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Yesterday was a rather mild day of the NCAA Tournament unlike the day before. All of the higher ranked seeds won their games yesterday. The best game I thought was VCU and Indiana where Indiana won on a jumper with around 10 seconds left. I was pulling for VCU but it looks like Indiana is finally back.
The game I’m expecting most people to be into will be the 15 seed Lehigh taking on 10 seed Xavier after they both pulled off upsets in the first round. If you didn’t see it Lehigh knocked off Duke on Friday night and Xavier sent home Notre Dame. The Lehigh game is on at 7:45 ET tonight.
Another 15 seed is in action today as Norfolk State plays 7 seed Florida. Norfolk State sent home Missouri which was thought by many to be a favorite to win the entire tournament. I’ve filled out three brackets and I did have Missouri winning it all in one of mine. I’d love to see Norfolk State win today.
In some NFL free agency news it appears the 49ers are now taking a look at Peyton Manning. This would be a deadly combination and would immediately put the 49ers as the favorites to come out of the NFC. The 49ers have signed Randy Moss and today signed ex-Giant Mario Manningham to improve the offense. Current 49ers quarterback and free agent, Alex Smith, is said to be visiting the Miami Dolphins today which seems to be further proof that the 49ers are going after Manning. As of now, we know Manning has eliminated the Dolphins and Cardinals from pursuing him and that leaves the Broncos, Titans and 49ers.
The New York Jets are hosting former Redskins safety, LaRon Landry, today as they look to shore up their defensive backfield. They met with former Bengals safety Reggie Nelson yesterday and offered him a contract.
I never really thought about bounties being a part of professional football. The only time I really think of bounty is when I’m watching "Dog: The Bounty Hunter" or that awful movie “The Bounty Hunter” with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. I had heard in the past that Buddy Ryan would offer incentives to his players when he was the coach of the Eagles to take out an opposing player.
The more I think about it, I would imagine this goes on quite a bit amongst the players. What do we love as football fans? We love touchdowns and big hits. If guys on the team set a pool up between themselves I don’t really have a problem with it. The issue would be if players are going out of their way to intentionally hurt a player.
Now that we know the Saints have been found guilty of harboring this, you’re going to hear a lot of references to the NFC Championship game against the Vikings in Brett Favre’s last game. I remember watching that game and couldn’t believe the hits Favre was taking. I didn’t think anything of the hits at the time but you can definitely see that some guys were trying to get paid for taking him out that day.
I hope we find out how the NFL decided to investigate the Saints. Obviously someone in the organization had to talk to someone in the NFL office or to someone with ties to the NFL office. Could it have been a player, coach, ball boy, who knows but it would be fascinating to know. Gregg Williams, the former defensive coordinator of the Saints, is supposedly meeting with the NFL today to talk about the program he started. We’ve heard reports that this bounty program also existed in Washington where he coached and also in Buffalo where he was the head coach.
What is the punishment going to be and what team(s) is going to be affected by it? Williams recently took a job with the Rams, are they going to be without their defensive coordinator while he’s out? Does Saints Head Coach, Sean Payton get suspended for his involvement or lack thereof? Does the GM, Mickey Loomis, lose his job? What happens to linebacker, Jon Vilma, who reportedly put up $10,000 for anyone who knocked out Brett Favre in that Championship game?
It’s a pretty fair guess that the punishment that is going to come down from Commissioner Roger Goodell is going to be severe. His whole platform has been about player safety. I think to start the Saints are going to lose multiple picks in the NFL Draft next month. I’m expecting Payton to be suspended a game. I have a feeling Loomis will get fired by the ownership of the Saints. Gregg Williams without a doubt will be suspended and fined and his name tarnished. Whatever players were involved will be fined and I’m sure Vilma will be suspended as well.
We’re not sure when the punishment will come down but it’s going to be unlike anything we’ve seen before. I do think bounties will continue to go on, but teams will be more careful going forward.
There has been good news coming out of the NFL meetings and with the schedule being released and talk of the upcoming draft I am starting to feel that football fever again. The draft is only a week away, and while it is not nearly as hyped as years past, it still should be intriguing to see where some of the big names go. The schedule also shows something to get excited about with several compelling early matchups.
The Carolina Panthers just can't seem to catch a break. They own a number one pick in next week's NFL draft that no one really envies. They are coming off an awful 2-14 season that earned them the number 1 pick and saw an end to the John Fox era in Carolina. Now, as the schedule's been released, they find out that statistically they have the hardest schedule of all teams in the upcoming 2011-2012 season. The Panthers are joined at the top of the list of hardest schedules by fellow cellar dwellers Buffalo. This is of course based off of last year's records so it could end up totally different, but nonetheless this news can't excite Panther fans.
Rodgers and the defending champs open up against the Saints
While Carolina and it's fans may not be too excited, there are certainly some intriguing matchups coming up next year. The Thursday night opener pits the Saints against the defending champs in Green Bay. Week one also will showcase the two top teams of the AFC North when the Steelers head to Baltimore to face their rivals the Ravens. Other interesting week 1 matchups include Atlanta vs. Chicago, Dallas vs. the Jets and Indy vs. Houston
If all goes as planned and the NFL starts when expected, opening weekend games will be played Sunday September 11th. Teams across the country will be remembering those lost in different ways, but the NFL has scheduled the Giants to play the Redskins as a tribute of sort to the event.
So while we're still only in April and labor talks are dragging on, actually seeing the matchups on paper has me excited for some football. Are you ready?
Raymond Mencke Jr's Blogs
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