.  But Payton first made his mark in the NFL as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

And while the Giants made it to Super Bowl XXV in 2000, Payton seemed to fall in love with his playbook far too often. Legend has it he used to sleep in his office at the Meadowlands while coming up with plays, and I truly think he believed he could outsmart the game.  Instead of drawing up plays that played to the Giants strengths as athletes, he would be getting overly cute and running gadget plays at the wrong time.

Jim Fassel took play-calling duties away from Payton in 2002.  Today, Fassel no longer works in the NFL, and Payton is the new Hollywood darling.  Go figure.

But the prime example of Payton’s awful play-calling is the aforementioned fumbled double-reverse from the 2007 playoffs.  Against the Bucs, up 23-20 with 2:30 remaining, instead of running out the clock, Payton called this play, which he had dubbed the “Superdome Special”.  Double-reverse.  Drew Brees hands the ball to Reggie Bush who makes an awkward toss to Devery Henderson, which of course, he fumbles.  Tampa Bay drives the field for a game winning TD with :17 left.

I’m just saying, if I’m a Saints fan, I’m not too comfortable with that guy at the controls.