Both organizations continued to participate in a practice that was banned by the NFL; bounty payments to players, and video taping the side line coaching signals.
The only difference between Bountygate and Spygate is that the Patriots took their punishment without trying to make excuses or throwing anyone else under the bus. The Saints organization is obviously taking a different approach...
I will admit I think the suspensions were a little over the top. But you're comparing a team that broke a rule concerning approved video taping methods to a team that was paying players to purposely knock other players out of the games. In that light, the Saints punishments had to be harsher than the Patriot's punishments were.
That was our argument with the whole spygate saga. Almost all teams were doing it in one form or another, but the Patriots happened to be the ones that got caught first, or should I say turned-in (thanks Man-weenie). And thus they paid the price for the whole league. Saints are being delt the same hand, but with even more harsh sanctions than the Patriots were hit with. Basically they were not only the first team to get caught, they unfortunately got caught at a time when player safety is paramount and there's a potential billion dollar concussion law suit waiting in the wings. Hence the over the top sanctions...
Apparently my experiences as Foxboro have been wonderful compared to some of the stories I've read hear. The only one that comes to mind for me, occured after a game. We were at the End Zone hotel/bar playing pool. It was Troy Brown's first season, and he came wondering into the bar. He leaned against the counter by us and accidentally knocked over my beer. He apologized and went over to the bar to buy me a new one. We then watched as Troy walked past the bartender and slip out of the bar. WHERE'S MY BEER TROY??
The "come to tems" comment was about Hasselbeck not Leinert. I'm sure at this point, Leinart is not asking for any sort of windfall. He and his agent both know that until he gets a chance to prove himself, and succeeds, he'll never be able to command anything more than back-up money.
The only difference between Bountygate and Spygate is that the Patriots took their punishment without trying to make excuses or throwing anyone else under the bus. The Saints organization is obviously taking a different approach...
I will admit I think the suspensions were a little over the top. But you're comparing a team that broke a rule concerning approved video taping methods to a team that was paying players to purposely knock other players out of the games. In that light, the Saints punishments had to be harsher than the Patriot's punishments were.