Saints accused of "Bounty Program". Thoughts?

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Wanger

It's definitely a fine line here, but wherever you want to place the line, I'm against the implied headhunting that a bounty system has. A clean, hard shot (within the standards of a "natural play"), is something I love to see. I also love seeing the guys help each other up after such a shot, as well. What I don't like is guys taking (at least) borderline cheap shots, with the intention of causing an injury to get the opposing player out of the game. It's one thing if your QB is running for his life and getting battered because his o-line sucks, but another when the defensive players are taking those 2-3+ extra steps to get a shot on him to injure him. I think that's where my issue with the bounties lie. The perception that the players will take those cheap shots to be able to collect the payments.

As for players having the body control necessary to deliver a "minor" injury vs a major one goes...have you watched how much "control" a lot of the d-backs (and linebackers, for that matter) in the league have? LMAO. Seriously, though, I do agree that they have a greater body awareness and control than your "average" athlete. However, with the speed these guys are moving at, and the force they deliver, it's not as simple as having great body control and awareness. And, for that matter, they're not thinking "if I hit him here, it'll only cause minor damage to this part of his body, which will heal in x amount of time" when they go to make a play. They're thinking "hit hard, take him out".

I guess the main point I haven't been able to get across is that having an "official" bounty program takes away from the integrity of clean/pure competition in the sport, which is something I truly value.

See, I thought we agreed.
I illustrated that extra hard shot when a receiver comes across the middle for a specific reason. It doesn't need to be there any more than a strategy that specifically targets knocking a player out of the game, but it's also one in the same, more or less. Very often those wide receivers get helped off the field and suffer bruised ribs, etc. It's a planned and accepted head-hunting strategy that's played out the whole game, every game.
While I agree the whole "bounty" thing is infantile and wreckless, it's a part of the game that's always been and will always be there.
The breakdown here is that some nipplehead shot his mouth off and brought locker room business out in the open, which is a major no-no. They put both the players, coaches and NFL in peril. If someone is to lose their career, I think it should be the guy that shot his mouth off, not the coach who's taking the fall for it (when he clearly isn't the guy responsible for running the pool).

I think if there's one thing you and I disagree on, it's "the integrity...of the sport". That went out the window when big money rolled into town. Major League Baseball suffers from the same affliction. It's probably the most sickening in the NBA where Kobe Bryant runs the league.
At some point money became far more important than integrity. Unfortunately some of this is bleeding downhill to college and high school, but fortunately there are still a lot of coaches in small markets at those levels that still use sports as a tool to build quaility men, rather than to fill the coffers with cash.

Great points and awesome discussion, by the way. You're making me rethink all this real hard, brother.