Bayou Rebel had this news up at 5:42 pm. The WWL link is timestamped 6:12pm. Just more great work from BR. Dude is on top of it! Always!

I am stunned, but at the same time, I’m not so stunned. Wil-Mis-Pay got some splainin’ to do….

T-Pic:

Hartley, 23, was a perfect 13-for-13 with the Saints last year after signing in midseason, but he had been struggling during training camp. Part of the issue, according to Payton, has been the adjustment with the new snap-hold-kick combination of new long snapper Jason Kyle and new holders Mark Brunell and Joey Harrington.

Who used to hold? The punter? GAAAA!!!

a second kicker in training camp all along. No competition is never a good thing at any position and I suspect that’s all this is. Something to keep Hartley on his toes until final cuts.

From the above posted Times-Pic article:

Hartley was a perfect 13-for-13 with the Saints last year after signing in midseason, but he had been struggling during training camp. Then he missed a 20-yard field goal in the first quarter of Friday night’s preseason victory over the Cincinnati Bengals before bouncing back with a made 54-yard attempt in the second half.

I haven’t seen a single report saying Hartley has struggled during camp. Every report I saw said he was hitting all but a few or so. What is Mike Triplett typing about here? I want to see some numbers to back this statement up. How many has he missed in camp? I’m all for Carney returning to give the kid some camp competition, but I hope this isn’t a matter of Pay-Loo trying to fix a past mistake.

Can anyone think of any head coach whose downfall was brought about by his inability to manage the needs of his special teams?

We have been absolutely floundering on special teams ever since 2007. Payton is entering his fourth year as head coach, and he’s had five kickers (Carney, Mare, Gramatica, Mehlhaff, and Hartley) and four punters (Weatherford, Graham, Pakulak and Morstead). Has this ever happened before in the NFL?

THis up on WWLTV.COM:

Eyewitness News has learned, through unconfirmed reports, that current Saints kicker Garret Hartley is expected to be suspended for four games.

Saints officials would not confirm or deny the report.

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl081509mlcarney.e3855778.html

My wife just speculated that we’re cursed for not signing him last year.

than he must have tested positive for something. Was he puffing the magic dragon during the offseason? That would be incredibly stupid if so, considering the league’s policy of making everyone pee into a cup so often.

Well, if this is true, no need to start worrying yet. As long as Drew, Vilma, Evans, or half our new secondary doesn’t get suspended, we’re alright. So far, we’ve only lost a LB we didn’t have last year, a LB coming out of retirement, 2 DE’s for four games we already knew about, and now it looks like we’ll lose our kicker for 4 games. It sucks, but no need to panic.

Times-Pic is now reporting that a league source has confirmed the suspension.

I’m not as worried about Carney kicking for four games as I am about losing a player on the active roster to hang on to Hartley. There’s no “reserve-suspension” list, right? I mean, this DOES affect the roster numbers(?)

If we can just get through these first four without losing anyone else for an extended period, maybe we’ll have a good season. At least we don’t face the more “elite” teams on our schedule or divisional opponents during this stretch. I don’t think Hartley, while suspended, will count towards the active roster. I saw somewhere that Smith and Grant won’t while they’re out. I’m not ready to panic or assume the sky is falling at this point. The biggest problem during this 4 game stretch will be the reduced kicking range Carney will be capable of. Forget about him producing touchbacks on kickoffs or being able to hit a FG of more than 45 yards. The offense will need to get the ball closer to the endzone for him than they would for Hartley. At least Carney has proven himself to be as accurate as anyone out there when you get the attempt within his range.

Just saw this analysis posted there:

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Saints PK Garrett Hartley will be suspended four games to start the 2009 season.
No reason is given, but it’s possible the issue has contributed to Hartley’s struggles in training camp. Kicking is obviously very mental. It also explains the signing of John Carney. If Carney kicks well in the first four weeks, however, the Saints may just cut ties with Hartley after he comes off the suspended list. Hartley was 13-of-13 on field goals in eight games last year.

I love how they try to get into Hartley’s head. I think they’re way off about the Saints possibly cutting ties with him. Payton wants a kicker with range and accuracy. Hartley has proven himself to have that. Carney only has the accuracy. Payton will stick with the guy with the bigger leg once the suspension is served, unless Hartley suddenly becomes a basket case.

I still think it’s unfair for anyone to report that Hartley has struggled. See what you’ve done, Mike Triplett?

nola.com comment:

Posted by grunt2007 on 08/15/09 at 9:21PM
 Four games smells like a failed drug test. I’m going to guess weed, not ‘roids. Kickers are usually dope smokers.

New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley has been suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, according to sources close to the situation.:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;ylt=Aqn4k1rjgf8Xx60kqo8lqNDubYF?slug=ap-saints-hartleysuspension&prov=ap&type=lgns

Yahoo is saying he took adderall that he got from a former college friend to stay awake while driving to offseason workouts. He claims he didn’t know it was banned. Is the banned substance list really kept that secret? Is there some sort of decoder ring involved?

40+ yards and we aint gettin 3. He’s hurt me a couple times in Madden 10 too!