Saints’ game plan: injure Manning
2010 January 29
Saints Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams on his defensive scheme to injure Manning: “You hope [Manning] doesn’t get back up and play again.” Last week, the Saints injured Vikings QB Brett Favre in a dirty hit that NFL officials admit should have been penalized. Saints defenders have been fined $30,000 for their play in that game, which is a laughably mild censure.
I always root for the NFC team in the Super Bowl. Not this year. The Saints style of dirty play has no place in sports.
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"The other team's quarterback must go down, and he must go down hard." – Al Davis
The basic rule of football (and military stuff in general) is to disrupt the opponent's offensive capabilities. Now, late hits, dirty hits, that's all out. I'm a Bear's fan, I still have images of that vile hit on McMahon that basically ended his career. But until the QB gets rid of the ball, he's fair game for legal hits.
And this isn't just necessarily to injury, but to get inside the quarterback's head. Let's be honest — why do you think Farve threw instead of running on that last play? If he had only been hit 3-5 times, we would have been talking about how the biggest play of Farve's season was done with his legs and not his arm.
Now, I agree that to come out and say that you hope someone gets injured is. . . worthy of fines. . . but I have no reason to tell my players to molycoddle your quarterback — football is a violent game, simple as that. Especially when folks are getting paid.
Disrupting the QB, blitzing, hitting him fairly – all are part of the game. Intending to injure is not. It's despicable.
I went to see the Saints play Minnesota in New Orleans for Monday Night Football. I don't remember if it was last season or the year before. I remember watching, horrified, as the Vikings defender grabbed Reggie Bush by the facemask and twisted twice, nearly wrenching his head off his shoulders. The Vikings recovered the ensuing fumble–because who, after all, can hold onto a football while he's being beheaded?
Let he whose team is without sin . . .
I don't recall that, but I certainly don't condone it. I do think there's a difference between an individual player's infraction and a gameplan designed to injure the QB.
By the way, dirty is in the eye of the beholder. There were a number of personal foul calls made in that game. The only personal foul call that should have been made was the one that wasn't made: the hit on Favre below the knees. The fair-catch call was especially silly: the guy dropped the ball, which negates the fair catch.
The difference is, the Vikings knew they should be defending the QB. If they had done their jobs, then Favre wouldn't have been hit, dirty or otherwise. The Saints D was playing aggressive–or should they just wave their arms and hope to deflect passes instead of rushing the passer? As you said, it's a game of split-seconds. Late hits happen. If you're going to rush the passer, you're not going to wave your hands in front of his face; you're going to hit him, and hopefully hit him hard enough that he'll flinch the next time you bring pressure. That's football. But grabbing a facemask–and to keep yanking it? That's dirty, dirtier than having an aggressive pass rush.
It's hard to think objectively about your own team. I didn't the defense shouldn't rush the passer. Late hits may "happen"; blows to the head, and blows below the knee, don't "happen" – they're intentional, as Gregg Williams has indicated. Aggressive pass rush = fine. Intent to injure = not fine. He doesn't want the QB to flinch next time; he wants the QB to not play again in the game. Did you actually read what Gregg Williams said? Do you really want to defend a coach saying he hopes his team injures the other team's QB?
I was planning on rooting for the Saints in the Super Bowl. But when I read what Williams said, and watched some of the replays of Saints-Cardinals and Saints-Vikings, I just hope that Payton can reign in this monster before someone's career – or life – is ruined.
I don't think dirty is in the eye of the beholder. The game has rules. Late hits will sometimes happen because of the rapid flow of the game. Willful disregard of the rules is dirty. There were a number of other hits on Favre, especially in the first quarter, with several blows to the head. If you watched the game carefully, he was bleeding from the mouth in the first quarter after blows to the head.
That's Gregg Williams (and Sharper, who has a vendetta against the Vikings). Williams' most careful student was Sean Taylor, who was notorious for late, vicious hits. He caused numerous concussions before his tragic murder. But it wasn't just Taylor – the whole Redskins defense played that way. That's how Williams coaches.
I'm no fan of Gregg Williams. I've hated him since his days of coaching the Bills. But he's an aggressive coach. I don't want a coach who is going to call the Prevent defense all day. You want your D-line to be physical, or they shouldn't be pro football players.
As for Sharper? Again, I don't know his motives. I know he has a past with the Vikings, but every player wants to do well against former teammates and former rival opponents. He didn't play any differently against the Vikings than he did against any other team the Saints played this year.
Not really sure how to make this more clear.
Agressive = No problem
Intent to injure = Problem
Late hits are a part of the game. Used to be they weren't even called. How Favre has made it 19 years without major injury is a testament to how great he is.
At the same time: The Vikings didn't lose because of one late/illegal hit on Favre. They lost because Favre was getting legally hit many times before and after that. The Vikings lost because they turned the ball over. The Vikings lost because their coaching staff didn't adjust to the flow of the game. They lost because the Saints were better that day and the Vikings played terribly, period. I know it is painful but that is how it is. I think you recognize this but are still seething after getting so close…again.
BTW, I usually root for the NFC too. However, the reason I am rooting for the Colts is that I learned their team doctor was in Haiti with M. Harrison and A. Collver last weekend and literally was on the field for the AFC game just hours after leaving Haiti tending to dying people.
Totally agree re. why the Vikings lost. I don't like the way the Saints play defense, but the Vikes lost the game for exactly the reasons you specify: coaching and fumbles.
That's a cool story re. the Indy team doctor. Go Colts!