The NFL made it clear once again Wednesday: Roger Goodell is in charge. Goodell hammered New Orleans and its ex-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on Wednesday in a punishment that has to scare other teams and upset many players. It’s a ruling that will be discussed for many years.
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Goodell is not popular among the players, but if he’s going to make a statement that he does not want teams giving financial incentives to injure other players, there’s only one way to do it: loudly. That’s what he did, suspending Saints coach Sean Payton for a year and Williams indefinitely. Oh, yeah, not a good idea to lie to the commish, either, as Williams reportedly did before turning contrite.
It’s one thing to pay players for big hits (which is still disallowed because of the cap), it’s quite another to up the cash for injury-inducing blows. One ex-player said this sort of system is used by almost every team (not necessarily paying for injured opponents, however). There’s a difference between telling players to hit hard and to say you’ll pay them $5,000 to injure a player.
Goodell’s aim is to make the game safer. Will this accomplish that goal? Tough to say. Not as long as players are rewarded with huge bonuses that those big hits eventually demand. And highlight films love showing what? Big hits.
Thing is, the Saints could have avoided all of this. They were caught, asked to stop and didn’t. Placing blame for this one isn’t difficult.
– John Keim
