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.”

Sean Payton and the Saints, along with the NFL find themselves in unchartered territory with the suspensions of coaches, GM’s and soon to be multiple players, and like most places that enforce or institute new rules, not all the angles were figured out beforehand.  The Saints are said to be looking at a few options to “Replace” Payton as head coach.  It would be my thought that the NFL figured they would temporarily promote from within if the Saints decided to keep both Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis the G.M.  It seems the Benson family has decided to give each a second chance.  Sean has also been rumored  to be  doing some work at FOX this season.

Here’s My Take:  The Commissioner should write the Saints and Sean Payton a quick note stating that if the Saints Replace Peyton from outside the organization, then Sean will have been deemed to be “replaced” in the organization.  Also if Sean decides to leave the NFL and work for FOX, he will be deemed as no longer under the employ of the NFL or the Saints.  What does this accomplish?

Well if Sean is no longer employed by the league or the Saints….he will be deemed to have NOT served his suspension.  Just like when Manny Ramirez was suspended from MLB, and he decided to leave baseball….upon his return he still needed to serve his 50 game suspension. I say the same should apply here.  If Payton goes and works for FOX, then he needs to leave the NFL formally, afterall how can you have a suspended coach entering other teams facilities to do interviews.  How can he be allowed to have access to all the information given in confidence?  How can you ensure he wouldn’t be on the phone passing along info to the Saints?  Both The Saints and Payton should be forced to make a decision…..Keep Payton, promote from within, and have him serve his suspension, or have him step down, resign from the team and the NFL, and take the chance at getting re-hired while still needing to serve his season long suspension.  It’s only fair.

Many had thought , for good reason, that the NFL would pair the previous two Super Bowl Champions against each other with the Packers making a trip to New Jersey.   The news came out that actually the NFL had been considering the Cowboys and Saints as opening night opponents for the Giants, and with the mess the Saints have gotten themselves into, they were obviously disregarded as a possibility.

So. it’s all set…..Wednesday September 5th in New York against the Cowboys, hope they don’t mind a little Ring Ceremony before the start of the game!

Expect the NFL to keep the information coming as rule changes will be voted on, Player punishments for the Saints, and the new NIKE uniforms are unveiled next week (April 3rd).  Oh yeah, and a little thing called the NFL Draft is just a month away.

This will be a great story to follow in the next few days!

We knew the NFL wanted to come down hard on the Saints and especially the coaches, and this they did.  The Saints will also be fined $500,000 and lose a second round pick in this years and next years draft.

More to come as they will also address players that participated

Gregg Williams has always been an overrated, one trick pony, and now might lose his position with the Rams.

A link to the whole story is here: NFL.COM

Earlier today we wrote a post about how the Giants needed to apply pressure on the Packers and steal 2 possessions to have a chance to win.  They actually stole four possessions, but Referee Bill Leavy gave two of them back to the Packers.  No matter, instead of getting credit for a 37-6 win, and keeping the high flying Packer offense out of the end zone, the Giants settle for a 37-20 win and a trip to San Francisco for their 5th NFC Championship game.  Tomorrow we will break it down play by play.

So, First the “experts” picked the Eagles to be the team of the year. Then it was the Jets and the Cowboys. Then the darlings of the media were the Packers and of course the “Great at Home” New Orleans Saints.  And yet the Tom Coughlin led New York Football Giants will try to make it to their 2nd Super Bowl in 5 years….Rex Ryan must be beside himself.

(more…)

Defensively, the Giants came out of the game banged up a little, with Osi and Michael Herzlich sporting sprained ankles. Generally, the G-Men got little to no pressure on the QB, falied to cover the receivers, and the result was a number of big plays for the Saints offense. Special Teams were OK, and we can’t blame Steve Weatherford for failing to pick up the first down. The snap was low, and the effort to generate some offense was necessary.

From the standpoint of preparation, Kevin Gilbride appears to be unable to establisha running game, Perry Fewell seems to be unable to come up with a solid defense, and Tom Coughlin will again be forced to deal with the prospect of another late season collapse. The Giants are now a game behind Dallas, with five games to go. The only positive is that two of the games are against the Cowboys, but Dallas has been playing very well of late. Next up: the undefeated Packers are coming to town. Once again, a tough opponent looms, and the Giants are behind the eight ball.

The Giants Across the Board

Fox Sports: 14(14)

The Giants couldn’t cover any of Saints receiver on Monday night and the pass rush didn’t help them at all. This is a team that is built to pressure the quarterback, and didn’t sack Drew Brees even once. On offense, the Giants need to find a running game to complement Manning and the passing game. Brandon Jacobs doesn’t have the skill set to be the feature running back in this offense. They need Ahmad Bradshaw back in a hurry.

I like to think that having AB44 back would make a big difference for the offense, but I have very little faith in that offensive line and their ability to make lanes for any runner. True, they are good at protecting Eli, but that’s not going to be enough down the stretch.

CBS Sports: 14(12)

They were terrible against the Saints on Monday night and now have a short week to turn it around against Green Bay. The way that secondary played against Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers probably can’t wait.

Really, what quarterback would not want to face the Giants right now? Rodgers is having an incredible season, I hate to think about the numbers he could put up this weekend.

NFL Mocks: 16

This team is not that far away from being a really good team, but there are things that hold them back like their inconsistency and their inability to win late season games. They have a franchise (dare I say Elite) quarterback, talented WR, a great pass rush, and a lot of talent in the secondary (Amukamara, Rolle, Webster, Thomas, Phillips, Ross are all 1st or second round picks). What is the missing ingredient? Offensive line this year. Coaching? I’m not sure, they need to figure it out though.

It’s always the little things that separate the good from the great. Unfortunately there are a lot of little things that need to be fixed here. The worst part is not all of it is fixable, because there have been just too many injuries suffered by this team, and it feels never-ending. (more…)

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves and focus on this messy game.

(more…)

Let’s take a look at who many believe to be the top teams in the league and how they are faring defensively:

Green Bay: Ranked 30th in total defense averagng over 393 yards per game allowed

New England: Ranked 32nd in total defense

New Orleans: Ranked 25th in total defense

Chicago: Ranked 23rd

Houston, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore rank 1st to third in that order…….so if you still believe that Defense Wins Championships…One of those three teams will be wearing the crown come February.

The Giants are now 6-5 on the season and two games out of the NFC East lead. Still, the season still has potential to be salvaged with two huge games against the Cowboys looming after undefeated Green Bay comes into town next week.

Some observations from the game:

-I don’t know if Kevin Boothe and Stacy Andrews really make that much of a difference but the offensive line looked much better overall against the Saints. Unlike last week against the Eagles, Eli Manning had enough time to throw and the whole offense looked better as a result. The running game still didn’t look very strong but at least they gave Jacobs some holes to work with this week. It’s also worth noting that the o-line did not commit any costly holding penalties for what felt like the first time this year. Those have hindered the Giants all season. Need I remind everyone of the one that killed a New York drive in the San Francisco game?

-Hakeem Nicks looked like his old self for the first time in weeks. Look at the screen pass he caught on the Giants’ last drive of the first half, where he shook two defenders in order to get a first down. It would appear as if he is finally 100% healthy. So of course he sustained a bruised rib

-I cannot for the life of understand why Kevin Gilbride thinks it’s a good idea to try and get Brandon Jacobs to run wide. He may not be the Jacobs of 2008 but he’s still somewhat effective when he’s putting his shoulder down, plowing people over and getting going downhill, as he did on the touchdown run.

-The Giants’ struggles in most aspects have been pretty well-documented but one area where they’ve been weak but hasn’t been talked about much is punt and kick returns. They haven’t had much success in gaining a lot of positive yardage after the catch, no matter who is returning punts and kicks. But it looks as if Da’Rell Scott has changed that. Several times he was one broken tackle away from breaking loose.

-After last week’s game against the Eagles, Giants fans were understandably nervous about the linebackers defending passes up the middle. Well that concern wound up taking the back seat. Big plays absolutely killed the Giants all night. It felt like that gave up more big plays in this game alone than the rest of the season combined.

-Where oh where has the Giants pass rush gone? They’ve led the league in sacks for a good part of the year but for the second week in a row, they’ve gotten minimal pressure on the opposing quarterback. And when the defensive front isn’t applying pressure, it really exposes the weakness in New York’s secondary, which leads to them giving up the aforementioned big plays.

-For the first time in 23 games, New York did not have a defensive takeaway.

-Giants fans have many reasons to be grateful for Victor Cruz and this game showed why. He (along with Manning) continued to play hard, even when it was clear that the game was out of the Giants’ hands. Those are the kind of guys you want on your team. He also showed good awareness by not doing his famous salsa dance celebration after either of his two touchdown catches. Both of those two little things demonstrated that he’s a character guy and I’ll take that any day of the week. He’s only 43 yards away from crossing the 1000 yards receiving mark. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t drafted, huh?

He still needs to work on his dropped passes though.

-I’m sorry but the Da’Rel Scott fumble was bogus. His elbow and forearm were clearly down before the ball came loose. I don’t know what they refs were looking at on that review. It should’ve been overturned. I have no other complaints about the officiating in the game otherwise but the Giants losing that challenge stung.

I ask the question if the Giants are desperate enough to go to New Orleans and win a tough NFC game on the road.  The Eagles played with passion and focus last week.  The Bills, Chiefs, Broncos, and even the Dolphins played games this week to save their season, and played with passion, focus, and desperation.  Now, with three division games remaining, this is in no way a game that makes or breaks the Giants season, but it sure would be nice to see the execution, the pride, and the effort that was lacking last week. (more…)

All told, the prognosis for a Giants victory seems limited, and we now detail our reasons why.First, the Saints had a late bye week, and come into the game relatively healthy. The Giants, as noted are banged up both physically and emotionally. Historically, the Giants thrive when they are faced with a must win situation, and this game describes things perfectly. On the defensive side of the ball, the Giants are starting three rookie linebackers, and they haven’t been all that impressive in game situations to date. Jimmy Graham presents a unique challenge for the Giants. The situation could become especially hellish for the G-Men if Darren Sproles gets untracked. The Falcons managed to take him out of the game plan, but unless Perry Fewell can work a miracle, it doesn’t appear as if the Giants will be able to stop both Graham and Sproles.

The Saints running backs have ability and depth, and look as if they will have the opportunity to run on the Giants. It sounds like the same old song, but the Giants haven’t been completely effective at stopping the running game this year. Once again, if the Saints can run the ball, it will set up their passing game, and make for a long night. If the Giants have shown one ability, it is the ability to sack and pressure the opposing QB. Of late, the D has been getting more pressure on the opposing QB’s they face, but not as many sacks. Conversely, the Giants have 6 INT’s in November, the most in this season. Conversely, Brees has thrown more INT’s this season that in previous years.

The Saints are vulnerable to teams that have a dynamic passing attack, especially among the receivers. The G-Men meet this criteria, although it appears as if Mario Manningham’s injury is more serious than it appears. Ahmad Bradshaw appears to be another scratch, and everyone is wondering when Brandon Jacobs will show up. When he carries the ball 21 or more times the Giants’ record is sharply positive. If he can’t get started, then we’re looking at Ware and Scott.

General trivia: Eli Manning has never beaten the Saints, and Saints head coach Sean Payton is 2-0 againts his former team. The Saints play well in November, with a record of 12-2 since 2008. If there is any consolation or hope for the Giants, it is this: they beat the St. Louis Rams 28-16 back in September in an ugly game. The Rams pasted the Saints  31-21 back in October in a game that was even uglier for the Saints.

My heart hopes the Giants can pull off the upset, but my head tells me that the odds are against us. Who Dat Dere gonna beat dem Saints? This week, not the G-Men. New Orleans 31, Giants 17. I hope to eat a healthy serving of crow come Tuesday morning.

GIANTS

NYG Ahmad Bradshaw RB Foot:    Out

Derrick Martin S Hamstring:    Out

Will Beatty T Eye:  Out

Michael Boley LB Hamstring:   Doubtful

Michael Clayton WR Knee:   Questionable

Mario Manningham WR Knee:   Questionable

Osi Umenyiora DE Knee:   Probable

Danny Ware RB Concussion:   Probable

Kareem McKenzie T Toe:   Probable

Justin Tuck DE Ankle :  Probable

SAINTS

Turk McBride DE Ankle:   Out

Jonathan Vilma LB Knee:   Questionable

Cameron Jordan DE Hand:   Probable

Patrick Robinson CB Stomach:   Probable