It is no mystery to anyone who reads this site that I thought DeMaurice Smith was the wrong choice to represent the players from day one.  A man who never stepped on the field, and a man who was going to get paid and applauded no matter how the fight went down last off season.  My choice was Harry Carson,a Hall of Fame Player,  a man of principal, a man who had been fighting for players rights since the 70′s, and a gentleman respected by the owners, players, and the fans.

The players say they got what they wanted on their end……which after review amounts to less practice time, less contact, and less meeting time. And yet we hear of “Special Players Traing Camps” held privately.  Mark Sanchez and his Jets West, and other guys getting together on their own to get more time together. I thought you wanted LESS practice?  Yes, teams like Cleveland, and Buffalo must now spend 90% of their cap money instead of pocketing it, but that turns out to be a small victory.

The players did not get any sort of guaranteed contract situation.  You get hurt in the NFL, you get cut.  You want to sit out while renegotiating your deal, your fines are double what they used to be.  The players are also now finding out that The Office of The Commissioner, a position held by Roger Goodell, and hired by the owners, has absolute power.  The Office is now judge, jury, and executioner.  Sorry fellas….but you signed it.

“Obviously we don’t want Roger Goodell having absolute power,” Winston told Nate Davis of USA TODAY. “In a lot of this process, it seems like he does. It’s unfortunate. It seems like he’s running amok with it and deciding to do what he wants and it really doesn’t matter what the evidence says. Unfortunately, we don’t have an alternative option to appeal to.”

The sad part is that not many players took a minute to ask questions, to maybe leaf through the document, to inquire as to what are we getting, to ask their agent advice.  The rank and file were told it’s a good deal, we did the work, now sign it and move on.  Players complain constantly about the amount of fines…guess what guys…it’s written into the agreement.  The fine schedule is part of the new CBA, negotiated and agreed to by your representative.  Players complain that discipline is solely in the hands of the commissioner, which we know is not true.  There are committees of ex-players and yes lawyers that recommend the discipline to the Commissioner, and he announces the decision.  The appeal process is again written into the agreement.

My advice is to look a little more internally at your representation, and maybe ask your agent about what exactly the new CBA that you signed includes.  I think you might be surprised.

Carter stated, “I’m guilty of [placing bounties] – I mean, first time I’ve ever admitted it – but I put a bounty on guys before.” “I put bounties on guys. If a guy tries to take me out, a guy takes a cheap shot on me? I put a bounty on him right now!”

The NFL recently placed heavy penalties on numerous New Orleans management, coaches, and players when NFL Roger Goodell Commissioner found the team guilty of using a bounty program to injure opposing players.

Wednesday morning Carter appeared on ESPN SportsCenter to clarify his statement. He emphasized there was no intent to injure opponents and protection was the only intent. He stated, “The difference is people going out of their way to hurt a player. Hitting a spot that we as players know is off limits, like his knees. You’re not telling them to go out and get someone, you’re telling them to protect you, run down the field to protect their skill guys.”

Carter added, “Bill Romanowski – he told me he was going to take me out before the game, warm-ups. No problem. [He said,] ‘I’m gonna end your career, Carter.’ No problem. “I put a little change on his head before the game. Protect myself. Protect my family. That’s the league that I grew up in.”

Bill Romanowski is a Pro Bowl linebacker who was with the Denver Broncos at the time.

When asked if Carter was the only player to create bounties, he replied, “Hell, no. Listen, on the football field, you only got certain protection, and your teammates are part of that protection. It’s built in, and if I’m playing a certain position where I can’t protect myself – how can the quarterback protect himself? But for his teammates to stand up and do something, there are certain positions you can’t protect yourself.”

“But you have to realize the league we grew up in, the bounty was based on protection, or a big hit, excitement, or for helping your team win. It wasn’t to maim or hurt the dude,” said Carter, who retired from the NFL following the 2002 season.”

The big question here is this: The subject of bounties in the NFL is very toxic right now, so why would a player want to associate himself with the practice of offering bounties? It seems the best course of action would be to keep your trap shut. Carter is on television every Sunday and on various ESPN broadcasts several times a week throughout the NFL pre-season, regular season, and playoffs. Is he really wanting for attention in the off season so badly that he’ll talk about anything to get in the news? This was a really poor decision by Cris Carter, especially when there are Hall of Fame votes at risk.

Cris Carter has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist for the past five years. It will be interesting to see if these statements affect the Hall of Fame voting. For many years has been a great ambassador of the sport of American Football by displaying outstanding character and expert analysis. It would be a shame to see his reputation tarnished.

How do you believe this will affect Carter’s ability to enter the Hall of Fame? Should have kept quiet about offering bounties?

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.”

After letting my opinions be known about the Jim Tressel situation yesterday we now have word that the former head coach of The Ohio State University has also been handed down a suspension to start off his NFL career. His suspension is for six weeks while his former starting quarterback at OSU will be out for the first five weeks of the season.

This is exactly what I had wanted Roger Goodell to step up and do. The only problem is he didn’t do it. The Indianapolis Colts did. Who knows what Goodell would have done, if anything, if the Colts hadn’t suspended Tressel themselves.

I imagine that when the Colts hired Tressel they didn’t really think much of it at the time and weren’t ready for the negative backlash it brought but once they did they just decided it wouldn’t be worth the hassle to listen to people’s opinions about the Tressel/Pryor situation and got in front of it before the NFL did.

Which makes me wonder if the Colts hadn’t suspended Tressel for six games would the NFL of done so? We might not ever know unless Goodell comes out and hands out some more sanctions to Tressel but I have a feeling this suspension was approved by the NFL.

This is a win-win for the Colts and the NFL. The NFL doesn’t have to make any official decision that would have been scrutiniezed by fans, players, and members of the players association and the Colts can say they admit that what Tressel did during his time in college was wrong and hope that the whole thing goes away.

Now we just await the ruling on Pryor’s suspension appeal to see what the next chapter in this saga brings about.

The Jim Tressel/Terrelle Pryor/Ohio State saga.

We all know the sweater-vest wearing Tressel as the man who headed up The Ohio State university football program and led them to one NCAA college football national championship. In addition to that one national championship his other many accolades at Ohio State includes an undefeated season, a 106-22 win-loss record, six Big Ten Conference trophies, 5 bowl victories, 4 BCS bowl wins, and three national championship appearances.

There’s no doubt that the man can coach. He can. And there’s a reason why he got himself a gig in the NFL even though he had to resign as head coach of the Buckeyes due to the Ohio State football program being investigated for rules violations.

Everybody makes mistakes and everybody is allowed a second, third, fourth, etc., chance in life. It’s the way the world works. If the Indianapolis Colts feel like hiring Tressel to be a game day consultant for them then that’s their prerogative.

All I think is that if Roger Goodell can suspend former Ohio State starting quarterback and current Oakland Raiders supplemental draft pick Terrelle Pryor for something that had nothing to do with the NFL then the man in charge of the program while Pryor was there should be getting the same treatment.

(more…)