The Saints may have won a battle, but they’ll lose the war
Julio Jones scores six points. Jonathan Vilma (on ground) collects no bounty. (AP photo)
Quoting a character from “Family Guy,” Jonathan Vilma took to Twitter and declared: “Victory is mine!!!!”
Quoting another animated character — Lee Corso, in the case — I say, “Not so fast, my friend.”
We can agree on this: Not being suspended beats the heck out of being suspended. But just because those players who were singled out by Roger Goodell for their parts in the Saints’ money-for-mayhem scheme have been cleared to play doesn’t mean the Saints are sitting pretty again.
For one thing, only two of the four — the linebacker Vilma and defensive end Will Smith — are still Saints. And Vilma probably can’t play anytime soon because he’s recovering from a knee injury. (Pro Football Talk speculates that he could be placed on the physically unable to perform list, which means he’d miss a minimum of six games.)
Vilma had been docked the full season, Smith for four games. Given that they’re now eligible to play, you’d have to say the Saints’ defense has been bolstered but not necessarily transformed. For one thing, the Saints had already moved to cover for Vilma’s absence, signing the free agent Curtis Lofton away from the Falcons, and at this stage — Vilma is 30, Lofton 26 — the new man might be the better player. For another, the most important suspended Saint remains shelved.
Head coach Sean Payton won’t coach again until next season, and that’s the reason the Saints won’t win the NFC South. There are some sports — hockey, say — in which coaching isn’t a big deal. In football it’s the biggest of all deals. Without Bill Belichick, would the Patriots be as good? How much difference did Jim Harbaugh make in San Francisco? How much better did the long-suffering Saints get when Payton arrived in New Orleans?
The Saints are about to face a season unlike any in the history of the sport. Their coach can’t coach all year. His interim replacement is Joe Vitt, who can’t work until Game 7 because he’s likewise suspended. Until then, offensive line coach Aaron Kromer will be the interim interim. And, not to be cruel about it, Vitt and Kromer together don’t equal one Payton. The guy may be arrogant even by genius-coach standards, but he’s a difference-maker.
As for the appellate decision: This wasn’t so much a vindication of the Saints as a defeat for Goodell. Never one to err on the side of deliberation, he often acts less like a commissioner than a czar. In this case, Goodell’s attempt to levy rough justice was an effort to be pro-active about an issue (player injuries in general, concussions in specific) that has the potential to besmirch the NFL as nothing ever has.
To read the panel’s decision is to scratch your head at the tangle of legalese. (The panel itself grants that its hair-splitting ruling could be construed as “cumbersome.”) Key sentence: “While we agree, then, that the commissioner had jurisdiction to discipline the players in this case, we are uncertain that the decision handed down was attributable, in any part, to that aspect of the program which lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the system arbitrator.”
Translated, this means Goodell overstepped. He had — and still has — the authority to suspend players for seeking to injure opponents but not for collecting money for inflicting those injuries. (Jurisdiction over monetary matters falls to the “system administrator.” Got that?) Theoretically, Goodell could take another swipe at the players, but surely he won’t. Why risk looking even more vindictive?
If this decision makes the commissioner look bad, that’s not the same as making the Saints look good. They’re still the team that got caught paying bounties, the team without its head coach until next season. They’re also the team that’s going to run second in the NFC South. The Falcons are focused in a way the 2012 Saints can never be.
By Mark Bradley
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81 comments Add your comment
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:20 pm
Mark cant believe youre not im Mizzu
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:21 pm
in Mizzu.
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:23 pm
Good thing you had some law schoolin’ to be able to explain that legaese.
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:23 pm
Sorry, my typing is atrocious this afternoon. legalese
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:28 pm
You think the Saints would prevail over the Falcons if Payton was coaching this year?
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:29 pm
I feel like i”m on a catagory run on Jeopardy
Mark Bradley
September 7th, 2012
6:30 pm
I think the Falcons would have finished ahead of the Saints no matter what, but the Saints being without their coach makes a huge difference.
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:31 pm
I guess everbody else has a life and isn’t blogging at Happy Hour on a Friday evening.
Mark Bradley
September 7th, 2012
6:32 pm
I have a life, and I’m about to cut the grass.
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:33 pm
i was really referring to me, not you. you do this as a proffession.
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:34 pm
Far, far too hot in middle Georgia to cut grass this afternoon. That’s what i told Mrs. Grantham anyway.
todd grantham
September 7th, 2012
6:36 pm
I’ll let you in on a little secret Mark. I’m not really Todd Grantham, coach at UGA. I’m really Willie Martinez, former coach at UGA. Please don’t tell anyone though.
The Saints may have won a battle, but they’ll lose the war – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) — TV Shows
September 7th, 2012
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1lovefalcons20
September 7th, 2012
8:01 pm
i hate new orleans ..thier stinkin city and their stinkin team in thier small market…move the saints to Los angeles..I HATE THE SAINTS PASSIONATELY
Atlanta truth
September 7th, 2012
8:02 pm
While we put the clearly DRUNK and STONED todd grantham to bed — night night TG — time for the adults to chat ………… The Saints will play as a contender, yet not anywhere near to the potential as would be expected without the distractions of the scandal would permit. Saints finish second or third in division. Falcons win.
Summer Fresh
September 7th, 2012
8:04 pm
“First
Summer Fresh
September 7th, 2012
8:12 pm
@todd grantham — Let’s put todd to bed now. He is clearly drunk and stoned. —- The thug criminals have been cleared to play, although it will not impact the playing season. WHY ? are players who gambled to hurt other players on the field ? Time will tell. Order of finish in NFC South: Falcons first, ummm who cares of the rest ? Saints ( embarrassment to the city of New Orleans) are stumbling around not knowing where to go. Bounty ……… the quicker picker dump from NFLer.
MacDaddy Falcon
September 7th, 2012
8:36 pm
I hate New Orleans too, but, this is the NFL and anything can happen any given Sunday. We had better be ready for NO, they still have one of the best QB’s in the league and WR’s that can catch the ball.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
September 7th, 2012
8:50 pm
And why is the AJC sticking their noses in the Saints business?
Shouldn’t they be worried about more pressing issues…..
Like……
I don’t know……..
Why the 72 million dollar qb got ZERO points in a playoff game.
Just a thought
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
September 7th, 2012
8:53 pm
Mark
What is Smith’s record vs the Saints?
Curious.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
September 7th, 2012
8:55 pm
MacDaddy Falcon
September 7th, 2012
8:36 pm
I hate New Orleans too, but, this is the NFL and anything can happen any given Sunday.
_______________________________________
Just not on in the 1st round of the playoffs
haha
September 7th, 2012
9:38 pm
falcons r saints’ b*tches.
ha ha ha ha ha.
Hurst
September 7th, 2012
9:44 pm
“The Falcons are focused in a way the 2012 Saints can never be.”
Mark, this is the dumbest thing you’ve written since you said that resigning Joe Johnson for a max contract was a great move by the Hawks.
And I love seeing the N.O. hatred here, all of you having to live in that soulless, lifeless overgrown small town pretending to be something relevant.
Najeh Davenpoop
September 7th, 2012
9:55 pm
Moot point since the Panthers are going to win the division. If I’m wrong you have my permission to make fun of me 17 weeks from now.
Teemoore
September 7th, 2012
10:21 pm
Jeez, what a biased pile of manure…..dude’s not even trying to be honest, just way too much n love with your team. If you are correct, and a coach is so very important in football, you should write about your 0-3 postseason coach in Atlanta. Can’t wait to see Brees and company beat down the Dirty Birds. Atlanta will be lucky to have a better record than Carolina this year.
Teemoore
September 7th, 2012
10:28 pm
The Saints haters on here are hilarious! I love when suspended players are called criminals. Just remember, officials are looking to throw a flag on any play, and in extreme cases, they can watch the film and hand down stiffer penalties after the fact. But none of that mattered to anyone because there are always too may haters, especially in the media, including ESPN. even better are people trashing New Orleans, when it’s a destination city on everyone’s must list.
hiramsaint
September 7th, 2012
10:54 pm
mark all worried about the Saints and his team can’t even win a playoff game…priceless !
Jeffrey
September 7th, 2012
11:09 pm
I hate Goodell Hate him.
SeenThisB4
September 7th, 2012
11:21 pm
Having Mark Bradley eliminate and be dismissive of the Saints’ chances of repeating as Division Champs, strikes me as unbridled homerism gone wild. But I get it, what else is he suppose to opine? That his team is destined to be an also-ran? LOL! Yeah, he’s not about to disenfranchise his reader base at the dawn of the new season. So, go ahead and be an amateur soothsayer Bradley, but just remember, you blew last year’s season out come, and now you blew the prediction that the Saints’ players, especially Vilma, challenges would be fruitless. GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Lookatmyaverage
September 7th, 2012
11:31 pm
All you trick angus fana getting on mark abiut him reporting the news but its you witches (replace the w with a b) thats on a falcon blog….daily talking about the Falcons. Catch a clue you sucker angus fools!
Big Crimson 75
September 7th, 2012
11:32 pm
Poop — The Panthers are a solid choice.
The Falcons still have a better team top to bottom.
13 victories two years ago & this Team has more talent.
Nolan is a MAJOR upgrade over BVG.
Julio is about to take the World by storm!!
Ryan has easily his best Pro Season.
Panthers aren’t better than the Falcons.
SeenThisB4
September 7th, 2012
11:34 pm
And by the way Bradley, Payton may very well indeed be a difference maker that the Saints won’t have, but that does not automatically convert your Smith into a difference maker. Smith IS NOT a difference maker as he has proved over the last 4 years, so how you rationalize crowning your falcan’ts into the division winner is a mystery, at best it puts the coaching for both teams at equal levels.
Then you have Ryan,………….. we have Brees, ………….check and mate.
BooBoo
September 7th, 2012
11:43 pm
Did they make a decision on Shoeless Joe Jackson too? Oh, right. That was during an era when being a tough Commissioner meant protecting the rights to be a legal monolopy, as approved by Congress. At a time when normal businesses would draw huge Federal fines, and when executives would be facing prison time for hiring goons to do bodily harm to their competition, we might as well just admit the fact that we so love the football that we don’t care what drugs they take, who they maim, or who commits suicide 5 years after retiring. It is just as Al Davis said, “Win baby, win.”
Dr. Warren
September 8th, 2012
12:38 am
Nearly every writer for ESPN, SI, etc, picked the Saints to win the NFC South, and in every “power rankings,” they are listed higher than the Falcons, too. So MB is bold to choose the Falcons with such certainty. As much as I don’t like the Saints, I suspect a team led by Drew Brees, a great team leader and future hall of famer, won’t suffer as much as some folks think. To me, the Falcons battle the Panthers, Seahawks, Cowboys, and Giants for one of the Wild Cards.
captguitarman
September 8th, 2012
2:36 am
I hate to agree, but with a guy like Brees, the Saints still hold the upper hand, head coach on the sidelines or not. We’ll see. Whether as a Wild Card contender or division winner, the Falcons need to show up this season. The sivler lining in this is that just in the nick of time, those formerly suspended players still able to play, will now have a chance to pick up a few extra bucks right from the get go.
grainger I'll
September 8th, 2012
5:19 am
can someone help me find my jacket please
grainger I'll
September 8th, 2012
5:20 am
Enter your comments here
Redcoat
September 8th, 2012
6:16 am
Seen and co. are Falcon stalkers!……Stalkers are mentally unstable and stalking is a mental disorder………..Falcon fans be tolerant, I’ve learned these people can’t help it. Their behavior
has all the classic symptoms, wanting attention( especially negative reactions toward them) and a feeling of being in control(lack of self esteem). So if you directly interact with them keep that in mind, so that you understand their comments why they come on blogs such as these.
Rdm
September 8th, 2012
7:00 am
Ludicrousndecision by the panel, but, they never miss an opportunity to give a union undeserved victories, do they?
M Styborski
September 8th, 2012
7:16 am
Yeah, the Saints are thugs… not nice boys like Michael Vick. What team was he on when he got popped for the illegal dog-fighting ring? Johnny Babineaux had HOW much pot on him when he went down? Try that without being a Falcon and see if you get probation. How many times has Bill Andrews seen the inside of a lockup fro neglecting his family? And Cornelius Bennett knows what “inside looking out” looks like as well. Does Jamal Anderson still have a mini-bar in his SUV?
Glass houses, ladies… See you in a few weeks!
rainman
September 8th, 2012
8:10 am
Mark — When Vilma was suspended for the entire year, did his salary count toward the cap? If it did not, are the Saints now
over the cap and forced to make a cut or two?
rooy
September 8th, 2012
8:14 am
we will see. Talk always walks
JNoble
September 8th, 2012
8:47 am
That’s right… Curtis Lofton left ATL for a team that he knew actually had postseason potential. Even without Payton, the Saints should continue to beat ATL… that some people actually think that might not happen with Payton is laughable.
Aqua Velva Man
September 8th, 2012
9:18 am
Not condoning the players’ actions but it was nice to see that egomaniac Goodell eat some crow.
More like...
September 8th, 2012
9:21 am
To put it another way so your small feeble minds can understand:
The commissioner knew about the Saints ‘pay for performance’ (not bounty) in 2009 and yet there were no penalties issued. He also knew about it in 2010 and the 2011 season but did nothing in the forms of punishment to convince the Saints to stop. Yet all of a sudden 3000 player lawsuits and counting against the NFL for lying about the affects concussions have NOW ol Roger wants to finger wag at the Saints? Laughable, truly laughable… and for those of you who haven’t been truly following this case what makes even less sense is the 1 player who admittedly took money (Roman Harper) didn’t get so much as a fine much less a suspension. How is it that Goodell can say with a straight face that “bounty programs” will not be tolerated, then turn around and NOT suspend Roman Harper when he admitted taking money?
The suspensions of the Saints staff and players were an absolute joke from the beginning. You can opine that Gregg Williams is a less than admirable person, but the Saints didn’t “cheat” and the NFL is certainly lacking in the evidence department. If they had what they said they did the arbitration panel wouldn’t have told Goodell to go back and try again because there was not enough evidence there to support the suspensions he issued.
Tree
September 8th, 2012
9:40 am
Way to set the precedent, NFL.
SirReal
September 8th, 2012
9:54 am
I agree Mark. These guys are definitely not sitting pretty right about now. They still will not be the team this season that they think they are. Can we say illusions of grandeur?
DropDuble
September 8th, 2012
10:31 am
In the Saints 13-3 Seasons of 2009 and 2011, they outscored opponents by 10.5 and 13 points/game
In the Falcons 13-3 Season of 2010, they outscored opponents by 7.8 points/game.
In the Saints 11-5 Season of 2010, they outscored opponents by 4.8 points/game.
In the Falcons 10-6 Season of 2011, they outscored opponents by 3.2 points/game.
In the Postseasons of 2009, 2010, and 2011, the Saints have a 4-2 record, and a Super Bowl championship.
In the Postseasons of 2009, 2010, and 2011, the Falcons have an 0-2 record, and have not won a Super Bowl.
In Playoff losses over the last two years, the Saints have lost 68-77, or 4.5 ppg. They have OUTGAINED their opponents in First Downs and Yards, 58-36, and 946-822. The Saints had 6 turnovers to their opponents 2 in those games.
The Falcons playoff losses were detailed by losing 23-72, or 24.5 ppg, and being OUTGAINED in both First Downs and Yards, 29-47, and 441-889. The Falcons had 4 turnovers to their opponents 1 in those games.
One of these teams is GENUINELY GOOD. The other scored ZERO offensive points last year in the playoffs and is NOT GENUINELY GOOD.
One of these teams knows its identity and will continue to be the Gold Standard Offensive unit in the NFL. The other team is trying to transform itself into what the first team is, but they fail miserably to understand that you cannot just wish your QB to be something other than he is: painfully average.
Yes, Mr. Bradley, continue to match the organization you cover, cluelessness for cluelessness. Maybe if you wish hard enough, the Falcons will have been competitive with the Saints in the W/L column over the last six years… WISH, because reality is 10-2, Saints. WISH, because aggregate score is 332-235, or 27.7-19.9, MORE than a TD/game, MORE than the Falcons miracle 13-3 Season Point Differential. WISH, because the Saints have won 4 games by more than 20 points in this series, in this span–WISH, because the Falcons have won ZERO games by more than 20 points in this series, in this span… WISH…
joe
September 8th, 2012
10:34 am
All you Saints fans hold up both hands. That is ten fingers. That is how many games you clowns will lose this year.
Phil from NOLA
September 8th, 2012
10:42 am
Not only can anything happen on any given Sunday, but don’t underestimate the tenacity of the Saints, especially with Drew Brees’ leadership. They are fired up and have the offense to make use of it. If the defense holds up the commenter above is dead right that the Falcons shouldn’t underestimate the competitiveness of the Saints. This is a great rivalry and always has been and the complacency of Falcons fans is a perfect setup for another disappointing season for them.