WhoDat!656

IMO, the worst offense the Saints are guilty of is aggravated stupidity for keeping records of whatever it is the league is saying the Saints did.

TheOak

Well... can we agree that a kept record, is a kept record of "something".. No?

In my honest opinion, saying the Saints are 100% innocent... knowing this is a League systemic issue is a little too far for me to reach. Sh1t happened, the NFLPA gave Goodell his power and we are paying the price for 30 years of ignored culture. We do not deserve the punishment that we have received but nothing can be done about that. Goodell has legal power granted by the CBA with no checks in place.

The coaches are cooked, they already admitted that they were warned in 2009 and Greg Williams admitted the warning was ignored. What do we gain from a victory? A line backer near the end of his career who's productivity has fallen for two years, and a Defensive End for four games that has averaged 6 sacks for the last two seasons? If we could get coaching back then i would say it is worth it.. but we cant.

WhoDat!656

I agree that the suspensions of Smith & Vilma are inconsequential to the Saints success; the Saints have proven that they can survive a period with out Smith.

If Payton hadn't been so quick to issure his apology, (I have to believe that Benson had a hand in that), then the players wouldn't look like they just dropped their pants and bent over in front of Goodell.

TheOak

Which is the premise that the league knows very well. In one hand you have coaches apologizing and admitting and accepting responsibility (they couldn't have done it with out the players)... Then you have the players (under advice from the NFLPA) refusing to cooperate fully and go to New York to talk to Goodell.

We seem to only be looking at tangible evidence as the only thing that incriminates any players. Since the coaches issue has passed and seems like it was an eternity ago.... We seem to forget the big picture.

All of the players are fighting tooth and nail to prove their innocence and that nothing happened assuming the league has no hard evidence.

If this were to go to trial and I was the Leagues attorney I would never put a player on the stand, I wouldn't have to. The first person I would put on the stand is Greg Williams, who has already admitted to basically anything that Goodell wants him to admit to. Then I would put the following people on the stand and ask the following questions:

Sean Payton: What did you take responsibility of?
Sean Payton releases statement on Bounty-Gate | KETK

Greg Williams: What are you apologizing for the involvement in?
Bountygate bombshell: Williams, Payton suspended

Mickey Loomis: What violations, and what are you taking responsibility of?
Saints release joint statement from Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton on BountyGate Charges

And while the argument can be made that Greg Williams statements could have been motivated by his desire to be reinstated.... How do you argue that two very well respected people like Payton and Loomis are clueless and nothing happened regardless of what the players claim?

For all those who think this should be fought in a court room:
If you are a member of the jury how to do you find the players innocent after their coaches publicly admit to wrong doing going on????


Payton and Loomis did what they did to "try" and keep all of this from falling on the players.... It didnt work.