thebdj

Guys,

I've been a huge Saints fans for a good few years now. Any question about my commitment to the team can likely be removed as I was standing there in San Francisco watching the heartbreak right in front of me in the Playoffs last season.

I've got a few thoughts on the whole bounty thing and I would like to see what you think:

1) None of what has been going on, assuming it actually did to the extent we have been led to believe, is cheating. It is unethical, but not cheating. Any talk of tainting Superbowls is rubbish. The rules are in play during the game. The referee can flag foul play or dismiss someone from a game. I've never seen so many flags for pansy hits over the last few years so if the Saints were truly cheating then that would be something like bribing the ref to turn a blind eye or not call something. Not cheating.

2) If the Saints ran as disgraceful a bounty system as we are led to believe then how come the stats don't add up? Not one of the most penalised teams. One of the teams with the fewest sacks. Were we just really rubbish at trying to play our own bounty game? I'm not convinced.

3) The game is about trying to force pressure and rush the passer when you are on Defense (amongst other things). If you get a chance to hit the most prized asset of a team, surely you would do it? You try to do it within the rules of the game and sometimes you get called up. That's just playing hard. If I was a DE and I got loose on the blind side and saw I had time to hit the QB clean, i'm telling you right now, I am going to hit him as hard as I possibly can. Let me also tell you that I am going to try and hit him and knock him out of the game. That gives my team the edge. That is competition.

On point 3 above, let me just explain the premise of my football (soccer) which I can draw a number of parallels to. Depending on the nature of any tackle you make, you may be called up for a foul. You may draw a yellow card, a second yellow card and be sent off or a straight red card and be sent off.

You are taught a number of things from a very young age.

1) When you make a tackle, do your utmost to get the ball first (thus making it a legitimate tackle) and then take the man out as well.

2) Unless it's a complete leg-breaker, you always get one free hit where the ref will issue you a verbal warning early in the game, so stick a solid challenge (not ball first) through the player you are marking.

3) At any point a quick, skilful player is having a particularly good game and/or is showing off, make a decision between you to sacrifice a yellow card and go and take the player out.

These are all naturally competitive edges. Players think twice about taking you on as a defender if you've hit them. They get pressured into making bad passes. It deflates their morale and gives your team the edge.

One thing though, you NEVER look to hit someone to break their leg, or injure them or end any sort of career. You play the game within the confines of the game and look for the competitive edge.

So in summary, am I just being a traditional English hooligan or do I feel right to be slightly aggrieved by all of this at the moment?

The SuperDome is my Church and Sean Payton still takes the sermon!