Saints are in deep

Suspensions upheld as expected per La Confora Twitter

 

Make no mistake. Goodell is punishing Peyton and Loomis for lying to him. That's why it was so severe. Goodell has a huge ego and you don't dare disrespect the pontiff of the NFL's authority.

These suspensions were personal...

 

it also sends a message to the players that the commish is serious in his agenda for improved player safety. Whereas before, when Harrison would bitch about the fines he was getting, now that everybody has witnessed what the commish will do to a coach and GM, they wont put up as much of a fight. There were numerous reasons why Goodell had to come down hard on the Saints.

 

If nothing else, the appeal bought them an extra week of contact/work prior to the draft.

 

"Goodell said the league was lied to as it investigated the three-year bounty program and admitted that’s why the penalties were so harsh."

It's nice that he has admitted that the reason he levied what amounts to be the equivalent of the NCAA's "Death Penalty" against the Saints was because they lied to Goodell. It wasn't the bounties or player safety.... if they hadn't lied the suspensions wouldn't have been so severe. This was personal...

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/33542/goodell-leaves-a-bit-of-hope-for-saints

 

i'm not sure i buy that. doesn't matter if it was goodell or any other representative of the league office, they lied, covered up, and continued their program while being told to stop and reminded it was against the rules. that doesn't make it personal, that makes the situation worse, that makes them involved in a cover up that goes against league policy, which is worse than just doing it.
not sure why you are trying to say its personal to goodell.

 

3 years... I guess they did little to stop them

Well Parcells coaching is unlikely... I still think Gruden woukd be the choice for intern coach

 

You should spend less time on the Saints boards. You're starting to buy into the "Goodell only did this 'cause he hates the Saints" crap.

AND, this is FAR from the NCAA death penalty.

 

Petrino to Saints would add wonderful twists to many ongoing story lines...

 

Don't be so flippant in acting as if this isn't crippling (no pun intended) to the Saints.

I have no love for the Saints. But I hate the unilateral power the Commissioner welds and this just smacks of a pissed off petty tyrant.

Indefinite suspension for Williams? Completely agree and warranted IMO. Losing draft picks? Good with that, too. The team fine of $500,00? I'm surprised it wasn't heavier to be honest.

That said. You "fire" the head coach for the season. You suspend the GM for the first half of the season (and some will argue that a GM is most needed in the first half rather than the latter half of a season). The length of those two suspensions are overkill. The length... not the suspensions themselves.

Not to mention Joe Vitt. He was the only defensive coach (aside from Williams, or course) that was suspended. All of the coaches on the defense were in those meeting and were privy to what was going on, but only the LB coach gets suspended? And for half a year? Why only him? Because he is also the assistant head coach.

I don't think Goodell has a vendetta against the Saints per se. I do believe he felt disrespected and by God he was going to show them and the world that he is not a person to trifle with. He will be feared.