Jonathan Vilma

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell showed no mercy to the New Orleans Saints coaches and management and he is showing no mercy to the Saints players. He has finally come to a decision on the fate of Saints players who were involved in a cash-for-hits bounty system and these are some of the heaviest penalties in NFL history. Here are the penalties and the players who received them:

LB Jonathan Vilma: Suspended for all of 2012 without pay. This is effective immediately and runs through the playoffs and the Super Bowl. It is reported that Vilma placed $10,000 cash on the table in the team’s meeting room and said he would pay anyone who knocked Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship Game in January of 2010.

DL Anthony Hargrove: Eight-game suspension without pay. The NFL said that he targeted Favre in the NFC Championship Game. The NFL says, “Hargrove also actively obstructed the league’s 2010 investigation into the program by being untruthful to investigators.” Hargrove later confessed to his role in the bounty program. Hargrove is now with the Packers.

DE Will Smith: Four-game suspension without pay. Smith helped to create the bounty program with former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

LB Scott Fujita: Three-game suspension without pay. He participated in the bounty program when he played for the team. Fujita is now with the Browns.

In the statement from the NFL Roger Goodell stated, “It is the obligation of everyone, including the players on the field, to ensure that rules designed to promote player safety, fair play, and the integrity of the game are adhered to and effectively and consistently enforced. Respect for the men that play the game starts with the way players conduct themselves with each other on the field.”

Goodell also stated, “In assessing player discipline, I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation.”

Game Time: 4:15pm EST3:15 CST

Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

TV: America’s Game of the Week on FOX. WNYW FOX 5 (NY, NJ, PA, CT), WTIC-TV FOX 61 (CT, RI, MA) and WLUK-TV 11 (WI)

Announcers:  Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Pam Oliver

Radio: WFAN 660-AM (NY, NJ, PA, CT, MA) and  WTMJ AM620 (WI and MI).

Game Time Weather: Kick Off: 54* Winds 7-10 mph from SE

Half-Time: 51* Winds 7-10 mph from SE

4th Quarter: 49* Winds from 5-7 mph from SW

Current Line: Packers by 7 with Over/Under at 54 points

1. Being that you are with the team daily, have you noticed anything  
different this year from last year as a result of the Super Bowl  
victory?  Has there been less or more access, different scheduling,  
anything that you found different?

Not much has been different from the day in, day out routine of years past. Mike McCarthy is nothing if not a creature of habit. He’s used pretty much the same in-season schedule that he’s used his entire six years as the Packers’ head coach. That means practices are about the same length, meetings last about the same amount of time, his media schedule is exactly the same. As for the players, locker room access is about the same. The same players you used to see in the locker room on a daily basis are still usually in there regularly. The same ones who almost never were in there are still almost never in there. About the only difference in media access is that the offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators are no longer available after games. Instead, we get them the day after games. What’s more is that McCarthy himself seems about the same. I’ve gotten no sense that success has gone to his head. Don’t get me wrong, he has an ego, and he’ll admit to that. But as far as NFL head coaches go, he’s the most like a “regular guy” as any of the four head coaches (Mike Holmgren, Ray Rhodes, Mike Sherman and McCarthy) I’ve covered in my tenure with the Press-Gazette.

2. Many Patriot and Colt players over the years have discussed the  
pressure of an unbeaten season.  The extra questions, the extra media  
attention, and the added pressure of not just watching the standings,  
but having a higher threshold to uphold.  Have you seen any changes as  
the season has progressed, and how do you think the team will handle it?

So far, it seems like they’re fine with it. This week, there’s been more national media at Lambeau Field than I think I’ve seen all season. And of course, the number one topic among them has been 16-0. I don’t think McCarthy has told his players to avoid the topic, at least not based on what Clay Matthews said on Wednesday. Though he seemed to purposely not mention the phrase “16-0,” Matthews did say this: “We’re embracing it. We’re not shying away from it. The fact is we’ve been able to stay undefeated for a little while now. We have to take it 12-0 in order to get to what you were saying. We’ll try and go 12-0 this week against a good New York team and take it from there and then hopefully take it game by game and work towards our ultimate goal.” (more…)

He led his team to victory in what was arguably the greatest game ever played. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XLII. This season, he moved up one slot, overtaking Charlie Conerly, to become #2 on the New York Giants‘ Top Ten Passers list. Why then were so many fans calling for the head of Eli Manning at season’s end?

An abundance of interceptions can easily stir up the “angry mob” mentality amongst football fans. Manning led the league in interceptions this season and told the media, the day after the New York Giants’ disappointing season finale, ”

I am not a 25 interception quarterback.”

That is the exact number of times he threw the ball into the opposition’s hands, however. Manning went on to say,

“I think obviously that’s got to be fixed. We have to fix that. That’s on me, the receivers, and everybody doing that, but most of it’s on me.”

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The team over at ESPN have once again gazed into their crystal balls to determine who will be this week’s winners in the NFL. It’s a split decision where the Giants game is concerned and rightly so.

Sunday’s Giants game is going to be a battle from start to finish. Whichever team lets their guard down, for even a second, will pay the price for it. It’s the biggest and most significant game of the season folks. Get ready! The ESPN crew have made some interesting picks this week. You can read more about my picks and thoughts on those games by clicking the link below.
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Source: Sean Kerr

Tis’ the season is the popular saying this time of year; the season for giving. Christmas in New York City is truly a magical time. Perhaps I am a little biased, being a native New Yorker but if you are looking for that Yule Tide feeling, you wont have to look very far in the Big Apple. This past Thursday night was one of many nights, I am sure, that New York Giants Defensive End Osi Umenyiora was feeling the Christmas spirit.

Perry Ellis sponsored Lord & Taylor’s, “Guys Night Out” last night. To say it was a huge success would be an understatement. On hand to meet and greet the fans were New York Jets LB – Bart Scott, the New York Jets Flight Crew Cheerleaders and our very own Osi Umenyiora. The Lord & Taylor flagship store was brimming with holiday shoppers and Giants fans alike. While most in attendance of the “Guys Night Out” couldn’t wait to meet their favorite New York Giant, some just wanted to play video games.
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“I just don’t think that him leaving the Packers and going to the Jets was a great thing because you never know with them,” Jacobs said. “Great quarterback, I just don’t know if that was a smooth idea. … I’m not saying he’s going to do something bad, but I think he had a pretty good thing with the Packers. But if they didn’t want him back, they didn’t want him back.”

First time I have ever heard Favre’s move hailed as not smooth, but Jacobs really voiced something I’ve been thinking this whole time: you do never know with the Jets.  Right after the trade was announced, commentators on Sportscenter asked the following question: “Whose better now, the Packers or the Jets?

Is that even a question?  The Packers made it to the NFC Championship Game, and the Jets went 4-12.  Admittedly, the Jets made some good moves this offseason, but the Packers are not only a better team, they are in a much easier division.  It’ll be interesting to see how Favre reacts to two tough games against the Hatriots.

Jacobs also shed some light on how the Favre situation affects the Giants:

“At first, everything was about (Plaxico Burress‘ contract),” Jacobs said. “Now it’s all about Brett Favre. You can’t read too much about Plax anymore.”

Touche, sir.  The media really does have a short memory.  It seems they’d rather show images of Favre with his trademark scruff and molar-to-molar smile than focus on the pouty Plaxico.  Like with the Shockey situation, Plaxico has found a media shield to hide behind.  While he’s avoided getting a bad rap for too long (is it too early to start a Plax being Plax catchphrase?), if he misses any games this season not even the Giants trading for Peyton Manning would help Plax avoid the wrath of the media.