Quick Snaps: March 26, 2012

In this Twitter-happy universe, I think I'll bestow upon my fledgling readership some quick snap judgments on the latest news from the NFL:

5 Quick Thoughts on the Saints Bounty Scandal

1. The punishments from Bounty Gate are very harsh, but Sean Payton got his just desserts. Yes, the Commish threw down the hammer in ways few imagined last week, ways that absolutely pain this loyal Saints fan. But Payton & co. had a Get Out of Jail Free card they refused to exercise two years ago. What better way to take advantage of a gimme warning from the NFL than to lie flagrantly and perpetuate a foolish system that clearly had little impact on defensive performance beyond 2009?
2. There are underlying motives for the Saints' punishment beyond player safety. I don't doubt for a second that Commissioner Goodell's bounty sanctions are a reflection of the league's priority on player safety and, in part, a jab at what Goodell has termed Payton's arrogance. But I also suspect that the unprecedented severity of the sanctions is also the NFL's way of [hopefully] mitigating potential lawsuits and a public demand for deeper investigations into other teams' locker room pay practices. By making an example of the Saints' follies, the team may be atoning for potential further public or player outcry.
3. Payton's ACL hiatus last season will be a good window into this season's expectations. Et tu, Jimmy Graham? He might have brought on the nastiest injury of any Saints player when he accidentally took out Coach Payton during the first half against the Buccaneers last season. The team was left almost entirely to the devices of Pete Carmichael and Joe Vitt in his absence and fared okay minus one inexplicable loss to the St. Louis Rams. Unless this Parcells rumor shakes out, we can probably expect a 9-7 season, give or take, with the possibility of a Wild Card appearance. Having Curtis Lofton around makes me feel a little better though...
4. Drew Brees needs to get paid now, especially since he'll be coaching the team. Yes, as many have pointed out since the Bounty story broke, all of the cards are in Drew Brees' hand for negotiating a long-term deal now. Given that Mickey Loomis has a lot more cement in his head than many of us realized, I'm not nearly as confident that he'll do what is necessary to keep the Saints' best asset around past this year. But if he does, it is Pay Day.
5. The Super Bowl home team curse [apparently] continues. 46 years into this thing, not one of the NFL's 32 teams has been able to secure a Super Bowl bid in their home stadium despite many promising opportunities. One need only look to Peyton Manning's perfect attendance (and neck stability) disintegrating last year, or the dumb Cowboys' immediate performance collapse two years ago to see a shadow might be cast on the Super Dome this year, just as the Saints seemed to be finding their peak offensively speaking and looking for a home team spot in XLVII. Economic conspiracy for tourism dollars? Probably not, but sucks just the same.

3 Quick Thoughts in Other NFL News, QB Edition

1. I shudder to think what Mark Sanchez is going to "teach" Tim Tebow about quarterbacking in New York. Talk about the blind leading the blind.
2. Peyton Manning's move to Denver is a big gamble on the Broncos' part. $96 million to a 38-year-old quarterback with known serious injury risks? Even if only a quarter of it is guaranteed money, I don't see Manning having a Favre-esque comeback in Mile High. Shoulda come home to Tennessee.
3. Prediction: Alex Smith is going to slump with his fat contract. There's a great Freakonomics bit on the NFL Network about declining player performance following big long term contracts. Given how much of a jealous cry baby Smith was when San Francisco started flirting with Manning, I'm guessing he's heading for a corresponding pout-fest on the field in 2012.

How To Lose Fans and Alienate People

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a GIGANTIC New Orleans Saints fan. I watched in despair as Mike Ditka sold the whole draft for bust-tastic Ricky Williams and as the team flirted with San Antonio and Los Angeles for permanent refuge after Hurricane Katrina. Multiple 3-13 seasons later, I still recall with total clarity the moment Tracy Porter ran back a pick six that rocked Bourbon Street for weeks, still disbelieving that I would ever see the Saints go to, much less win, a Super Bowl in my lifetime.

With the Saints’ record-shattering offense and practically assured annual playoff spot these days, I certainly didn’t foresee the apparent downward spiral the team is now in, not in a million years. Fair weather fan I am not, but how could so much go so wrong so quickly for a team that has continued to show such promise and fell only a few defensive plays short of another NFC Championship bid? Here’s a simple recipe, courtesy of your New Orleans Saints leadership, for How to Lose Fans and Alienate People in three simple chronological steps:

1) Devalue Your Most Valuable Player

There is virtually nothing else Drew Brees could have done to prove himself and his value to the Saints on and off the field this season. He took it on himself to lead team training during a messy lockout, consistently delivered in the clutch when the team needed him and, oh yeah, outright shattered NFL passing records that have stood for 30+ years. The playoff losses to the Seahawks and 49ers in the past two postseasons were products of injuries and defensive gashing in the former case, and untimely turnovers and more defensive gashing in the latter case. He helped acquire Darren Sproles and always makes every one of his receivers look exceptional, not to mention he is probably one of the only professional athletes that I think anyone would categorically say has a heart of gold.

This is a player contributing at his peak in every sense and yet General Manager Mickey Loomis obviously cannot find enough reasons to commit long term to a player that has paid absolute dividends since arriving in New Orleans in 2006. A franchise tag for an elite 33-year-old quarterback who just seems to get better and better? It may be business, but it speaks volumes about how the Saints are [not] taking care of their top talent, which leads me to:

2) Play Russian Roulette with Your Free Agents

I may be speaking too soon since we have yet to see how free agency treats the Saints or any team for that matter, but the Brees franchise tag means less spending money with the team salary cap this year, a critical factor in determining who else the team can afford retaining. There will be a lot of tough decisions ahead but none more important than All Pro offensive lineman Carl Nicks and wide receiver Marques Colston.

If I’d had my druthers as an armchair GM, Brees would get the long term deal, Nicks would get the franchise tag and Colston would be released, since Brees has always and will continue to find capable, open receivers to make into stars. But with a defense that needs serious upgrades, no early draft picks and a handful of other important free agents, the Saints are now left with less money and mo’ problems. The laws of P. Diddy need not apply. Based on how the front office has handled Brees, there’s no telling what we can expect when it comes to what will be much tougher, more complicated decisions.

3) Reward the Despicable

Although this has emerged most recently, it is by far the most disheartening of these or any other issue I’ve ever witnessed as a Saints fan. On Friday, ESPN broke a story that former Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams implemented a “bounty” scheme during his three-year tenure in New Orleans that awarded bonuses to teammates who injured or took out players from other teams.

Nevermind that this is apparently a common practice among several other NFL teams and that the Saints may end up being the first among many teams to be penalized. Nevermind that many inside the league and out will say it is hypocritical in a sport like this to glorify violence in public forums on one hand and chastise teams who foster this culture privately in locker rooms. It is simply wrong. I don’t know another way to say it. Paying one person to injure another in ways that can end a career or ruin one’s health and quality of life thereafter is unacceptable. It serves only to amplify what are already unfortunate outgrowths of the game and, even worse, creates a culture of dehumanization and abject selfishness among players. If Kurt Warner becomes just another mass of brain cells that stands between you and your $1,500 payout, this isn’t “just part of the game,” it’s systemic, brutal and immoral.

Admittedly, this was not how I planned to start off my sports blogging days, but here’s to hoping for better days ahead. The faintest silver lining is that the Saints have a chance to start fresh with new DC Steve Spagnuolo and that chips on shoulders like these sometimes spur on the kind of motivation coaches dream of. If the team morale is anything like mine, though, it will be an uphill battle.