breaking news !!!!!!!! Greg Williams won't coach this season for the Rams.

[r8rh8rmike]

Not unexpected. There is no doubt in my mind that Williams admitted to a pay for injury program when faced with the evidence. How else could he explain paying a bounty for a "cart off"? He got caught, and is now paying the price. It's too bad the Rams had to get caught up in the whole mess.

[Slug]

Now - my question: What about William's contract? What happens with the money he was supposed to be paid for the year, do the Rams have to pay him, or does the cash stay with the Rams?

The suspension is without pay. Any monies that would be due Williams between now and whenever his suspension is lifted (if it is ever lifted) will not be paid by the team.

[Vis]

If I was Williams, I would first hire a good attorney and appeal this. Second, I would launch a media blitz about how Goodell let his friend, Belicheat, get by with YEARS of cheating before he recieved a slap on the wrist. Then I would begin letting the media see hits from the players in the past that were illegal - I believe we have a few members here (past and present) that can prove the Pats cheated and made dirty hits on the Rams in SB 36. Then - I would let the media know I was dumbfounded as to the reasons Goodell would hand out such harsh punishment to Payton and Williams (and others involved) but let his buddy, Belicheat, off with such a light "punishment".

In a case like this, the media CAN be your friend.

Now - my question: What about William's contract? What happens with the money he was supposed to be paid for the year, do the Rams have to pay him, or does the cash stay with the Rams?

They just don't pay him. There might be an out in his contract if this was expected as a possible outcome.

[codeman123]

Williams did this since at least Buffalo a decade ago. The penalty is fair, and in my opinion he should just be banned. The NFL made a point. The culture isn't 1950 and players can't get rewarded for injuring a player on purpose. The NFL isn't going to be less exciting because of this.

As far as Spags, It would be quite funny to watch him install the four pillars into that environment. That team just flipped on its head that is for sure.

[BM_Face]

It does suck that this mess came to light as soon as we hired Williams, but I think it is totally justified. Goodell made the right move with the evidence presented. Williams was clearly in the wrong, got caught, and now is paying the price.

Actually it's better that it happens now, then at the end of the next season when Fisher would also get hit with a suspension, which would really screw us over.

[mh-i]

Given that Fisher is a defensive coach I don't think it's that big of a deal for the Rams. As far as Williams goes, good riddance. He deserves what he got even if it's permanent.

[RamFan_Til_I_Die]

I'm not surprised at all by Goodell's heavy handedness. He pretends very well to care about player safety, and like Av said he is likely doing this to try and lessen any future litigation. I can already see players who sustained major injuries vs the Saints trying to determine if they can prove the were caused as part of this bounty system.

The question I want answered is did Williams tell Fisher about this before he was hired? If not, Williams needs to be fired immediately for his deceptive behavior that will cost the Rams. And if he did, why was Fisher so stupid as to hire him as our DC?

[RamFan_Til_I_Die]

And I almost forgot. The biggest joke of all of this, is the quote I got from a SI article.

The NFL also required all other teams to confirm to the league that they did not have bounty programs in place.

So the Saints are the only team that has a bounty program? Yeah right. Almost every player who has spoken out on the issue admitted these programs are in place with every team. Sure the coaches may not be in charge of the payouts, but they still exist. So teams were just allowed to lie about it to avoid penalties, and Goodell is ok with that? What a joke.

[berg8309]

I just surprised it took the NFL this long to decide. I know the NFLPA requested they wait, but the the NFLPA has no say in what the NFL does with management.

[adarian_too]

There is a line between physical dominance and intentionally attempting to cause an injury. ... Players, generally, don't want to end other players' games, seasons, or careers. It's a sad locker room atmosphere that creates that desire in players, imo. The Saints are getting what they deserve. It sucks that [the Rams] are getting hit with collateral damage.

I too would like to believe that, generally speaking, the fraternity doesn't want to see debilitating injuries come to one of their own. But it's more than sad that a culture was cultivated that encouraged it nevertheless. Such a motivational technique is nothing short of a cancerous tumor needing irradiated.

The hypocrisy between punishments meted out is irrelevant. To helll with the indefinite banishment. Ban him for life. Period. It's also irrelevant to try and distinguish between what was coincidentally a "legitmate" hit at the knees and what was a delibrate attempt at blowing a knee out.

It's one thing to forecheck, it's another to board, and it's completely another to set up a system whether regardless of whether one boarded or forechecked, one's rewarded for disabling a person. We're not talking about penalties on a person where it's hard to find that bright line between institutionalized violence and hooliganism. We're talking about punishing someone who thought it motivationally appropriate and necessary to play to baser instincts. [ ... ]

"Everyone else was doing it." Well then string them up too.

[RamOG]

They just wanted the Peyton stuff to settle?

[Fettmaster]

If I was Williams, I would first hire a good attorney and appeal this. Second, I would launch a media blitz about how Goodell let his friend, Belicheat, get by with YEARS of cheating before he recieved a slap on the wrist. Then I would begin letting the media see hits from the players in the past that were illegal - I believe we have a few members here (past and present) that can prove the Pats cheated and made dirty hits on the Rams in SB 36. Then - I would let the media know I was dumbfounded as to the reasons Goodell would hand out such harsh punishment to Payton and Williams (and others involved) but let his buddy, Belicheat, off with such a light "punishment".

In a case like this, the media CAN be your friend.

While I believe Goodell is hypocritical with his punishments for the Patriots, that has absolutely nothing to do with with the Williams situation. Greg Williams was warned by the league to stop doing what he was doing, and he continued to do it anyway. I can't fathom how whining to the media about an entirely separate, unrelated case would help Williams at all. I doubt he even cares about Super Bowl 36 lol

If I were Williams, I would accept that I screwed up and serve my punishment.

[Truth]

As Sean Peyton was the HC over Williams, and is responsible for EVERYTHING that happens on his team, I don't feel that Williams' punishment should be anything more than the 1 year ban his HC got. The "indefinite" thing is a joke.

[ramsbruce]

What a w5nker you are Mr Goodell. If anyone needs to leave indefinitely it's you, not Gregg Williams. Not a happy camper.

Hypothetically speaking Gregg Williams puts a bounty on Sam Bradford when we played and they actually hurt Sam intentionally because of the cash bonus offered by Gregg Williams "bounty program". How mad would you be at Goodell then today after you heard of the punishment? The better question is what would you think of Gregg Williams today if Sam was one of the QB's hurt?

I'm with Fat Pang. Williams should have just gotten the year along with Payton.

On the flip side though, it may be "indefinitely" because if more "stuff" comes up Williams might not be welcome back in the league at all. Just playing devil's advocate.

[Vis]

As Sean Peyton was the HC over Williams, and is responsible for EVERYTHING that happens on his team, I don't feel that Williams' punishment should be anything more than the 1 year ban his HC got. The "indefinite" thing is a joke.

But it was Williams' idea and he lied to the league. As a Ram's fan, do you want the risk of Williams on the team?