Sean Payton Suspended 1 Year, Saints Lose Pair of 2nd Round Picks

[killgod]

obligatory

[StealthShot]

This is the first I've heard, but rumor is Shockey was the snitch.

Yeah Warren Sapp is saying it was him who knows. But the NFL knew long before Shockey told them.

[EmpireWF]

lol @ Payton trying to cover everything up and then being shocked when the NFL busts him.

And for those counting, knubb on twitter is mad the Saints got a bigger penalty the Pats.

[Warner2BruceTD]

The ridiculous slap on the wrist the Pats received for Spygate was a joke, but that does not mean every other team that gets caught with their pants down should also get a ridiculous slap on the wrist. That's a bad angle to take on this story.

[FirstTimer]

The ridiculous slap on the wrist the Pats received for Spygate was a joke, but that does not mean every other team that gets caught with their pants down should also get a ridiculous slap on the wrist. That's a bad angle to take on this story.

IMO a 3 year bounty program of trying to injure NFL players>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Taping walk throughs and sideline signals.

[CCBrink]

They should have their Superbowl taken away

[MrBill]

This is the first I've heard, but rumor is Shockey was the snitch.

He might have been the official player snitch but people were talking about the bounty program all the way back to the NFC championship game in 2010.

[Len B]

The ridiculous slap on the wrist the Pats received for Spygate was a joke, but that does not mean every other team that gets caught with their pants down should also get a ridiculous slap on the wrist. That's a bad angle to take on this story.

What would you suggest?

Belichick was fined $500,000 for using a video camera, and they lost a first round pick, which is worth more than two bottom end second round picks.

Meanwhile, the Saints were doing a bounty hunter program. Both crimes, to me, had proper punishment.

[MrBill]

What would you suggest?

Belichick was fined $500,000 for using a video camera, and they lost a first round pick, which is worth more than two bottom end second round picks.

Meanwhile, the Saints were doing a bounty hunter program. Both crimes, to me, had proper punishment.

I'm not sure that I totally agree with that but I can see the point being made. I look at it as more of Spygate being a PR issue on how far a coach will go to win a game with no real financial impact to the league vs. the bounty program having a tangible effect on the negotiations between the league and the players union on extending the season to 18 games and driving up league profits.

Get in the way of the cash and get smacked down.

[Warner2BruceTD]

What would you suggest?

Belichick was fined $500,000 for using a video camera, and they lost a first round pick, which is worth more than two bottom end second round picks.

Meanwhile, the Saints were doing a bounty hunter program. Both crimes, to me, had proper punishment.

I'm not sure that I totally agree with that but I can see the point being made. I look at it as more of Spygate being a PR issue on how far a coach will go to win a game with no real financial impact to the league vs. the bounty program having a tangible effect on the negotiations between the league and the players union on extending the season to 18 games and driving up league profits.

Get in the way of the cash and get smacked down.

I look at it more like Spygate was a blow to the integrity of the league.

I think part of the reason Goodell went easy on New England, was because it was in the leagues best interest to sweep it under the rug and make it go away. If he would have nailed New England to the wall, and started throwing people out of the league (which is what should have happened), you end up making it a bigger story and having people questioning the integrity of the games - which is the nightmare that no league can recover from.

David Stern was in a similar spot with Tim Donaghy. It was no big secret in gambling circles that NBA refs had been dirty for many years, while most fans kept their heads buried in the sand when the topic would come up. But Stern had to downplay it, otherwise his league faced being destroyed.

[Len B]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't all teams have cameras until a league wide memo went out? Then, it was just the Patriots who continued?

Belichick showed arrogance, he got hit with a hefty fine to his wallet.

AFAIK, Williams was the only person to have this bounty system set up, and they were told to stop and continued anyway while lying to the league. That, and the actual intent to injure is much more severe. Had they stopped initially, no serious penalties would have occurred.

I get the Tim D. thing, but IMHO think that actually throwing games on purpose for money is a bit more serious than video taping to gain an edge. Both cheating, though, I do agree.

[EmpireWF]

Remember, we still don't (nor will we ever) know what they exactly videotaped. The league destroyed all the evidence.

[Houston]

A injury resulting from one of these bounties could've costed a player their career. Nobody should be complaining about Payton getting a full year for this.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't all teams have cameras until a league wide memo went out? Then, it was just the Patriots who continued?

Belichick showed arrogance, he got hit with a hefty fine to his wallet.

AFAIK, Williams was the only person to have this bounty system set up, and they were told to stop and continued anyway while lying to the league. That, and the actual intent to injure is much more severe. Had they stopped initially, no serious penalties would have occurred.

I get the Tim D. thing, but IMHO think that actually throwing games on purpose for money is a bit more serious than video taping to gain an edge. Both cheating, though, I do agree.

It's like I said earlier in the thread, the cover up is always worse than the crime. Powerful people do not respond well to being lied to and made to look like fools.

Remember, we still don't (nor will we ever) know what they exactly videotaped. The league destroyed all the evidence.

Clearly, it was a lot more than the grainy footage of Mangini doing hand signals that the public saw.

The NFL handled Spygate like the CIA handles state secrets. And for good reason.

[Aso]

Imagine having to do your draft without your HC and GM. Oh my.