In the back of my mind I've always suspected the Saints wouldn't make a serious run at signing Brees until I paid for my season tickets. Yesterday I wrote out my last check which means that soon they should have the necessary financing in place. So I'm not surprised that
the news has become increasingly sunny on the negotiation front.
The hope comes from the fact that the gap is far smaller than previously reported.
Widespread reports over the past several months have pegged the
Saints’ offer at $18 million per year, with Brees’ demands north of $21
million. Some accounts have put Brees’ expectations at $23 million
annually.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, that’s not the case.
Brees, we’re told, has never asked for $21 million. And the Saints are
believed to be offering more than $18 million, possibly closer to $19
million than $18 million.
The $400 I paid yesterday should help close that $1-2 million gap. Although I may have confused matters by earmarking those funds for other purposes. In the memo line I wrote, "Good for one whack or cart-off" which, of course, I didn't mean
literally. But there's a decent chance we'll soon see Roger Goodell waving my little joke in front of the media as some sort of nefarious bounty evidence.
At least Scott Shanle seems to get it.
What Shanle described fits with the narrative we've pieced together
through various sources, both on and off the record. The Saints did have
a pay-for-performance program, which included payouts in the range of
$500 and $1,000 for a variety of big plays, including big hits. And
those hits were sometimes referred to as "cart-offs" or "knockouts" when
players were injured. But Shanle said that didn't mean the intent or
purpose of the pay-for-performance system was to target players for
injuries.
These incentives, while unsportsmanlike at least in terminology, were in practice based on the result of contact that occurs legally within the rules of football. It's not out of the realm of what we expect from football coaches... Gregg Williams in particular.
Shanle said those terms were used "in Gregg's language," referring to the fiery defensive coordinator, whose over-the-top motivational tactics have been well-documented. But Shanle insisted that players didn't take Williams literally, and he believes Williams was the best motivator he's had in 10 years in the NFL.
"Gregg said crazy stuff," Shanle said. "If you take him literally, you're gonna be locked up. But he was the best motivator I've ever been around."
Anyway I'm not defending Williams' attitude. But there's a difference between meathead hyperbolic coach talk and actually laying bounties on individual players as the league has alleged. Williams' unfortunate motivational device here is designed to encourage his players to hit hard. Which is... you know.. what football coaches do. Many current and former players have been saying all along that you're likely to find similar rhetoric in any locker room. Take, for example,
this quote from acting head coach Joe Vitt this afternoon.
Goodell has yet to rule on whether or not he's going to fine Hawthorne per "thump" this season as they occur or just wait until the end of the year to check the ledger.
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