Andrew Weber, US Presswire
In my last post, I without question eluded to the fact
that I felt this latest thing going on with the New
Orleans Saints and Gregg Williams was in fact a form
of cheating, and yet I have since had a change of heart.
It's not cheating, because football players get paid
to throw, run, score, catch, and yes HIT anyway.
What it is though, is stupid, and it's stupid on much
more than one level, for it to be necessary to provide
extra financial incentive for players to be more
aggressive in their tackling or hitting of opposing
players is absolutely ridiculous. As a coach have to
ask yourself, how much does this player who is making
anywhere from the rookie minimum of $285, and needs to
absolutely prove himself to stay with the team in even
the smallest of capacities want it, if a mere extra
$5-$10k bounty is going to add more incentive?
A veteran who could be making millions must also know
that a players career life expectancy is only a few
very short years in the NFL, and he can't possibly
believe that a bounty that small is going to make
enough of difference in his life. Why risk really
maiming a fellow player or yourself if something goes
wrong?
I keep hearing how this has been going on forever,
and how few if any of the players are surprised.
So what, that makes it OK? I thought I had a problem
with this when I first heard about it, but now the
only problem I have with it, is how stupid it is.
I will however have a bigger problem with the league
if they don't make an example of the Saints, Gregg
Williams, Mikey Loomis and anyone else who had an
active part in this sham. Commissioner Goodell has
been fining guys like James Harrison major dollars
for what he deems as dangerous and illegal hits, well
it's time to make sure he doesn't make a hypocrite of
himself and brings down the hammer. Don't preach
player safety and code of conduct and the allow this
to go on under your watch. I have said it before
however, and I'll say it again, unless you hit the
Saints and teams like them where it really hurts,
nothing will change. It's true that in most cases
if you hit a team in the pocketbook, it's a good
deterrent, but in this case you need to send a message
to all teams who blatantly break rules like this, in
one very prominent manner. If the team won a title
during the season that these violations occur, strip
the title, I can bet you, you will get their attention.
Money would hurt them, but it's almost a wash because
they pretty much made that up when they won, but when
you hit a team in their pride, they are bound to pay
attention.
This is a pipe dream of course. No Commissioner in
any major league outside of perhaps FIFA has that kind
spine, and I don't expect it from Roger Goodell either.
Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis
