May 22, 2013

NFL News: Seneca Wallace signs with Saints for one year

April 15, 2013 by 4 Comments

The news had it that Seneca Wallace was visiting the Raiders and somewhat close to coming to agreement, but that must not have been the case. Seneca Wallace reportedly signed with the Saints today on a one-year deal.

Assuming that Seneca Wallace is officially a backup and only a backup, you have to think New Orleans would be a preferable place to try and win the backup job. The Saints have talent and are getting their head coach, Sean Payton, back after a one-year suspension for “bounty-gate” 1 conclusions.

Details of the deal were not immediately disclosed, but judging by other deals we’ve seen, including here with Jason Campbell, I’d be surprised if it was a whole heck of a lot of NFL dollars.

[Related: Trent Richardson says he may always have “lingering pain” in ribs]

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  1. I did that on purpose because I know some of you DESPISE the “bounty-gate” label. [back]

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Browns fans shouldn’t pay for Saints bounty program

March 27, 2012 by 20 Comments

As the New Orleans Saints scramble to make plans for Sean Payton’s year off from the game (possibly by talking to Bill Parcells) the players who played with the Saints from 2009 – 2011 wait for punishments to be handed down. As is the case with Scott Fujita and the Browns, they have to wait to pay the piper for sins that occurred under a completely different organizational umbrella. While Scott Fujita is a man who made choices and presumably earned some form of punishment, it seems rather odd that that punishment could end up being felt in Berea and all around the country wherever Cleveland Browns fans choose to roam.

So, is there a way for the player to be punished while not punishing the fans of a new team in a new organization that presumably had their house in order, at least with respect to bounty programs? I think there is. [Read more...]

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Punishment fits the crime in Saints case

March 22, 2012 by 54 Comments

When the “bounty” program that the Saints were running came to light, I was one of the first ones to wonder what the big deal was. I would never claim that a bounty system is legal or even ethical, but in a game where it is a defense’s primary objective to use physicality to stop the opposing offense from moving the ball, it just didn’t seem all that crazy to me. I didn’t know the full story. What the Saints did was far worse than just running a bounty system that rewarded players for big plays and injuring opposing stars. They lied about it in order to keep their illegal system going long after the NFL first started investigating.

The cliché is that the cover-up is worse than the crime. I don’t even necessarily agree with that, because covering up your crime is a pretty natural defense mechanism. Again, I am a pretty understanding person and ultimately we are talking about a game that is violent by nature. The bounty system is over the line, but I’m not going to pretend like I am outraged or that I don’t understand. Where I finally started understanding Roger Goodell is that the Saints kept their bounty program going even after it was first investigated. In the end, this seems to be what drew the level of punishment that the Saints received. In my mind it is the thing that ultimately justifies the NFL’s actions as well. [Read more...]

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Pre-Game Intel – Browns vs. Saints

October 22, 2010 by 7 Comments

When and Where: Sunday October 24th, 2010 – 1:00 PM – Superdome – New Orleans, LA

Overview: They are the champs.  The New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees won the Super Bowl in case you forgot.  Maybe someday a Browns quarterback can pose for a picture like Brees is going on the right.

A couple weeks ago, it appeared that like many teams that play that many games in a prior year that the Saints had a bigtime hangover.  They were 3-2 and in the games they won, their margin of victory was 10 points.  Like, for all three games.  Five point win against Minnesota, three point win against Frisco, and a two point win against Carolina.  Add in a three point loss to Atlanta and a ten point loss to the Cardinals and rookie QB Max Hall and Browns fans could have been thanking their deity of choice that the Saints weren’t the same team that won it all a year ago.

Well, then last weekend when the Browns were getting injured further in Pittsburgh the Saints were getting it together in plastering the Buccaneers 31-6 on the road.  Drew Brees hit on some really big plays and they plastered the Buccaneers.  Great.  Just in time for the Browns to find themselves licking their wounds on the road in the dome!

[Read more...]

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