. the only difference between what was being done back now and what Williams did in New Orleans is phraseology ... Gibbs called it, "knocking-down", Williams hyped it up by calling it, "carting-off" or "knocking-out".

Doesn't make it right, but does put it a little more in perspective.

You make a really interesting point SloMo -- I have been wondering myself, how much of this "bounty" business in the locker room was really just RHETORIC and POSTURING and THEATER. Like "cart 'em off!" "knock 'em out!" and the ridiculous stunt with Vilma and the alleged putting the $10,000 on the table. I mean aside from being totally illegal per NFL rules, it's also great THEATER and a great PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVATOR! How much of it was really THAT, I wonder, rather than a serious intent to scheme to hurt an actual player. It's kind of obvious, since every single player I've read about who was actually there in the meetings that has spoken out so far (Sharper, Fujita, McRay, Jenkins) seems to be painstakingly denying the injury part of it, while most are freely admitting that yeah, money was kinda paid around for various things, it happens. Some even seem kinda blindsided, dumbfounded, or surprised, that it is even being made into such a big deal.

The radio interview with Darren Sharper very clearly made it sound more like, he was talking about $100 here, $150 there, for interceptions, fumbles, sacks, big plays. And Fujita even mentioned paying someone for making a special teams tackle inside the 20. That routine play that happens every game, has ruined many an NFL career, I'm sure!

But I am beginning to suspect, that a lot of this mess was basically just stupid GREGG WILLIAMS TRASH TALKING, and his raunchy rhetoric, added on and piling more of his stupidity on top of the stuff that has been going on in NFL locker rooms for years/decades. Whether it was really "meant" or not, who knows -- Bobby McRae said via Twitter that there was no "pot" and he never got a cent for the big hit on Warner, but he did get a league fine. Meanwhile Gregg Williams was always running his big mouth off at the podium and saying really stupid stuff (and then not backing it up with action, but that's another story).

I mean in the heat of the moment I've pumped my fist in the stands and yelled "kill 'em! kill 'em!" when an opposing QB is running around scrambling from defenders, it doesn't mean I literally want the defense to actually kill him. How much of this was really that, I wonder.