Saints are in deep

The DC is new and was overhauling anyway. The O might drop back some but still has the same players and OC. Playcalling will change some with payton gone but the O will remain much better than average.

Goodell did what any commish hsold have done. He penalized them for the initial violation and ramped it up for the cover up. In any case, this was NOWHERE near the NCAA death penalty.

 

You're way off base on this one. Payton & Loomis lied to Goodell and obstructed an investigation by the league office. A lengthy suspension was completely warranted for both.

 

At the cost of possibly setting a franchise back multiple seasons? Call me Don Quixote but I think it is akin to a criminal being punished more for the obstruction of justice than for the actual crime. Overkill fueled by ego...

 

I wouldn't call it obstruction of justice so much as cops catch you comitting a crime, you get released on bail and get caught committing the same crime again before your first trial starts. I mean the coverup was meant to let them keep doing it after they'd been caught how can you not come down harder on that?

Also SMU was banned from postseason play IIRC saints are still a likely playoff team to me.

 

SMU was banned for postseason play for more than 1 year, 3 or 4 I believe. They had an entire season cancelled, home games for another season cancelled and ultimately cancelled the away games for that season themselves. They got put on probation for paying players and then busted for the same violation while on probation. Water Boy is a total moron id he thinks anything that has been put on the Saints approaches that, which is widely referred to as the NCAA death peanalty.

 

Point taken...

I stated it was the NFL's equivalent to the NCAA's Death Penalty. No way would the NFL ban one of its own franchises. The Saints punishment is unprecedented in the NFL. As SMU's was (and still is) in the NCAA. That's the crux of my comparison.

 

Biased fans? Never!

Seriously, the Williams audio was all I needed to hear. I've never been in an NFL team meeting, but I know (and have since spoken to) several who have. Players.

To a man, they all say it's about the worst thing they've ever heard. Not so much the language--and that shit doesn't bug me. The specificity with which Dr. Cheat instructed his players to target specific players, and specific portions of their anatomy, was out of bounds.

Sure, this probably happened a lot back in the 70's. You know, back when the game was played at about 70% the speed/power to current day NFL. Times evolve, and the concern about concussions is valid. I don't agree with some of the league policies regarding in-game penalties, but I do agree with the concept of not letting Laron Landry hit like Jack Tatum.

Oh, and, the blatant deceit and misdirection from Payton/Loomis/Williams about the entire issue during the investigation is another element in itself. One thing the boss hates more that bad behavior is a cover-up of bad behavior.

If this was my team, I would probably huff and puff like a bitch too, because the penalty is severe. But, then again, perhaps this speaks to an overall organizational culture. Tom Benson, before Katrina, was seen by most in his city as a piece of shit. Then, they got Brees and some weapons and won a ton of games, broke a ton of records, and the city loves that umbrella-twirling cunt.

Not for a second do I believe that Benson wasn't aware of some of what was going on, if not all of it.

A lot of people are wrong about a lot of things, with respect to predicting the future. (See: Newton, Cam). The Saints may completely glide right past this on talent alone, and win 10 games. But they're not doing anything to lock up their franchise quarterback, and without that--as we have seen--it's an average to below-average operation.

 

This offense was somewhat unprecedented, to be fair. It's not as if Goodell has a barometer of past offenses similar to this. No doubt, it's harsh. But playing a game of high-stakes goon-poker with ACL's and heads (documented on tape) stretches a tad beyond obstruction.

Obstruction, in this case, is simply the follow-up crime to the crime.

 

Just when you thought things couldn't be any worse for the Saints...

 

Maybe the Saints need to change their name...

I just don't know what kind of penalty you can apply to this (provided it's true) that hasn't been doled out already. Take a bigger share of their TV revenue? How many second chances do you give them?