Saints' Coach Sean Payton suspended for the 2012 season

Here's the story from the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d827c0dd9/article/nfl-suspends-williams-indefinitely-saints-payton-one-year-?module=HP11_breaking_news

This is actually the first time I heard about the Saints "bounty program" which rewarded players for injuring members of the opposing team...offering different level rewards for either a "knock out hit" or a "cart off hit".

Despicable is too good of a word for this. I'm glad they suspended his ass.

The absolutely had to - they gave Gregg Williams a lifetime ban (the guy who put the program into effect in NO as well as with his previous teams).

I'm glad the NFL came down hard - they had to, especially with player safety all over the news. That kind of stuff shouldn't be allowed in the NFL. Hits, yes. Take a player out and you get bug bucks? No. Payton is Captain of the ship - his responsibility.

I wish they had come down on harder on Bill Bilicheat and the Patriots. Those Super Bowl wins are suspect to me. Did you know that The Patriots have not won a Super Bowl since they got caught cheating? The two times they made it to the big game, Brady lost two super bowls to Eli........

I don't know about the Patriots/Giants thing, both of those games were very close and Giant's wouldn't have won the first time if it hadn't been for that "miracle catch". I don't think "not" cheating had anything to do with those losses.

S.D. wrote:

I don't know about the Patriots/Giants thing, both of those games were very close and Giant's wouldn't have won the first time if it hadn't been for that "miracle catch". I don't think "not" cheating had anything to do with those losses.

It's the Football Gods, the put a curse on The Patriots. It won't go away until Billachek retires.

"ain'ts" fans (sorry, Saints fans) are in an uproar over the suspensions, calling for a boycott of the NFL.

Quite humorous.

thejokeriv wrote:

The absolutely had to - they gave Gregg Williams a lifetime ban (the guy who put the program into effect in NO as well as with his previous teams).

I'm glad the NFL came down hard - they had to, especially with player safety all over the news. That kind of stuff shouldn't be allowed in the NFL. Hits, yes. Take a player out and you get bug bucks? No. Payton is Captain of the ship - his responsibility.

I wish they had come down on harder on Bill Bilicheat and the Patriots. Those Super Bowl wins are suspect to me. Did you know that The Patriots have not won a Super Bowl since they got caught cheating? The two times they made it to the big game, Brady lost two super bowls to Eli........

Totally agree with you on all counts. Goodell wasn't playing around with them here. They got what they deserved.

How is it possible S.D. that you hadn't heard of "BountyGate" until today???? The sports world has been yacking about it for a month.

The Saints got nuked today but it should have been worse because this is opening up the liability floodgates for the NFL. Players will sue like crazy.

I almost never read about sports or watch sports shows, so I just hadn't run across it until today.

It's stupid but I bet there a bunch of other teams that do this.

My Rams are the ones who really get screwed by this. They just hired Williams to be their Defensive Coordinator a couple months ago. Now what do they do?

tohostudios wrote:

My Rams are the ones who really get screwed by this. They just hired Williams to be their Defensive Coordinator a couple months ago. Now what do they do?

tear up his contract and not pay him another cent.

I think the penalty for this bounty thing is a bit harsh (Sean Payton one year? wow) but I understand that Darth Goodell has to set a precedence for the rest of the league.

I think the saints got hit hard because they lied after being told to stop doing it. I think the year ban for Payton might be a tad too harsh but the NFL is in CYA mode after the lawsuits and the Saints were dumb enough to get caught.

The Saints got raped, but hey, that's the breaks. As already pointed out, they lied.

The Rams should be compensated with draft picks. I think they will be okay though.

Joe wrote:

The Saints got raped, but hey, that's the breaks. As already pointed out, they lied.

The Rams should be compensated with draft picks. I think they will be okay though.

I dont see why the Rams should get compensated. Sure they suffered loss because williams is suspended but thats what happens.

I guess it depends on the length of the suspension. Who knows how long "indefinite" will be.

Joe wrote:

I guess it depends on the length of the suspension. Who knows how long "indefinite" will be.

Goodell said he wouldn't review the case until after the end of the 2012 season, so it's at least a year.

Well, then yeah, I thought the Rams should've been compensated. But, thinking about it more, it would be the same as if a player were to go to a different team and get busted for something he did in the past. The new team wouldn't get compensated in that situation either.

S.D. wrote:

Joe wrote:

I guess it depends on the length of the suspension. Who knows how long "indefinite" will be.

Goodell said he wouldn't review the case until after the end of the 2012 season, so it's at least a year.

yep. Williams knew what he was doing and he knew it was against league rules. I think anything longer than a year though is just being spiteful. The commish has made his point and anything more is punitive.

I think they're trying to cover for the lawsuits coming they're way. Aikman says the thinks football could be ruined by the attempt to protect the players because of being sued. Players are going to have to sign a waiver soon.

Dark Horseman wrote:

I think they're trying to cover for the lawsuits coming they're way. Aikman says the thinks football could be ruined by the attempt to protect the players because of being sued. Players are going to have to sign a waiver soon.

i would think that they go into the sport knowing full well what is going to happen. I love people who go into something knowing what goes on and then try to act dumb. You are being paid to hit other people who are trying to hit you. What do you think is going to happen?

I think the suspensions were justified. The league told them to stop. The Saints lied about it and were caught.