SEE! SEE! SOMEONE ELSE DID IT, TOO! WE CAN HAZ COACH BACK NAO?!
The New Orleans Saints weren't the only team to be investigated by the NFL for violations of the league's "bounty rule" in recent years. The Green Bay Packers were investigated in 2007 for lesser infractions and wound up suffering no punishment after agreeing to discontinue their actions.
In 2007, Packers players reportedly offered to pay the team's defensive linemen $500 each if they were able to hold Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson under 100 rushing yards and the Carolina Panthers under 60 rushing yards as a team.
For starters. . .it's kind of funny that they looked at the Panthers and said, "Yeah, we can hold that whole team under 60 yards rushing," and then looked at Adrian Peterson and said, "Damn, that's going to be harder."
But the person responsible for this particular piece is obviously of the impression that their readers are stupid, as evidenced by their last paragraph:
However, this 2007 investigation is further evidence that such player-incentive pools are common around the NFL. And it's also possible that the NFL's investigation and disciplining of the Saints was more exhaustive five years later, in a time where player safety now reigns as the league's chief concern.
It's not evidence of squat there, Jimmy Olsen. A few minor differences. . .and, may the ghost of Norm van Brocklin not strike me down here, but this is the point we've reached in this entire thing. . .
-The Packers' "pool" appears to have been based on player performance on a statistical level, as opposed to. . .you know. . .attempting to cripple people or see them carted off on a stretcher
-Green Bay was smart enough to stop when the league told them to stop
-The Packers didn't spend an extended period of time lying to the league about what was going on, from the players on the field to the coaches on the sidelines, all the way up to the General Manager in the team box. (Pssssssst. . .this one is kind of the important one.)
Yeesh, I just said something overtly favorable about Green Bay. Not quite sure I can verbalize how I feel about that. Fortunately, I have a video that I feel will do the trick for me. (Mild content warning.)
And, if you need a laugh from this whole thing, Saints' cornerback Jabari "Yeah, That Was Me Yanking The Hell Out Of Adrian Peterson's Ankle" Greer said in an interview today that the Saints are "men of honor and integrity." Wonder if anyone has the heart to tell him that the National Football League has a slight disagreement with his analysis.