clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

3-4-12: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - Bountygate

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Time for some more links, this one is a bit quieter than yesterday, but we do have some speculation about former Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan also being involved with the same kind of thing the Saints are in trouble for now.

Arizona Cardinals News:

Former Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan architect of "BountyGate"?
Long before he coached the Cardinals, there were accusations -- denied by Ryan -- that he allowed bounties on opposing players as defensive coordinator of the Bears and coach of the Eagles.

Arizona Sports News:

Coyotes suffer a letdown against lowly Blue Jackets
Three third-period goals lead the Blue Jackets to a 5-2 victory over the Coyotes in Glendale.

Diamondbacks beat Giants, tie Rockies in their 2012 Cactus League debut
Chris Young and Ryan Roberts homered and an Arizona Diamondbacks split-squad beat Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants 9-6 Saturday in both teams' Cactus League opener. The Diamondbacks' other split-squad tied the Rockies 1-1 at Salt River Fields.

NFL News:

VIDEO: Peyton Manning Throwing At Duke - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
A video showing Peyton Manning working out at Duke surfaced late Friday night -- the first such video of him in action since he was "medically cleared" to play. Manning has been working out with his college offensive coordinator, David Cutcliffe, at Duke in an effort to regain his arm strength and rediscover his form while recovering from multiple neck injuries.

Source: League, union "scrambling" to push up 2012 cap number | ProFootballTalk
So why don’t teams know, only 10 days away from the launch of a new league year, the 2012 salary cap? A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the league and the NFLPA currently are "scrambling" to increase the tentative number.

Drew Brees Contract: Saints Use Franchise Tag On Star QB - SBNation.com
The New Orleans Saints have placed the franchise tag on their superstar quarterback, Drew Brees, the team announced Saturday. Brees and the Saints have reportedly been embroiled in an ugly negotiation, one that included GM Mickey Loomis calling the Super Bowl-winner and all-time single-season yardage king "very good, not great."

Saints GM Mickey Loomis: I've Always Thought Drew Brees Was Great - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
Before BountyGate took over the headlines, the Saints were mired in a much less significant controversy: Does GM Mickey Loomis think Drew Brees is "great" or simply "very good?"

No, Peyton Hillis Isn't Quitting Football To Join The CIA - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
First it was Tiger Woods thinking of quitting golf to join the Navy SEALS, now it's Peyton Hillis contemplating retirement to join the CIA. Pretty crazy, huh? Hillis thinks so, telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer he has no idea where that rumor, first reported by ESPN, came from. "It makes me sound insane," Hillis said.

Gregg Williams Ran Bounty Program With Buffalo Bills, According To Report - SBNation.com
An NFL investigation has found that former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams implemented a bounty system where players were compensated for injuring opposing players while he was with the team. Reports emerged that Williams did the same thing with the Washington Redskins. When new reports emerged on Saturday that there was no such program with the Tennessee Titans or the Jacksonville Jaguars during Williams' tender, it calmed concerns that he did this everywhere. Was the phenomenon confined to two teams? Nope.

Dungy: Gregg Williams’ Redskins may have started Peyton Manning’s neck issues | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
By the time the "BountyGate" scandal investigation is over, the only thing former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams might not have been blamed for is whatever gas prices happen to be at that time. And now that the bounty system he participated in while with the Saints can be traced back to his time as the Washington Redskins' defensive coordinator, facts that previously came to light are now going under the magnifying glass with a much harsher light cast on them.

NFL will now investigate Redskins bounty program | ProFootballTalk
Between Mark Maske’s Friday report in the Washington Post and former Redskins safety Matt Bowen’s Saturday item for the Chicago Tribune, it seems clear that, like the Saints, the Redskins under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had a bounty program. That’s apparently news to the NFL.

What could happen to Gregg Williams - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The New Orleans Saints are in trouble — deep, deep trouble — for the bounties they offered for knocking out opposing players. The question for NFC West observers is to what degree this Saints scandal will affect new St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who held the same job in New Orleans from 2009 through last season.

Saints deliver a big hit to the NFL's image
The NFL must be mortified. The league prides itself on punishing reckless players. The new mandate is all about on-field safety and limiting legal liability. And now one of their own has been caught financing rogue behavior? The Saints operated a bounty fund to destroy their fellow man. They are the dirtiest team in the league. Even Ndamukong Suh is offended.