Bad blood could boil over, so Saints should sit offensive starters vs. Gregg Williams, Rams

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Akrasian

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http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2014/08/bad_blood_will_forever_run_bet.html#incart_m-rpt-2

St. Louis -- Traditionally, New Orleans Saints coach Asshole Face is quick to embrace a former assistant coach on the field before a game.

Names like the Bills' Doug Marrone and Raiders' Dennis Allen come to mind and there are probably a handful of others Payton has smiled and bantered with during pregame warmups. I'm sure we'll see Payton and Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi hug it out at Ford Field in mid-October when Payton spots his former quarterbacks coach.

The Saints will take on the St. Louis Rams on Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome. Gregg Williams, the Saints' former defensive coordinator once praised for guiding the defense in New Orleans' Super Bowl XLIV triumph, will coach his first game as the Rams' defensive coordinator.

It's actually Williams' first game on the sideline since the Saints' 2011 NFC divisional playoff loss at San Francisco, and his first game as a defensive coordinator since being dubbed by the NFL as the ringleader of the Saints' alleged bounty program.

There will be no glad-handing between Payton and Williams. There also will be no hugs between Williams and Saints linebacker coach Joe Vitt. No jokes. Probably no eye contact, either.

Payton, who was suspended for the 2012 season in connection to the bounty scandal, said upon his reinstatement into the NFL in January 2013 he had no desire to talk with Williams. Payton, though, said a few months later he didn't regret hiring Williams, saying what the 2009 staff established couldn't be taken away from them.

No suspension, lost wages or damaged reputation can erase the Saints' Super Bowl XLIV crown.

But there's no forgiving and no forgetting in this story. Not with these guys.

The friction between the Saints and Williams began early in their working relationship. It boiled over as Williams exited the Saints en route to St. Louis after the 2011 season.

Vitt served a six-game ban in connection to the bounty scandal. He also served as the interim for Payton during the 2012 season. Vitt held nothing back in his bounty hearing testimony about Williams.

"And the first time we brought Gregg Williams, we said, 'Jesus Christ, this guy is nuts,'" Vitt said. "You know, I mean, talking about himself, talking about his accomplishments, talking about his money, talking about how he should -- you know, the guy had a pretty bad track record in being a pretty good defensive coordinator."

Vitt continued his verbal assault on Williams when questioned about his departure to St. Louis in the bounty hearings in December 2012:

"Now, I think the biggest thing that everybody gets tired of with Gregg is just day after day, week after week of the bull(expletive), the crazy stories I mean, I'm going to give you my texts. I'll show you that all the time he's got this insatiable desire to talk about himself. He's got this insatiable desire to talk about how good he is and his family is.

"And in the course of all of the bull(expletive) stories, you've got to work your way through it, you've got to -- you know, you've got to try to get the meat and the potatoes of what's true and not true. But after a while, that just gets to you. It just gets to you.

"I would say the final straw was the last two weeks of the season -- of the Detroit, San Francisco (playoff games), you know, Gregg kept coming to Sean every day and wanted his contract extension and wanted his extension done. And Sean said, well, we'll talk about it at the end of the season, well knowing what direction Sean was going in.

"And the last week of the season, it's all in the papers, you know, Gregg has gone to St. Louis, it's his best friend Jeff Fisher, you know, ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom, trying to squeeze Sean, trying to squeeze (GM) Mickey (Loomis) to get his contract. And the day after the playoff game that we lost against San Francisco, he went into Sean's office and says I need to know right now, I need my contract, I've got to let Jeff know what I'm doing. And Sean said, you're not going to get a contract here. I think it's best go to St. Louis with your friend Jeff. And that was it. ...

"It didn't end pretty. It didn't end nice. I'm sure that Gregg has a lot of animosity towards me now."

All of this happened before the bounty drama became public.

Williams returned to an NFL coaching staff last season, serving as a defensive consultant with Tennessee to aid longtime coaching friend Jerry Gray. Then Jeff Fisher, Williams' admitted best friend in coaching, hired the former Saints defensive coordinator after, ironically, Rob Ryan left St. Louis after the briefest of stints to head to the Saints as their defensive guru.

And now Williams makes his return mentoring a defense.

Here's the one question I can't stop from circling my brain: Why would the Saints play anyone in their projected starting offensive lineup in this preseason game?

We already know Drew Brees isn't playing with his oblique injury, despite Payton's attempts to deflect the obvious. Oh, and don't forget Brees questioned Williams' mental state right after former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue vacated the suspensions for Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove and Scott Fujita.

I wouldn't have cared if Brees was injured or not. My advice would have been to sit Brees no matter what.

It's not like the first unit would play more than a series or two, anyway. It's not worth the risk of playing the Saints' most valuable offensive assets.

Then, of course, there's the Saints' infamous preseason opener in the 2011 season against San Francisco and then-rookie coach Jim Harbaugh. The alleged backstory of a non-phone call between Payton and Harbaugh about how the game would be played allegedly spurred hard feelings. True, false or somewhere in the middle, something gave Williams the itch to blitz.

The Saints defense, under Williams, battered and brutalized Niners quarterback Alex Smith during the first quarter. New Orleans forced a sack-fumble on the second possession and had a sack-fumble for a touchdown reversed thanks to a challenge.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham remembered as much when asked Wednesday about facing Williams' defense Friday night.

"He (Williams) zero-blitzed four times out of (the first) nine (plays)," Graham said with a smirk. "That's who he is, and he brings it."

Sabotaging his coaching career over revenge in his first game back as a defensive coordinator would be as foolish as it gets for Williams, right?

If Williams is a "rogue" coach as the Saints claim he is, what's to say we can't put this past him:

"Gregg Williams had a program, a bounty program in to try to hurt opposing coaches on the sideline," Vitt said in the bounty hearings testimony. "In other words, when you miss a play on the sideline of a tackle, you would get a bonus for knocking the coach down and knocking out his knee. Don't roll your eyes. Don't roll your eyes."
 

12intheBox

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"Gregg Williams had a program, a bounty program in to try to hurt opposing coaches on the sideline," Vitt said in the bounty hearings testimony. "In other words, when you miss a play on the sideline of a tackle, you would get a bonus for knocking the coach down and knocking out his knee. Don't roll your eyes. Don't roll your eyes."

:rolleyes:
 

HE WITH HORNS

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And Rob Ryan is such a prick, I wouldn't trust him to not try to hurt our players.
"That will teach them to give me a job offer!"
 

HometownBoy

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Sounds like sour grapes because they got caught and he's an easy target to demonize as the main culprit, rather than admit they were a part of it and abide by it.
 

badnews

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Sounds like sour grapes because they got caught and he's an easy target to demonize as the main culprit, rather than admit they were a part of it and abide by it.

Of course it's sour grapes.

Payton didn't get suspended an entire year because he "didn't know".
Vitt just likes to hear himself talk imo, so hearing him talk about GWs ego was kinda laughable. Self projection?

Imo, the truth is that Williams went too far... because he was allowed or encouraged to.
I can't see that happening here or again.
 

jrry32

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Joe Vitt just sounds like a jackass.
 

GreeneCounty

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Saints I thought always was a dirty team. That runs from the front office to the coaching staff.
 
Last edited:

HometownBoy

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Of course it's sour grapes.

Payton didn't get suspended an entire year because he "didn't know".
Vitt just likes to hear himself talk imo, so hearing him talk about GWs ego was kinda laughable. Self projection?

Imo, the truth is that Williams went too far... because he was allowed or encouraged to.
I can't see that happening here or again.

Pretty much what I was thinking, taking it one further you don't get suspended at all if you're innocent by standers like they're trying to pretend to be. The only problem Williams ran into is that he got caught actually saying it, without the audio he's not the demon ringleader he is.

Gotta protect the brand though, so they'll just pretend that mean ole, evil Williams put a gun to their head and forced them to.
 

Robocop

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ha. whatever.... as long as we start winning I dont give a crap if we're considered the nasty bad boys. After years of being the punching bag I want a team thats out for blood, however you wanna interpret that.
 

GreeneCounty

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Pretty much what I was thinking, taking it one further you don't get suspended at all if you're innocent by standers like they're trying to pretend to be. The only problem Williams ran into is that he got caught actually saying it, without the audio he's not the demon ringleader he is.

Gotta protect the brand though, so they'll just pretend that mean ole, evil Williams put a gun to their head and forced them to.


amen
 

mr.stlouis

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This article is puuurrsee bull(explitive). This is a preseason game, they've moved on. Williams isn't going to target nobody. This team is good enough he doesn't have to.

F- the Saints coaches, anyhow. As it they didn't know what was happening. He served his time, they shoulda served just as much.
 

GreeneCounty

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This article is puuurrsee bull(explitive). This is a preseason game, they've moved on. Williams isn't going to target nobody. This team is good enough he doesn't have to.

F- the Saints coaches, anyhow. As it they didn't know what was happening. He served his time, they shoulda served just as much.



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in the house.
 

MTRamsFan

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I cannot believe what gets written by some of these guys. This knucklehead should realize this is GAME 1 of the PRESEASON. No coach, player, owner, cheerleader, fan, concession worker, etc. is going to risk injury, fine, suspension or any other punishment by playing "dirty" or exacting "revenge" in any game, especially a preseason game. This idiot is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. Is this guy a ghost writer for Bernie? Damn, I should become a beat writer, because I could come up with the same blubbering BS this guy did.

By the way, I'm surprised this guy didn't mention the bad blood between former Big Sky players Trumaine Johnson (Montana) and Saints TE Josh Hill (Idaho State) because Montana always beat the crap out of Idaho State, so it could carry over to tomorrow's game. It has to be "tru" because I wrote it. Bad Blood is brewing in the Lou!

Sign me up!
 

HometownBoy

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I cannot believe what gets written by some of these guys. This knucklehead should realize this is GAME 1 of the PRESEASON. No coach, player, owner, cheerleader, fan, concession worker, etc. is going to risk injury, fine, suspension or any other punishment by playing "dirty" or exacting "revenge" in any game, especially a preseason game. This idiot is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. Is this guy a ghost writer for Bernie? Damn, I should become a beat writer, because I could come up with the same blubbering BS this guy did.

By the way, I'm surprised this guy didn't mention the bad blood between former Big Sky players Trumaine Johnson (Montana) and Saints TE Josh Hill (Idaho State) because Montana always beat the crap out of Idaho State, so it could carry over to tomorrow's game. It has to be "tru" because I wrote it. Bad Blood is brewing in the Lou!

Sign me up!
C'mon Greg, don't be a jerk. Beat writing is hard!

Sometimes it takes them at least a whole minute to make this u- I MEAN, research deeply into the subject and find only the most hard hitting and realest story.
 

Thordaddy

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IF I was a Rams player ,I'd be insulted by the implication that they didn't have any sense about whether to engage in a vendetta or not.

Why should a Rams player want to get into the fray and make themselves culpable in hooliganism ? sure we're gonna hit people , but the dog that's barking is the one who's the one to watch here ,the other one is just getting ready for the games.
IMO the commissioner needs to tell these guys to shut their yaps cuz they aren't making Williams look any worse and they sure as hell aren't helping the ALMIGHTY SHIELD
 

Rambition

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the entire things just exemplifies the truth of the adage, "the end does not always justify the means."
 

Akrasian

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
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I just find it amusing that they apparently believe that Williams is such a mad dog, and has such a vendetta for some reason against the Saints, that he would risk everything to try to injure a Saints starter. In a preseason game. For no discernible reason beyond he got into trouble with the league while DC of the Saints.

I lived in New Orleans for years, obviously they've changed the water since then to trigger such wide spread paranoia.
 

CGI_Ram

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I cannot believe what gets written by some of these guys. This knucklehead should realize this is GAME 1 of the PRESEASON. No coach, player, owner, cheerleader, fan, concession worker, etc. is going to risk injury, fine, suspension or any other punishment by playing "dirty" or exacting "revenge" in any game, especially a preseason game

Exactly. This is silly stuff.