NEW YORK GIANTS AND THE BOUNTY-GATE SCANDAL: A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

[RoanokeFan]

NEW YORK GIANTS AND THE BOUNTY-GATE SCANDAL: A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE


"Thursday's leak of former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator,
Greg Williams’, pre-game “pep-talk” has re-ignited the already
red-hot Bounty-Gate issue. There are so many different opinions on this issue
that it felt high time that Giants 101 put something out there about it.</p>



</p><div style="DISPLAY: none"><a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with New York Giants" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/new-york-giants/" rel="tag nofollow">New York
Giants</a> Spencer Paysinger (55) signals Giants ball as Devin Thomas (ground)
recovers a <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with San Francisco 49ers" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/san-francisco-49ers/" rel="tag nofollow">San
Francisco 49ers</a> <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with Kyle Williams" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/kyle-williams/" rel="tag nofollow">Kyle
Williams</a> fumble in overtime in the NFC Championship at Candlestick Park in
<a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with San Francisco" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/san-francisco/" rel="tag nofollow">San
Francisco</a> on January 22, 2012. The Giants defeated the 49ers 20-17 and will
face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on February 5. UPI/Terry
Schmitt</div>
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Specifically, the buzz around Thursday's news actually made its way back to
the <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with New York Giants" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/new-york-giants/" rel="tag nofollow">New York
Giants</a>, thanks to the reporting of Mike Florio on ProFootballTalk.com. Once I heard the audio of Williams’
speech, I immediately remembered the story post-NFC Championship game and
figured that this would find its way back to the surface, but there is a very
major difference here.</p>


Florio’s re-reporting of the comments about <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with San Francisco 49ers" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/san-francisco-49ers/" rel="tag nofollow">San
Francisco 49ers</a> wide receiver, <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with Kyle Williams" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/kyle-williams/" rel="tag nofollow">Kyle
Williams</a>’ (thanks to comments from Giants linebacker,
Jacquain Williams, and former Giants special teams specialist,
Devin Thomas)was not necessarily out of line.
However, putting those comments on the same level as Williams’ paying his
defense to go hurt opposing players is simply sensationalism.</p>


Let’s back-track for a moment.</p>


Most NFL players have come out and acknowledged that there is some level of
admitted violence in football. After all, football is a violent sport, without question. Some have
gone as far as to say that locker-room talk does, in fact, include singling out
certain players. The biggest difference here is the idea of not just targeting
players, but offering rewards for injuring them.</p>


As reported by Dan Benton yesterday, <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with San Francisco 49ers" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/san-francisco-49ers/" rel="tag nofollow">San
Francisco 49ers</a> safety, <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with Carlos Rogers" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/carlos-rogers/" rel="tag nofollow">Carlos
Rogers</a>, claimed that they were targeting Giants quarterback
<a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with Eli Manning" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/eli-manning/" rel="tag nofollow">Eli
Manning</a> in the NFC Championship game. He did not go as far as to
say it was a bounty system, but simply that the defense needed to eliminate
Eli."</p>


These sentiments are not the problem. The nature of the beast is that
professional football
players are trained their entire lives to go out and put fear into their
opponents. That has been and always will be the mantra these warriors follow.
But again, when it comes to monetarily incentive bounty systems, it goes too
far.</p>


When the Greg Williams fiasco started, Giants coach <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with Tom Coughlin" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/tom-coughlin/" rel="tag nofollow">Tom
Coughlin</a> wasted no time in coming out adamantly against bounty
programs, saying that there was “no place in the game” for that kind of
sportsmanship. I believe that most NFL players, coaches and staff believe just
that.</p>


However, when you’re playing an opponent and know that they are nursing some
kind of ailment, it is part of the game to take that into consideration. Are
players and coaches expected to go out of their way to avoid Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick’s, ribs
when he’s back from that injury? If opposing defensive players know that Giants
running back, <a class="st_tag internal_tag" title="Posts tagged with Ahmad Bradshaw" href="http://www.giants101.com/tag/ahmad-bradshaw/" rel="tag nofollow">Ahmad
Bradshaw</a>, had bad ankles, should they avoid a necessary shoelace
tackle?</p>


The answer to both questions is no. It’s part of the game. When it is wrong
is when there is a monetary incentive in literally trying to put a player on a
stretcher. That is not sportsmanship.</p>


The line between the two may be thin, but it’s there and makes a huge
difference. As such, trying to drag the Giants into the bounty-gate scandal is
erroneous and borderline offensive. The NFL is taking a stand against
bounty-based programs and that is the correct course of action, regardless of
how things were “back in the day.”</p>


But the one thing that will never change is that these men are gridiron
warriors and will always seek-out an advantage when they see one."
</p>

[uhhuhyup22]

Nicely said, I just wrote the same sentiments in another thread. Targeting opponents injuries is not illegal, if someone is too hurt to play, dont play them. </P>


....Or make a rule that "a player with a recent concussion can't be hit in the head." ???????</P>


Florio pissed me off in his article</P>

[Roosevelt]

This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second. How many teams went after this guy's head? It's so obvious now looking back on it.

[giantsfan420]

[quote user="Roosevelt"]This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.*

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second.* How many teams went after this guy's head?* It's so obvious now looking back on it.
[/quote]

that is a great point.

i mentioned the same sentiments about football being a violent sport, and how injuries are part of the game and they can happen in any play. but that is much different that offering incentives for injury which then place malicious intent to injure as opposed as injuries being a random almost accident.

in any sport, when you know of a players injury report, there is a need to both protect the injury, and exploit it, but still, even then, that is nowhere near the level of intentionally trying to injure someone to receive monetary incentives

[RoanokeFan]

[quote user="Roosevelt"]This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second. How many teams went after this guy's head? It's so obvious now looking back on it.
[/quote]

Good point. I've always thought the GIANTS factored the number of concussions Boss had in their contract offer.

[RoanokeFan]

[quote user="Roosevelt"]This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second. How many teams went after this guy's head? It's so obvious now looking back on it.
[/quote]

Something else to consider along these lines. Every year, at the end of the season, we learn which players were playing hurt and never showed up in the weekly injury report. I always that they were just toughing it out, but could it also have been as much or more self preservation?

[Roosevelt]

[quote user="RoanokeFan"][quote user="Roosevelt"]This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second. How many teams went after this guy's head? It's so obvious now looking back on it.
[/quote]

Good point. I've always thought the GIANTS factored the number of concussions Boss had in their contract offer.
[/quote]

Agreed. Sadly Kevin saw stars was too many times, and there's only so many times you can do that.

[Roosevelt]

[quote user="RoanokeFan"][quote user="Roosevelt"]This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second. How many teams went after this guy's head? It's so obvious now looking back on it.
[/quote]

Something else to consider along these lines. Every year, at the end of the season, we learn which players were playing hurt and never showed up in the weekly injury report. I always that they were just toughing it out, but could it also have been as much or more self preservation?
[/quote]

Must be. Remember how reluctant Parcells was to put guys on this list? Now we know why.

What is the purpose of the injury report anyway? The only purpose I can think of (besides targeting injuries) is for the spread. Does the NFL care that much about Vegas?

[Roosevelt]

[quote user="giantsfan420"][quote user="Roosevelt"]This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second. How many teams went after this guy's head? It's so obvious now looking back on it.
[/quote]

that is a great point.

i mentioned the same sentiments about football being a violent sport, and how injuries are part of the game and they can happen in any play. but that is much different that offering incentives for injury which then place malicious intent to injure as opposed as injuries being a random almost accident.

in any sport, when you know of a players injury report, there is a need to both protect the injury, and exploit it, but still, even then, that is nowhere near the level of intentionally trying to injure someone to receive monetary incentives[/quote]

It's the epitome of unsportsmanlike and anyone who gets caught intentionally trying to inflict injury should receive a lifetime ban from the sport minimum. They should also lose any health benefits from the league.

There's nothing wrong with trying to exploit a player with an injury. That's part of the game. Just keep it clean.

[RoanokeFan]

[quote user="Roosevelt"][quote user="RoanokeFan"][quote user="Roosevelt"]This whole thing has made me think about the NFL's injury report, which paints a bulls-eye on each player's injury.

Just think about Kevin Boss for a second. How many teams went after this guy's head? It's so obvious now looking back on it.
[/quote]

Something else to consider along these lines. Every year, at the end of the season, we learn which players were playing hurt and never showed up in the weekly injury report. I always that they were just toughing it out, but could it also have been as much or more self preservation?
[/quote]

Must be. Remember how reluctant Parcells was to put guys on this list? Now we know why.

What is the purpose of the injury report anyway? The only purpose I can think of (besides targeting injuries) is for the spread. Does the NFL care that much about Vegas?
[/quote]

Belichick too