Saints Offered $35,000 to Knock Favre out of 2010 NFL Championship Game

[Rick]

Among the revelations Monday were details of the alleged bounty program kept on a computer system provided by Saints owner Tom Benson, as well as a $35,000 bounty against then-Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the NFC Championship Game in 2010, the same year the Saints won the Super Bowl.

The NFL showed the evidence to reporters from several media outlets, including CBSSports.com and Sports Illustrated.

According to CBS, one slide from the Saints computer system read: "Now it's time to do our job, collect bounty money, no apologies, let's go hunting." It was accompanied by a photo of Duane Chapman, known better as the star of the reality TV show "Dog the Bounty Hunter."

The NFL revealed that much of its evidence in the bounty investigation came from Saints assistant coach Joe Vitt and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Williams, according to the CBS account, told investigators at one point that he was "rolling the dice with player safety and someone could have been maimed."

Vitt, who is currently handling the day-to-day coaching duties while Sean Payton serves his one-game suspension, will serve his own six-game ban at the start of the regular season. Williams, hired as defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, has been suspended indefinitely.

Vilma was just one of four players suspended, but was hit hardest by Goodell. As a captain of the Saints' defensive unit, Vilma is said to have helped establish and fund the bounty program. He was said to have offered $10,000 in cash to any player who knocked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner out of a 2009 divisional playoff game.

In addition to Vilma, defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, was suspended eight games, defensive end Will Smith was hit with a four-game ban and linebacker Scott Fujita, now playing for Cleveland, will sit for the first three games of the 2012 campaign.

A pair of grievances filed by the NFLPA on behalf of the players were denied by arbitrators in recent weeks.

[BartmanMN]

Makes me sick. That was our year to go the distance.

[DLD24]

Now I'm waiting to hear how much they paid the refs not to call any of those late hits....I hope Jared Allen comes off the edge and takes Brees out for the year one of these times

[Scott K]

I dont hope injury on anyone. We lost the game, no sense crying over spilled milk. I punished myself and re watched the game about a month or 2 ago, when this came out, and it is pretty obvious they were out to hurt Favre. But we lost that game on our own, to many stupid mistakes to blame it on some cheap late shots.

I recommend watching that game, it really is obvious on a quite a few plays.

[BartmanMN]

Yeah, it was obvious watching it back then that they were being cheap a$$es with those hits after the whistle.

[flipper]

Half the Vikings coaches and players must have been on New Orleans payroll then too.

[Scott K]

For those that doubt that the Saints were trying to injur Favre in that game, try watching it.

[solbes]

I think it was obvious watching it the first time. And I could never watch it again. I moped around for 2 weeks following that game.

[LMITOUT]

Still waiting for evidence of cheap shots during that game which you don't see every other week in the NFL. Nowhere has anyone documented any sort of video footage showing blatant cheap shots or plays with intent to injure...at least nothing different than what can be seen on ESPN highlights every Sunday night during the season.

I'm sure the six fumbles and two interceptions along with having twelve guys in the huddle had nothing to do with the Vikings losing that game, or the fact that the Vikings had the easiest schedule in the NFL and had the golden road to the playoffs until reality smacked them in the face when they had to actually play a team with talent...Nah.

[Scott K]

I have no argument about the Vikings lost the game on their own. They played like a middle school team out there. But the late, low, hard hits to Favre were very clear, and I am not a Favre fan at all. Spend a couple hours and watch the game. Do so with an opened non biased mind, and you will see they were trying to hurt him.

[LMITOUT]

And that is different from other games how?

It isn't.

[Scott K]

The game is set to protect the QB, and rules are in place to "prevent injury" to them. Allowing them to ground the ball, if outside the lines, cant hit them if they are sliding feet first, a very short allowance to hit the QB after a whistle, no low his, no helmet to helmet, etc... This is just to protect them from average players who are just out there to stop him from making a play, not from people who want to injure the QB, and ones that have a bounty on them. Trust me, if you watched the game with an open mind, you will see it over and over in the game.

I am sure you of all people would love to watch the game again, to see the Vikings get wiped out of their closest shot at the championship in many years. It should bring a smile to your face just watching it.

[LMITOUT]

So what was the bounty paid to Jared Allen for his cheap shots to the knees of the QB a few years ago? Oh that's right, then it was all laughs and Jared is a beast, bla bla bla.

Paid for or not, questionable hits happen all the time, and this may be a shocker to many of you, it doesn't only happen to the Vikings. *gasp!*

[Scott K]

There are cheap shots, and there are shots that happen because of momentum. Allens shot in that game sure looked like a cheap shot, and was more then likely just from having an attitude during that game. He was punished for it. If for some reason the NFL found out he was being paid extra to hurt players, I would want him to be suspended as well. My glasses arent as purple as you may think, I am a Vikings fan, but one that has lost interest over the years from them sucking.

[itchmesir]

There is no doubt they were out to injure.. But there is no doubt there was very bad play calling and mistakes made by the vikings that day

[zamboni]

Actually what cost the Vikes was not only their own turnovers, but the refs blowing blatant calls. Pierre Thomas on that 4th down in OT wasn't even close to making that first down. Period. He didn't make it on initial effort, then literally got pushed back 2 yards, yet he miraculously got the first. Bull puckey

[LMITOUT]

Oh cripes.

[Scott K]

We were trying hard to find any way possible to lose that game, it even took the refs, some cheap shots, bad coaching, and over time to do it, but they finally found a way to lose the game. We played a terrible game and the Saints deserved the win.

[Rick]

The Saints did not deserve the win.

Unfortunately neither did the Vikes

It was a gift to the Saints in every phase including cheating.

[hawkeye43]

I think they should have come down harder on the saints for even having the bounty in place. The refs. let it get out of hand by not making calls. Maybe even stripping them of the title, but you know that would never happen.