After taking a day to be with those who needed a friend, and two days to enjoy the Sweet 16/Summer weather in NYC, it's time to get back to business. Just after noon on Wednesday, March 21, the National Football League announced two stunning developments that would shock the football world.
First, there was the announcement that the Denver Broncos, after signing Peyton Manning to a five year deal, would be trading quarterback Tim Tebow to the New York Jets. The second was that the NFL had issued their penalties regarding the New Orleans Saints "bounty" program. Among the various fines and loss of draft picks, former Defensive Coordinator Greg Williams (now with the St. Louis Rams) was suspended indefinitely and current Head Coach Sean Payton was banned for a year. It has since been learned that ban will cost Payton $5.8 million in salary.
Before I get to the big problem in the Big Easy, let's discuss Tebow. Essentially, what Woody Johnson has just done, is put the most marketable and polarizing player in recent memory, into the most marketable and opinionated city in the world. For whatever the reason, everyone has something to say about Tebow. Now, in the Big Apple, there will be distractions galore; but there will be even more people trying to catch Tim in a manner that is anything but the "saintly demeanor" we've all come to understand. No doubt there will be paparazzi trying to catch a glimpse of the poster boy drinking or clubbing, anything to try and harm his image.
What should be noted is that this makes incredible football sense for the Jets. With Tony Sparano in place, a man who loves the wildcat, you know have a QB who is designed for that role. Tebow will be able to operate in a situation similar to his freshman season at Florida, where he won a national title mind you. This issue is whether or not Mark Sanchez's supposed "fragile psyche" can handle the TebowMania. I think he will, and I think that if the team takes on even the slightest persona of their new backup, head coach included, they could make an interesting run in the playoffs. That is, if Manning and Brady don't go back to their usual dominance of the league.
Onto the bigger issue at hand. Some may say the season long suspension of Payton in New Orleans is too much, I will not be one of them. It is well known that I hate the continued "softening" of the natuarally violent game that is football. It's also true that I have no issue with putting a target on the best players back, if it's done in the right way. This was not. This was essentially a "pay-to-play" operation in which players opted to give financial rewards for taking out the opponent. I think what upsets me more is that NFL athletes need extra incentive to play that way. What irks the shield is that, while they are legal hits, players are actively attempting to injure others. At the very core, this was wrong.
Much in the way Joe Paterno was in the wrong for not saying anything if he knew something, so is Sean Payton. He, and the Saints, deserve this punishment. They will endure however because they are one of the premier franchises in the NFL. My fear is that Payton may lose his job, which should not happen, because of what he means to the team, and the city. Then again, like Joe Paterno, I've been wrong before.
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