clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Fleur-de-Links: March 5, 2012

Fleurdelinks_medium

TWEETS:

EA Sports announced that & are 2 of the 64 players who have a shot at being the cover man for Madden NFL 13

NFL Live now with hour special on bounty culture. This will be good.

My thoughts exactly RT: Inflicting pain is the name of the game (defensively)... Get over it or go play golf!!!"

Every time I learn something new about Mike Ornstein, the first thing that pops into my mind is "Who wouldn't want to be this guy's BFF?"

BREAKING NEWS: Football is a violent sport!!

Absolutely! RT : I've never tried to injure another player. But I've tried to HURT everyone I've ever hit.

Another great day in new Orleans......

": My friend is fighting cancer!" send Steven some encouragement!!!

Just finished my workout! Gotta get that blood flowing. I'm getting tired of watching ESPN so I guess HGTV will have to do

Hope all you good and bad ppl are having a productive day

RT : Text from friend: "Jesus I go away for a mini vacation & come back to find that the Saints are the Genovese crime family."

In other news, club was $15.8M under the salary cap BEFORE the Will Smith restructure & Brees franchise tag, per an NFL source.

RT : Ex-Saint LB Scott Fujita getting dragged into bounty probe, per sources. NFLPA exec committee member. good guy, too

": It's about that time bro. Where's the next trip? I need a vacay." we should've followed Jamie to medellin.

This man needs help! If its in your heart to help then dont hesitate

When I got into sports journalism I never thought I'd see a "Complete Bounty Coverage" banner on the top of our newspaper website.

On a plane headed to see John Carney. Will let him know that loves and misses him...

Pumped after watching the new Sporting Goods commercial. Check it out Mind+Body+Equipment =

RT : RT League doesn't see this as a Gregg Williams problem. He's part of it. But the issue far broader than that.

Soft ball is no joke... Played two days ago and still sore! My team bricksquad is going to be mean!

MORE ON "LYNCH THE SAINTS LIKE THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES TO EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS-GATE"

moosedenied " Blog Archive " Barbarism Begins At Home
I'm ashamed of them for being stupid enough to have created a situation in which it was even possible for them to have gotten caught.

Saints taking center stage at 4 p.m. - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
The scandal involving the New Orleans Saints and what the NFL says was a "bounty program," designed to reward defensive players for intentionally injuring opponents, will be the topic of an hour-long NFL Live Special on ESPN at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

Go, Saints! A Monologue by Adrianna Garcia | NOLA.com

Fujita 'dragged into' Saints' scandal - NFC South Blog - ESPN
Linebacker Scott Fujita left the Saints for the Cleveland Browns after the 2009 Super Bowl, but you can’t take the New Orleans out of Fujita. A

The NFL Will Happily Pretend A Bounty Is The Worst Scandal Ever
Fine. Make him a sacrificial Ram, hit him with a lengthy suspension for being dumb enough to give the imprimatur of management to a bounty system that seems fairly common around the league, and dumb enough to do it on at least three separate teams. But don't pretend the near-death penalty will be anything more than a PR move, because as far as bombshells go, a locker room bounty is barely a blip on the NFL's early-warning radar.

Fred Smoot comes to Gregg Williams’ defense | ProFootballTalk
"We started a pot as a defensive backfield of who could get the most forced fumbles, who could get the most interceptions," Smoot explained to 106.7 The Fan in Washington D.C. "It was never a bounty. … Gregg never put in a dime. Gregg never came in and said do this, or do that. We did that ourselves as a way to kind of pump each other up to go make more plays."

Brees now has more leverage, but he’s even less likely to use it | ProFootballTalk
Before Friday, Saints quarterback Drew Brees had plenty of leverage. Even though he can't join another team, he can skip the entire offseason program, all of training camp, and all of the preseason, signing the franchise tender and earning the full amount of the offered salary only days before the...

NFL Network pulls plug on Vikings-Saints replay | ProFootballTalk
It was a horrible decision to drop the game, in our view. Though the news of the Saints’ bounty program remains a big deal, the league’s refusal to follow through with a pre-existing plan to re-air the game makes it an even bigger deal — arguably a bigger deal than it should be.

Support from fans will be crucial for New Orleans Saints in the upcoming season
The New Orleans Saints will need a huge amount of support to get through the hard times they are facing.

Source: NFL to probe Redskins about bounty claims | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
By Mark Maske The NFL will investigate allegations that the Washington Redskins had a bounty program to reward players with money for jarring hits when Gregg Williams coached the team's defense between 2004 and 2007, a league official said.

Rand: Big Hurt in Big Easy demands justice | StarTribune.com
Vikings fans are outraged -- and more so than they have been, as a general rule, for the past 35 years or so without a Super Bowl appearance

Saints took common practice of bounties to new, dangerous level - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice
That Saints bounty system is far from an isolated incident, except that an assistant coach was allegedly leading it. Mike Freeman says Roger Goodell might go Spygate on the Saints in an effort to snuff out the practice.

Jail, not NFL future, should be No. 1 on Williams' list of worries - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice
Gregg Williams' NFL future? That doesn't interest Gregg Doyel, who says Williams shouldn't have one. After consulting a trusted legal adviser, Doyel says Williams should really concern himself with staying out of jail.

Roger Goodell will hit New Orleans Saints hard for bounty scandal - Peter King - SI.com
Much of my reporting on the burgeoning bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints is contained in a story written for Sports Illustrated this week. Please watch my Twitter account, @SI_PeterKing, on Tuesday for a link to it. And, of course, look for it in the magazine this week.

Williams to meet with NFL after bounties uncovered - New Orleans Saints - SunHerald.com
Now that the NFL has uncovered a big-money bounty program for players in New Orleans, it likely will zero in on other teams Gregg Williams worked for.

Want to 'send a message,' Roger? Payton, Loomis should sit for year - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice
If Roger Goodell really cares about the game and the safety of NFL players, he's at a crossroads. Because losing draft picks and money won't hit the Saints where it hurts, but sitting the coach and GM for a year certainly will.

Favre on Saints $10K bounty: 'I'm not pissed' - CBSSports.com
Eye on Football - Favre on Saints $10K bounty: 'I'm not pissed'

Mutiny of the bounty, Monday edition | ProFootballTalk
It's Monday. Welcome back to work. Before the boss starts looking over your shoulder, here's a chance to get caught up on one of the biggest scandals in NFL history, which the league wisely slipped through the late Friday afternoon five hole.

James Harrison eager to see the NFL’s punishment for the Saints | ProFootballTalk
Steelers linebacker James Harrison has been fined more than anyone as the NFL has cracked down on helmet-to-helmet hits in the last couple of years. And now he says he'll be watching intently to see the NFL's next major discipline issue.

Brett Favre happy that truth on Saints coming to light | ProFootballTalk
There was plenty of information about the Saints bounty program bouncing around over the weekend and one of the biggest was that Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma reportedly offered $10,000 to any defender who could knock Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC Championship Game.

Charles Barkley rips "punk, snitch" who ratted on Gregg Williams | ProFootballTalk
Some of the strongest comments about the Saints bounty scandal have come not from a football player but from a basketball player: Charles Barkley, who said on the Dan Patrick Show that he's appalled. But Barkley isn't appalled that the Saints had a system of bounties.

Weigh in on the Saints' scandal - NFC South Blog - ESPN
SportsNation has six polls up on what has suddenly become the hottest topic in sports -- the New Orleans Saints and the "bounty program’&

Bounties NFL wide problem; Breaking the locks off Saints "Bounty Gate""
News surfaced a couple days ago about the New Orleans Saints and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and use of a "bounty system", referred to as "Bountygate."

Mixed Emotions From Favre on Bounties - NYTimes.com
Favre is happy that the truth is out, but he says the only thing that really bothers him about the Saints-Vikings playoff game in 2010 is that the Vikings lost.

Bountygate Gives Roger Goodell Another Chance To Show You What A Big Dick He Has
I'd like to thank Gregg Williams for inspiring the single stupidest blog post headline of the year, from Frank Bruni of The New York Times. You can tell a sports scandal has reached its wear-out phase if Bruni feels compelled to chime in on it. Anyway, here's the headline:

LAGNIAPPE:

Falcons could hurt Saints by chasing Nicks - NFC South Blog - ESPN
For several months now, I’ve been hearing from a lot of Atlanta Falcons fans that think the team should go hard after New Orleans Saints guard C

Saints to Host Special Teams Clinic for High School Coaches