Think back a few years in the NFL. Some names that might come to mind are;

Conrad Dobler
Merlin Olsen
Deacon Jones
Jack Tatum
Dick Butkus
Joe Green
Howie Long

All of these man are considered legends in the game of football and have something in common — they are angry at the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.

Back in the era these players played in, bounties were around, but never sought. Players from opposing teams would hang out, go to social events, knew each others families and would tease each other. “Don’t make me collect on you tomorrow” was said jokingly many times the night before a game.

So what has these players so angry about the Saints scandal? It’s the lack of honoring the unwritten code in the NFL. You can hit hard, play tough, even embarrass your opponent, but you never, ever try to injure someone.

Joe Namath is a Hall of Fame QB and it was known that he had bad knees. Everyone knew it, but not one person went for them. You just didn’t do that to another player.

Jack Youngblood played an entire post-season with a broken fibula. Again, not one person went for his leg — it was abhorrent to players to purposefully injure someone.

For those who may not see what the big deal is, think of this. In the NFL, you are playing a sport that can maim you, paralyze you, break down your body at a horrific rate, and cause you to lose memory later on in life. The act of paying players to injure another or go after an injured player goes against everything players believe.

To put this in perspective, think back to when former Broncos RB Terrell Davis injured his knee. According to the Saints, that knee would be fair game. Peyton Manning’s neck? Perfectly fine to target to the Saints.

Roger Goodell has taken the first step by suspending Head Coach Sean Peyton for the entire year and former Defensive Coordinator, Greg Williams, indefinitely for their roles in the bounty scandal. Now he must take the next step and send a clear message to the league by suspending the players involved.

This is the National Football League, not the Bush League.

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