Yet Another Bizarre NFL Offseason

Last year, I wrote about the massive fail that was the NFL players attempting to stand their ground and get a good labor deal from the league.  I also wrote about Commissioner Roger Goodell responding to players ripping him for being unfair by suspending a player before he was allowed into the NFL for offenses that had absolutely nothing to do with the NFL.  I believe that last year set up what's been happening this year, when Goodell punished a team for a bounty scandal, coaches copped to the scandal, and players completely contradicted the coaches and the evidence by continuing to claim innocence.  Never can I remember something this crazy occurring in the past, and I really do think that it's a continuation of a union's anger and distrust towards a commish.

I don't feel like flying around the internet gathering all of the news stories, so here's a few write-ups from profootballtalk.com that lines up the timeline.  The NFL announced on March 2 that the New Orleans Saints had been found guilty of operating a bounty program where defenders would earn a bonus if they knocked opposing star players out of the game from 2008 to 2011.  Evidence of the bounty program started being uncovered by reporters almost immediately.  The league announced organizational and staff punishments on March 21.  NO head coach Sean Payton, suspended for a year.  GM Mickey Loomis, half a year.  Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, for being the ringleader of the program, suspended indefinitely, meaning he probably won't ever get back into the league.  And, very important, the NFL statement said that Williams acknowledged designing the program with input from players.  Star QB Drew Brees, reminiscent of Dottie Sandusky, began wondering why everyone was picking on his team even though the answers were right there for him.  Goodell made statements every now and then reinforcing that this was no haphazard investigation and that the evidence was clear, even though his league wasn't exactly thrusting that evidence forward to the general public.  The Saints and those in management who were punished all appealed, perhaps validating those who were sure that this whole thing was wrong and the Saints did no harm, although Williams did not appeal.  Williams was fingered as a bounty collector in previous employment before he even got to the Saints, further solidifying the case against NO, one would think.  More evidence came out in the form of audio of Williams giving a pregame speech imploring his guys to "attack the fucking head," among other lovely actions.  Brees still didn't believe.  Player punishments came down on May 2.  Jonathan Vilma, the whole 2012 season.  Anthony Hargrove, half a year.  Will Smith and Scott Fujita, four and three games.  All four appealed.  Goodell's the man in charge of the appeals, so the expectation is, he won't be reducing any punishments.  But that hasn't stopped any of the players from crying at the top of their lungs that they're innocent of the charges, and furthermore, Gregg Williams didn't actually set up any program and only agreed to the NFL statement claiming that he did in order to have a better shot of reinstatement in a year.  The most recent speculation today has Brees on Dan Patrick's talk show thinking that the coaches admitted to the program because they're scared of the league's power.  That's some Goodfellas shit right there.

Litigation is in the air if these suspensions are upheld, because the players can't throw around theories of conspiracy and manufactured evidence and then accept the punishments, can they?  So that's the definitive thud that I'm personally waiting for.  If Vilma and his cohorts are that convinced that Goodell is out to railroad them for whatever reason, then they have to follow through and haul the National Football League into court.  Justice must prevail, and all that.  And what a monster situation it becomes if somehow they can prove that the league actually made up a bounty program in order to show their muscles.  Otherwise, those players, along with dimbulb Brees, will have bellowed all of that hot air about how there's no way the bounty program happened and then backed down in the face of hard evidence.  And it will become just another chapter in a story portraying the NFL and its players as probably the most contentious, argumentative, hateful boss/subordinate relationship in the history of American sports.

This Blog Is Not Dead

It just seems that way because neither Jason nor I have posted in months.  But rest assured, we're still around and anxiously awaiting the return of football.  I promise to post about the NFL's active offseason next week, and I'll also have the honor of writing up the 2012 IMLD Hall of Fame inductions, which will happen around the same time as the NFL Hall of Fame Weekend.  And Jason will chime in with his thoughts whenever he can carve some time out of his busy schedule of changing diapers and burping his daughter.  We're both a little amazed that we get a couple of page views every now and then, despite having no new content.  So for anyone actually checking up and curious about our thoughts and opinions, we say, uh, gee, thanks.  I'll take this moment to also troll for comments because no one's actually left any in the two-year existence of this blog.  So, speak up, let us know what you like or dislike, we'd love some feedback so we can start to do this blogging thing better.  We know, step 1, actually start blogging every now and then.