OT: Audio leaked of Saints' Greg Williams telling players to injure opponents

RookieWax

Link

Dboneesq

What an A$$hole!

miconelegacy

Funny how they lost that game!

Some of this is locker room talk, but talking about taking out someones head and ACL, concussions. Just terrible. Especially naming names of players and specific areas to go after.

Should be banned for life.

PowderedH2O

I am a huge Saints fan, but even I believe that Mr. Williams will never coach at any level ever again. No suspension needed. Who is going to hire this guy?

halosfan

<< <i>I am a huge Saints fan, but even I believe that Mr. Williams will never coach at any level ever again. No suspension needed. Who is going to hire this guy? >>



Heck .. .The Rams did hire him ... grrrrrr

Jmhockey23

<< <i>Funny how they lost that game!

Some of this is locker room talk, but talking about taking out someones head and ACL, concussions. Just terrible. Especially naming names of players and specific areas to go after.

Should be banned for life. >>



+1

bbuckner22

Agree 100%, can't see anyone ever hiring this d-bag again

MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly

I heard it this morning. Really, really bad. I'm all for football remaining a violent sport, but what he said on those tapes is MILES over the line.
He should never be allowed back in the league. Not that anyone would hire him again anyway.

shagrotn77

He's finished.

cincyredlegs

I don't even think it will be "should he be allowed back in the league". It seems like every day more stuff keeps coming out and this recording is just icing on the cake. With Goodell trying to aviod lawsuits that will start coming, Williams is to much of a liability to bring back. He would not be good for business.

Mark

jeffcbay

Maybe I'm missing something... so when a player is just coming back from a shoulder injury, are you saying teams never attack that player's shoulder? or their sore knees? or their sore ribs? Isn't that the FIRST place your opponent attacks? Your weak spot? Or is this just the first time someone has actually SAID what absolutely EVERYONE's intentions are in the game of football?

YogiBerraFan

Sounds like he is related to John Kreese: We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition: A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy.

orioles93

<< <i>Maybe I'm missing something... so when a player is just coming back from a shoulder injury, are you saying teams never attack that player's shoulder? or their sore knees? or their sore ribs? Isn't that the FIRST place your opponent attacks? Your weak spot? Or is this just the first time someone has actually SAID what absolutely EVERYONE's intentions are in the game of football? >>



I have to agree. Yes it may have been over the line, but hes just saying what most players in that locker room were probably already thinking. The point is to go after the opponents week spots with whatever means necessary. Also I hear this kind of crap from my baseball coach. Hes old school and is always telling us to slide into players hard with spikes up that he doesnt like, or hit guys with pitches in the head. Most of us just blow it off and im guessing a bunch of the Saints players did as well. With that said, I dont think any team will hire him purely because they wont want the bad publicity.

Dboneesq

<< <i>Sounds like he is related to John Kreese: We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition: A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy. >>


Miyagi: First, wash all car. Then wax. Wax on...
Daniel: Hey, why do I have to...?
Miyagi: Ah ah! Remember deal! No questions!
Daniel: Yeah, but...
Miyagi: Hai!
[makes circular gestures with each hand]
Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important.
[walks away, still making circular motions with hands]
Miyagi: Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off.

shagrotn77

<< <i>With that said, I dont think any team will hire him purely because they wont want the bad publicity. >>



I don't think the NFL will even give any team the opportunity to hire him ever again. Concussions are a hot button topic and to allow him back in the NFL would be an awful PR move.

Dboneesq

<< <i> Hes old school and is always telling us to slide into players hard with spikes up that he doesnt like, or hit guys with pitches in the head. >>


If you have a coach who is telling his pitchers to hit guys in the head, he should be friggin arrested! THAT is WAY over the line. Hit a guy in the arm ... in the back ... to keep him off the plate is one thing, but aiming for a guy's head could KILL him. Yes, KILL him. You and I have spoken a few times and you sound like a nice kid, but sorry to say that your coach is an A$$HOLE!

CrazyMind2017

<< <i>Maybe I'm missing something... so when a player is just coming back from a shoulder injury, are you saying teams never attack that player's shoulder? or their sore knees? or their sore ribs? Isn't that the FIRST place your opponent attacks? Your weak spot? Or is this just the first time someone has actually SAID what absolutely EVERYONE's intentions are in the game of football? >>



There are so many reasons why I dislike football, but one of the biggest is that the vast majority of fans in this country are so hypocritical about the violence. It is a blood sport, pure and simple. Fans pay for tickets and watch on television and want to see professional pawns rip each others' heads off, but then they gasp and cover their mouths with their hands in some weird psuedo-concerned disbelief when a player suffers a serious injury. "Oh my goodness," they'll say when some poor third stringer has to get his neck stabilized before getting carted off the field and taken to a hospital. "I hope he's not paralyzed." Then the game continues, the fans go back to eating their chicken wings (more blood they consume) and drinking their piss-light American beer, and ten minutes later they've forgotten all about the poor guy whose name they learned only after his C2 got fractured for their entertainment.

All the life-long debilitating injuries from players of previous eras are more than enough proof to show how violent it was back then, and it's only gotten much worse in recent years. Defensive backs don't tackle anymore, they just hit and wait for the runner to fall. Whoever suggested a few years ago that the best way to reduce injuries is to prohibit the use of helmets was right. This game needs a drastic change to its basic fundamental essence, because it should be banned from being played the way it's played now. The problem is not Greg Williams, it's the American population that consumes the product he created. If there wasn't a demand for it, he wouldn't have created a supply. Tagliabue and Goodell each deserve at least as much blame as Williams, and probably more.

Don't ever complain that I don't tell you how I really feel.

PeteZaria

I see leather helmets in the NFL's future.

MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly

<< <i>

<< <i>Maybe I'm missing something... so when a player is just coming back from a shoulder injury, are you saying teams never attack that player's shoulder? or their sore knees? or their sore ribs? Isn't that the FIRST place your opponent attacks? Your weak spot? Or is this just the first time someone has actually SAID what absolutely EVERYONE's intentions are in the game of football? >>



I have to agree. Yes it may have been over the line, but hes just saying what most players in that locker room were probably already thinking. The point is to go after the opponents week spots with whatever means necessary. Also I hear this kind of crap from my baseball coach. Hes old school and is always telling us to slide into players hard with spikes up that he doesnt like, or hit guys with pitches in the head. Most of us just blow it off and im guessing a bunch of the Saints players did as well. With that said, I dont think any team will hire him purely because they wont want the bad publicity. >>



Of course you go after an opponents weakness....that's sports, thats human nature. Trying to intentionaly end a guys game, career (or worse)....That's BS.

This is how these guys make a living. I don't think anyone would like it if someone went out of their way to try take away your livelihood, they way you provide for your family.

It's not like he just said 'crush the QB, punish the QB as much as possible before the whistle'. That's kind of stuff I'm sure is said in every locker room, at every level of orgainzed football. There is huge difference between normal locker room talk and saying to go after an ACL , or go after a players head. As far as a baseball coach telling a pitcher to hit a guy in the HEAD.....that's awful. You could end someones life that way. IMO it's stupid to potentialy end someone life over a game.....any game. There should be no room for stuff like that at any level.

miconelegacy

<< <i>

<< <i> Hes old school and is always telling us to slide into players hard with spikes up that he doesnt like, or hit guys with pitches in the head. >>


If you have a coach who is telling his pitchers to hit guys in the head, he should be friggin arrested! THAT is WAY over the line. Hit a guy in the arm ... in the back ... to keep him off the plate is one thing, but aiming for a guy's head could KILL him. Yes, KILL him. You and I have spoken a few times and you sound like a nice kid, but sorry to say that your coach is an A$$HOLE! >>



Yeah if that's what your coach says then he is weak! Very sad case if that is true. I would find another coach. Real coach's don't tell their players to throw at someone head. That's what's wrong with sports.

One thing if a pitcher takes it into his own hands, another if instructed by the coach. Just like the saints. This is more than going after their weak spots. The players where paid to go after the kill if you will. Sad people people who always get theirs in the end, and if they don't they will still have to answer upon their departure.

psychump

It was the 49ers (Donte Whitner) who hurt the Saints (Pierre Thomas, head injury,opening drive, did not return)!

swartz1

why did it take so long for this audio to surface?

PowderedH2O

The comment about leather helmets was not far from what I really believe. The game has changed so much. Football is the only game of the big four team sports in which a player plays only on offense or defense. If players had to play both ways, the offensive linemen would be smaller (because they would have to make tackles and chase the quarterbacks), the defensive backs and wide receivers would be similar in size (because they would have to play both sides), and there would be less injuries and fewer retired players dying at 40 and 45. Guys aren't meant to be 325-375 pounds.

jeffcbay

I compare hard hits in Football to steroid use in Baseball... fans WANT the hard hits, fans WANT the long ball. Anything less is boring to them. Hard hits and the long ball both land you on SportsCenter. These things make you popular, and in turn makes you more money. Period. The players who play by the rules don't get noticed anymore. Blame the media, blame greed, blame yourself as a fan for only paying attention to the extreme. Sure nobody would admit that they want to be entertained by hard hits and home runs by any means necessary, but actions speak louder than words.

Probstein123

ban him

MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly

<< <i>I compare hard hits in Football to steroid use in Baseball... fans WANT the hard hits, fans WANT the long ball. Anything less is boring to them. Hard hits and the long ball both land you on SportsCenter. These things make you popular, and in turn makes you more money. Period. The players who play by the rules don't get noticed anymore. Blame the media, blame greed, blame yourself as a fan for only paying attention to the extreme. Sure nobody would admit that they want to be entertained by hard hits and home runs by any means necessary, but actions speak louder than words. >>



I get where youre going with the steroid comparison Jeff, but it's not the same at all. Juicing is a victimless crime. The players themselves might have suffer the health consequences of steroid abuse, but no one else will pay a price for their actions. (other than the pitchers ERA).

Bounty incentives and headhunting could potentialy end another players career, and the ability to provide for their family. In extreme cases could effect the overall lifetime health of another player. Big difference IMO.

CrazyMind2017

<< <i>I compare hard hits in Football to steroid use in Baseball... fans WANT the hard hits, fans WANT the long ball. Anything less is boring to them. Hard hits and the long ball both land you on SportsCenter. These things make you popular, and in turn makes you more money. Period. The players who play by the rules don't get noticed anymore. Blame the media, blame greed, blame yourself as a fan for only paying attention to the extreme. Sure nobody would admit that they want to be entertained by hard hits and home runs by any means necessary, but actions speak louder than words. >>



I couldn't agree more. I wouldn't consider myself a football fan, although I do occasionally watch a game here and there in a very casual way when I'm hanging out with my friends, and I have a modest knowledge of AFL/NFL history.

When it comes to baseball, I love paying attention to the extreme, but it's the opposite of the extreme that most fans like. I'd much rather see a clean, fair pitchers' dual or even a No-Hitter/Perfect Game than a 13-10 slugfest. Unless we're talking about the 23-22 Phillies win in Chicago in 1979. That game was awesome, LOL.

And sometimes, a good clean brawl with no cheap shots is great, but the worst that ever happened from one of those is a few broken fingers. Nobody is getting paralyzed, not even Armando Benitez when he's getting clocked by Darryl Strawberry. The Verlander/Weaver matchup last year was great too. I'm not ashamed to say I enjoy when a good fight breaks out at a baseball or hockey game, but I hate when weapons or cheap shots are used. The Marichal/Roseboro incident makes me cringe, and it happened more than a decade before I was born. The McSorley incident that happened in either 1999 or 2000 still makes me sick. I don't think he should have been criminally charged, but he deserved the entire suspension and then some.

Besides the fact that a hockey shootout is utterly ridiculous, I hate the rule because it prevents the possibility of a Perfect Game - no scoring and no penalties. Hockey has so many things right about it, but they had to go and screw it up so badly.

CrazyMind2017

<< <i>I get where youre going with the steroid comparison Jeff, but it's not the same at all. Juicing is a victimless crime. The players themselves might have suffer the health consequences of steroid abuse, but no one else will pay a price for their actions. (other than the pitchers ERA).

Bounty incentives and headhunting could potentialy end another players career, and the ability to provide for their family. In extreme cases could effect the overall lifetime health of another player. Big difference IMO. >>



I think he was making the comparison in the context of fans asking for a certain type of product or result on the field and then being upset at the methods used to deliver that product. At least that was my interpretation. He can come back and explain it himself if I'm wrong.

jeffcbay

<< <i>I think he was making the comparison in the context of fans asking for a certain type of product or result on the field and then being upset at the methods used to deliver that product. >>



That's exactly what I meant by my statement.

MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly

<< <i>

<< <i>I get where youre going with the steroid comparison Jeff, but it's not the same at all. Juicing is a victimless crime. The players themselves might have suffer the health consequences of steroid abuse, but no one else will pay a price for their actions. (other than the pitchers ERA).

Bounty incentives and headhunting could potentialy end another players career, and the ability to provide for their family. In extreme cases could effect the overall lifetime health of another player. Big difference IMO. >>



I think he was making the comparison in the context of fans asking for a certain type of product or result on the field and then being upset at the methods used to deliver that product. At least that was my interpretation. He can come back and explain it himself if I'm wrong. >>



I get what Jeff means, and I understand and can respect that POV. I just think there is a big difference between hurting yourself with juice , and being offered cash to try and hurt someone. I played football from 4th grade through college (Divison III), and I tried to crush the QB every down I ever played, but never had the mindset "I want to hurt him on this play". The only thing I wanted to see was him on his back being helped to his feet by his offenisve line. I didn't need to see him carted off on a stretcher. No one needs to see that.

jeffcbay

No one needs to see that, what how can you control what happens to him when you hit him? How can you possibly gauge how hard is too hard, from how hard is not enough?

MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly

<< <i>No one needs to see that, what how can you control what happens to him when you hit him? How can you possibly gauge how hard is too hard, from how hard is not enough? >>



Certainly not, but you 100% can control where you hit him. If trying to hurt someone you can spear for head, or spear for the knees, rather than just trying to hit them hard in the torso or thighs, wrap them up and bring them down. This is how every kid playing football is taught to tackle.

EDIT: I can remember my pee wee coach teaching us to tackle. "Below the neck and above the knees, anything else is dirty" he would say.

recbball

They hit Jay Cutler in the throat last year in a pile-up. He couldn't talk for a week.

orioles93

<< <i>

<< <i> Hes old school and is always telling us to slide into players hard with spikes up that he doesnt like, or hit guys with pitches in the head. >>


If you have a coach who is telling his pitchers to hit guys in the head, he should be friggin arrested! THAT is WAY over the line. Hit a guy in the arm ... in the back ... to keep him off the plate is one thing, but aiming for a guy's head could KILL him. Yes, KILL him. You and I have spoken a few times and you sound like a nice kid, but sorry to say that your coach is an A$$HOLE! >>



Yes ill be honest he is an A hole. We usually just brush it off cause he thinks hes still coaching a team in the 50s.