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The NFL's penalties for the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal began in complete full force Monday.


Aaron Kromer says the New Orleans Saints suspensions are 'an opportunity for someone to step up'.



Coach Sean Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma have been removed for months and are slated to be banned until at least February. Interim coach Joe Vitt, General Manager Mickey Loomis and defensive end Will Smith endured an emotional final meal with the Saints players and staff during the annual captain's dinner Sunday night as the three also left for suspension land.

Aaron Kromer officially became one of the faces of the New Orleans Saints franchise as the offensive line coach began his tenure as interim to the interim coach. Kromer discussed having a plan and staying with that plan during his now weekly Monday press conference.

Hurricane Isaac wasn't in anyone's plans and Kromer referred to the damaging storm in a way he hopes the players and the storm-suffering fans can relate to with the Saints leading into their season opener against the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

"The Gulf Coast is always on our mind," Kromer said. "I talked to the team this morning about that adversity and that this isn't adversity, having a new coach, Game 1, having Joe Vitt during the preseason, having Sean Payton have to leave when he did. That's not adversity. That's an opportunity for all of us to step up. Adversity is when your house is flooded and you can't go home.

"And that's what we talked about that those are the things in life that you're going to find out about yourself. And our guys over time have realized that the fans and the people in this area can always bounce back. And we live by that. No matter what happens, we know the community is going to bounce back. And we know the community has our back and we have the community's back."

Kromer's message was well received in the locker room.

"We understood that there was going to be built-in distractions, but the makeup of our team and the makeup of our leadership are the kind of guys that upper management brings in who really stands strong," cornerback Jabari Greer said. "We believe we have a great opportunity this year to do something special regardless of the situation."

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Rugby Saint II

The football field is their sanctuary............awesome!

homerj07

the NFL has it's head shoved so far up it's own ass it has to fart to speak!!