ESPN NFL

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Cardinals in 2012:

Dream scenario (11-5): A full offseason of healing and playbook study lets Kevin Kolb prove the Cardinals knew what they were doing when they acquired him from Philadelphia last offseason. There's plenty of credit to go around. The team's decision to reassign assistant coach John McNulty from receivers to quarterbacks becomes a popular storyline. There's no doubt Kolb's mechanics have improved, but talent and good health are what win football games.

Michael Floyd's addition through the draft makes the Cardinals' passing game nearly impossible to defend, particularly with second-year back Ryan Williams emerging as the game-breaking runner Arizona was convinced it had drafted. Adding young linemen for Russ Grimm to develop also pays off, particularly as the season progresses. Bobby Massie looks like a keeper at right tackle. On the other side, Levi Brown picks up where he left off last season, proving Arizona was right in re-signing him to a five-year contract.

The transformation on defense surprises even the Cardinals. Yes, Arizona made strides on that side of the ball while winning seven of its final nine games in 2011. But there was no way anyone could have expected Sam Acho to challenge Simeon Rice's season franchise record for sacks since 1982 (Rice had 16.5 in 1999). With a healthy Dan Williams at nose tackle and Acho pumping up an already underrated pass rush, cornerback Patrick Peterson takes the next logical step in his development: picking off passes and returning them for touchdowns.

Winning at San Francisco in Week 17 delivers an 11-5 record and the NFC West title to Arizona, the team's third division crown in five years.

Nightmare scenario (5-11): No one can blame Gregg Williams or Jonathan Vilma for the concussion Kolb suffers in the Hall of Fame Game against New Orleans to open the exhibition season. Some in the Cardinals' organization welcome the switch to John Skelton, but with Ryan Williams and Beanie Wells predictably battling knee problems, the offense becomes one-dimensional. That's tough for a team with Brown and a rookie starting at tackle. Kolb's return after a few weeks means as much as it did last season -- nothing.

By October, it's clear the Cardinals didn't do enough at tackle or outside linebacker to take the next step. Those offseason stories about a full offseason helping Kolb seemed justified at the time, but we should have known better. McNulty's coaching helps, but players revert to form under pressure and Kolb is no exception. He wasn't going to develop instincts all of a sudden, was he? Aldon Smith's three-sack game against Arizona on Monday night in Week 8 doesn't seem so bad when Clay Matthews collects four of them the following week.

For the second time in three seasons, the Cards finish 5-11 after getting blown out at San Francisco in Week 17. The quarterback questions persisting upon Kurt Warner's retirement continue to linger. Watching Peyton Manning in the playoffs doesn't help.

» AFC Scenarios: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Yes, the start of training camps is two months away, but it’s never too early to consider the coming season. A look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the Rams in 2012:

Dream scenario (8-8): Sam Bradford takes every snap on offense for the second time in three seasons as the Rams protect their franchise quarterback with sensible play calling. It's the sixth time a Jeff Fisher-coached team finishes 8-8, but no one is complaining after the Rams' 15-65 run over the previous five seasons. Trusting offensive line coach Paul Boudreau to salvage right tackle Jason Smith becomes one of the surprise success stories of the 2012 season, and a critical one for the Rams' efforts to re-establish Bradford.

Turns out the Rams were not fibbing when they suggested Brian Quick, the receiver they took in the second round, ranked up there with first-rounder Justin Blackmon on their board. The constant threat of Steven Jackson and Isaiah Pead out of the backfield creates favorable matchups for Quick and the Rams' underrated receivers. Bradford publicly downplays a Week 2 victory over Robert Griffin III and Washington, but it feels good to win at home against the player St. Louis could have selected second overall this year.

Watching Janoris Jenkins score on a fourth-quarter punt return in Patrick Peterson's house improbably stakes the Rams to a 6-5 record, stirring visions of the postseason. It's certainly sweet to finally win within the division again. The Rams lose to San Francisco the following week and ultimately finish the regular season with a respectable defeat at Seattle, but the season is a success by any measure.

Nightmare scenario (3-13): Road games against Detroit and Chicago in the first three weeks expose Bradford to significant punishment as Smith and the line struggle to find their bearings. Bradford doesn't want to talk about the ankle injury he aggravated at some point in the season's first month, but it's clearly a factor. Facing Cliff Avril, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Ndamukong Suh, Brian Orakpo, Ryan Kerrigan, Julius Peppers, Chris Clemons, Bruce Irvin, Calais Campbell, Darnell Dockett, Cameron Wake and Clay Matthews in the first seven games leaves Bradford limping toward the bye week, his confidence shaken.

Steven Jackson continues to plug away, but we've seen this movie before and it doesn't end well for the Rams. The depth at receiver is indeed improved, but Bradford doesn't have any truly dynamic weapons. Quick understandably needs seasoning, but with Blackmon and Arizona's Michael Floyd challenging rookie receiving records, the Rams look bad for trading down. It's tough finding open receivers with Smith struggling at tackle, anyway.

First-round pick Michael Brockers and free-agent addition Kendall Langford upgrade the run defense, but life as an every-down defensive end is tough for Robert Quinn. The veteran outside linebackers signed as stopgaps represent only a minor upgrade from last season. Off-field issues dog Jenkins and the defense fails to meet expectations. Critics conveniently blame Gregg Williams' suspension, but the problems are more complex than that.

The Rams head into the offseason with another high draft choice, one they'll almost certainly have to invest in a playmaker of some sort.

We reached the height of Suh-mania in early February, when a Forbes magazine poll revealed Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was one of America's most disliked athletes. Two of the three men ranked ahead of him -- Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress -- are felons. The third, well, was Tiger Woods.

During a quiet moment at the NFL scouting combine, a few reporters were speaking with Lions coach Jim Schwartz. How did it come to this? Schwartz laughed, shook his head and suggested that Suh had spawned the "first armchair defensive linemen" in the history of NFL observation.

"We've all heard of armchair quarterbacks," Schwartz said, "and everybody has a thought on game strategy and what a coach should do. Everyone sees if a quarterback is having success or not. But Ndamukong is probably the first [lineman] that has that kind of scrutiny, that has Forbes magazine looking at him. … The fact that they're talking about a guy like Ndamukong Suh shows you how different he is and the scrutiny that he does get."

Three months later, an amazing thing has happened. The Suh-as-a-monster theme has been eclipsed by the New Orleans Saints bounty story, among other offseason discussions about the NFL's violent nature. Ndamukong Suh stomped a player? Well, Gregg Williams ordered his players to take aim at opponent's heads and knees. Checkmate!

Even in a team context, Suh suddenly seems the least of the Lions' problems after an offseason in which three members of their 2011 draft class have been cited for marijuana incidents and a fourth -- receiver Titus Young -- sucker-punched teammate Louis Delmas during a confrontation last week.

From this vantage point, it appears Suh has been handed an extraordinary opportunity if he cares about it. (And based on his carefully orchestrated offseason, which included an in-depth personality profile with ESPN's Hannah Storm and an upcoming appearance on a reality dating show, I'm guessing he does.) Public crusaders have abandoned their camp outside Suh's locker to chase new offenders, leaving Suh to redirect discussion back to where he and the Lions want it: to his on-field performance.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Suh said 2012 is "a very important year" in terms of restoring and/or enhancing his reputation as one of the NFL's most formidable defensive tackles.

"Every year I want to outdo the previous year," he said. "My rookie year was good. Last year was indifferent. This year we have an opportunity to have an outstanding year."

By "indifferent," I assume Suh meant he doesn't have a strong opinion about a 2011 season that saw his sacks drop from 10 to four and his tackles from 66 to 36. He was a Pro Bowl alternate after being voted a starter, as well as a first-team All-Pro, as a rookie in 2010.

To me, the question is if Suh's performance really dropped by the same percentage as his tackles and sacks. Was he half the player in 2011 than in 2010? And will he need to be twice the player in 2012 to match his original promise?

The answer, based both on the Lions' assessment and that of independent observers, is no. Suh did not make the same kind of statistical impact and didn't have an elite season in 2011. But it's only fair to point out the flaws in relying purely on sacks and tackles to evaluate a defensive lineman.

Earlier this winter, Schwartz went back and watched every play of Suh's season. Afterward, he said, "I had more appreciation for what he did."

Schwartz added: "There are a lot of guys that are judged on a lot of different things. Defensive players, the only thing you get judged on are tackles, sacks and interceptions. There's not a whole lot that goes into it. Offensive linemen, it's tough to quantify those positions. …

"There's a couple plays in there, had a great pass rush, quarterback threw the ball before he wanted to. He's free to the quarterback, the quarterback gets rid of the ball, throws an interception. No stat at all for a defensive lineman. No sack, anything that people in the media or fans can look at, but obviously that’s an impact play."

Indeed, Pro Football Focus credited Suh with more quarterback pressures -- 27 -- than any NFL defensive tackle last season.

To be clear, I'm not rationalizing what was a less impactful second season for Suh. I just think it's fair to note he wasn't rendered completely ineffective and point out he doesn't have to make a huge jump to return to elite status. It's might be difficult to judge him based purely on sack totals, as the charts suggest, but mostly I think we should all take advantage of a moment in time when Suh's football exploits are the only points of relevance in our discussions about him. Armchair away!

» NFC pressure points: West | North | South | East
» AFC pressure points: West | North | South | East

Examining who faces the most challenging season for the New Orleans Saints and why.

Long before the news of the bounty scandal broke, it was clear the Saints needed to do something dramatic on defense. Gregg Williams’ system worked nicely in the 2009 season as the Saints went on to win the Super Bowl. But defensive breakdowns were the main reason why the Saints lost a playoff game to Seattle in the 2010 season and to San Francisco last season.

That’s why the Saints quickly replaced Williams with Steve Spagnuolo as soon as the season ended. His chore is to build a more consistent defense and get away from Williams’ philosophy of taking big gambles in hopes of producing turnovers. Spagnuolo’s had success before by getting pressure almost exclusively from his front four and letting the back seven focus on pass coverage and run support. But middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the season and defensive end Will Smith will be suspended for the first four games.

The Saints added Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne and they should make up for the loss of Vilma. But while Smith is out and even after he returns, Spagnuolo has to find ways to get a strong pass rush from a group of guys (aside from Smith) that don’t have a strong history of putting pressure on the quarterback. Spagnuolo’s defense doesn’t have to be dominant.

If the Saints can just come up with some stops at key times, Drew Brees and the offense are good enough to outscore anyone.

By now, you've probably heard that former Minnesota Vikings receiver Cris Carter said Tuesday on ESPN Radio that he put bounties on other NFL players during his career to protect himself from injury. Carter told "Hill and Schlereth" that, for example, he paid some Vikings teammates to protect him from linebacker Bill Romanowski in a game against the Denver Broncos because Romanowski told him before the game he would end his career.

Carter referred to the bounty as putting "a little change on his head." He added: "Listen, on the football field you only got certain protection and your teammates are part of that protection. It's built in and if I'm playing a certain position where I can't protect myself -- how can the quarterback protect himself? But for his teammates to stand up and do something."

A lot of the interview, which can be found on this podcast , reflects Carter's usual bluster and rhetoric. But to me the serious upshot is that Carter's idea of a bounty, which he said was commonplace during his career, isn't the same thing as what the NFL claims the New Orleans Saints did under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

"It wasn't to maim or hurt the dude," Carter said. "When a guy said he was going to hurt me, my recourse was to put a bounty on him to make sure."

Maybe it's semantics, but paying an offensive lineman to give Romanowski an extra shove is a lot different than, say, offering money to knock a starting quarterback out of a playoff game. Carry on.

The signed declaration submitted to the NFL by Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, revealed Monday by Yahoo! Sports, is troubling on a number of counts.

First, contrary to an NFL statement last week, the declaration offered neither confirmation of a New Orleans Saints bounty program nor an admission that Hargrove participated in one when he played for the Saints in 2009 and 2010. Instead, the declaration revolves around Hargrove's contention that then-Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and assistant head coach Joe Vitt instructed Hargrove to deny all knowledge and existence of a bounty program when NFL investigators questioned him in 2010. Specifically, Hargrove said he was told to "play dumb."

Second, the declaration frankly paints a scene of the two Saints coaches blackmailing and implicitly threatening a player who at the time was one year removed from serving a year-long NFL suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse program. According to the document, which Hargrove signed last month, Williams told Hargrove he had been working on a depth chart and had penciled him in as the starting left end after a year spent mostly as a reserve defensive lineman.

Williams used that nugget to start a conversation that ended with him asking Hargrove to fend off NFL investigators. There was no overt mention of a quid pro quo, but I think any reasonably intelligent person can see what Williams was up to, at least based on the account Hargrove gave in his declaration.

After following Williams' instructions, Hargrove reported he was "never given an opportunity to compete for the starting defensive end job." I guess someone could consider Hargrove's return to reserve status in 2010 as evidence that there was no quid pro quo. It could also be a broken promise made to elicit loyalty.

Meanwhile, the declaration implies that Vitt also requested a degree of loyalty because he was part of the St. Louis Rams' coaching staff when Hargrove was drafted in 2004. Vitt also played a role in bringing Hargrove to the Saints in 2009, vouching for him when few teams were willing to offer him a contract.

Obviously there are two sides to every story, and as we hinted at last week, this declaration helps paint a broader role of Hargrove's participation in the investigation and the merit, or lack thereof, for the eight-game suspension he has been served with to start the 2012 season.

On the surface, the declaration doesn't provide the information the NFL claimed last week that it did. (The NFL's statement last week: "Hargrove submitted a signed declaration to the league that established not only the existence of the program at the Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it.")

Perhaps the league has other evidence. But to me, and I would think most people, Hargrove's admission that he was instructed to deny the existence of a bounty program is not the same as acknowledging he either knew about it or participated. It isn't even enough to say that Hargrove lied. He followed instructions to deny knowledge. If that's the only evidence the league has on Hargrove, then an appeal initiated Monday might have some merit.

Again, as we discussed last week, Hargrove must own the original words he spoke to investigators. But this declaration provides some context for why he said what he said.

It might be easy for us to say in a vacuum that we would tell the full truth at all times, but this was a player who was still in the process of convincing the league he was employable. He was being offered a promotion by one of the few teams that originally expressed interest. It's dirty stuff. This entire episode -- the bounty program and the NFL's investigation -- gets murkier with every layer peeled away. What's next?

There have been so many subplots to the New Orleans Saints’ bounty program that some significant ones have gotten lost in the shuffle.

Thanks to Jeff Schultz for bringing attention to one of them. In this column, Schultz writes about the role and stance the NFL Players Association has taken and suggests the union change its name to “the Union of People We Feel Like Representing."

He’s got an excellent point. In its statement after the suspensions of Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove were announced, the union said it had “not received any detailed or specific evidence from the league of these specific players’ involvement in an alleged pay-to-injure program."

That’s a pretty standard line from the NFLPA. Think back to last year’s lockout. How many times did we hear the union say that the NFL would not share information how much each team was making, even though the league repeatedly said the union had been supplied with as much information as possible.

It’s a similar story this time. Former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has admitted the bounty program took place and there is that damning audiotape of Williams talking to his players the night before last season’s playoff game at San Francisco. The NFL also has said that multiple sources said Vilma offered $10,000 of his own money for bounties on Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. The NFL said Smith assisted Williams in establishing and funding the bounty program. The league also said Hargrove submitted a “signed declaration to the league that established not only the existence of the program at the Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it’’. The league also said Fujita pledged a significant amount of money to the bounty program.

What more evidence does the union want?

Obviously, the union is prepared to stand by Vilma, Smith, Hargrove and Fujita, who just happens to be a member of the NFLPA’s executive committee, as they make their expected appeals. Any union should stand by its members because they pay dues that should bring them support from their union.

But this is where things head to an area that looks to be painted in multiple shades of gray. The NFLPA will try to protect the four suspended members.

That screams out one huge question -- what about the union’s hundreds of other members? They pay dues too and, presumably, that buys them protection as well. Shouldn’t the union be standing by Favre and Warner, who paid dues for years? And shouldn’t the union be protecting Carolina quarterback Cam Newton and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who the league said were also targets of the bounty program?

By standing so firmly with the suspended players, the union seems to be giving the appearance it doesn’t care about its other members or their safety and welfare. I’m sure the union would dispute that and say it cares about all its members and there’s probably truth in that.

But perception is everything. And the way the union has handled this thing so far sure make it look like it has a serious conflict of interest on its hands.

Maybe the union should step aside on this one. I don't see how you fully can stand up for the rights of your players when one group is trying to hurt another group. The union can pick a side, if it wants. But maybe choosing to not pick a side and staying out of this one is the only way the union can avoid the perception of a conflict of interest.

Say this much about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell -- he’s consistent.

Goodell was harsh when he issued punishment for the New Orleans Saints organization, coaching staff and front office for roles in a three-year bounty program. Saints coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was suspended indefinitely, assistant head coach Joe Vitt will be suspended for the first six games of the season and general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight games of the season. The Saints also were fined $500,000 and had to forfeit a second-round draft pick in 2012 and 2013.

When the NFL announced player discipline Wednesday, Goodell was just as harsh. He suspended New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire season and Vilma no longer can take part in the offseason workouts. New Orleans defensive end Will Smith will be suspended for the first four games. Former New Orleans defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, will be suspended for the first eight games and former New Orleans linebacker Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland, will be suspended for the first three games.

Smith, Fujita and Hargrove can continue taking part in offseason programs and will start their suspensions just before the regular season.

As it did with the announcement of discipline for the coaches, Loomis and the Saints, the NFL sent out a detailed release about why the players were suspended.

Here is the explanation from the league on what each of the four players did to earn the punishment:

Vilma: “The investigation concluded that while a captain of the defensive unit Vilma assisted Coach Williams in establishing and funding the program. Multiple independent sources also confirmed that Vilma offered a specific bounty -- $10,000 in cash – to any player who knocked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner out of the 2009 Divisional playoff game and later pledged the same amount to anyone who knocked Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC Championship Game the following week (played on Jan. 24, 2010). Vilma is eligible to be reinstated after the Super Bowl in 2013.’’

Smith: “Smith, a defensive end, assisted Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in establishing and funding the program during a period in which he was a captain and leader of the defensive unit. Multiple independent sources also confirmed that Smith pledged significant sums to the program pool for 'cart-offs' and 'knockouts' of opposing players.”

Hargrove: “Actively participated in the program while a member of the Saints. Hargrove submitted a signed declaration to the league that established not only the existence of the program at the Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it. The evidence showed that Hargrove told at least one player on another team that Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was a target of a large bounty during the NFC Championship Game in January of 2010. Hargrove also actively obstructed the league’s 2010 investigation into the program by being untruthful to investigators.’’

Fujita: “The record established that Fujita, a linebacker, pledged a significant amount of money to the prohibited pay-for-performance/bounty pool during the 2009 NFL playoffs when he played for the Saints. The pool to which he pledged paid large cash rewards for 'cart-offs' and 'knockouts,' plays during which an opposing player was injured.’’

The league went on to say that all the players are suspended without pay for “detrimental conduct."

“In assessing player discipline,” Goodell said, “I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation.”

The players can appeal the suspensions, but Goodell already is indicating that a defense saying they were just following the orders of coaches will not fly.

“No bounty program can exist without active player participation,” Goodell said. “The evidence clearly showed that the players being held accountable today willingly and enthusiastically embraced the bounty program. Players put the vast majority of the money into this program and they share responsibility for playing by the rules and protecting each other within those rules.”

Now that the NFL draft has been completed, it seems likely the next step in what has been a crazy offseason for the New Orleans Saints will come soon.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported several times during the draft that the NFL is expected to announce player discipline for the Saints bounty program this week. No firm date for the announcement has been mentioned, but it’s possible it could come as soon as Monday.

The league first revealed its investigation of the bounty program on March 2 and announced more than a month ago that coach Sean Payton would serve a season-long suspension, general manager Mickey Loomis will be suspended for the first eight games of the season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt would be suspended for the first six games of the 2012 season.

The Saints also were fined $500,000 and were stripped of second-round draft picks this year and next. The Saints appealed all of their punishments, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upheld them. Former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams also was suspended indefinitely and did not appeal.

Goodell said last week the league was in the final stages of its investigation of the players involved. He also said players embraced the bounty program. I think that was Goodell’s way of anticipating players saying they were simply following the orders of their coaches and a hint that the punishments will be harsh.

But it’s difficult to speculate how severe the punishments will be. When announcing the previous punishments, the league gave detailed accounts of the involvement of Payton, Loomis, Vitt and Williams. But that report did not go into much detail about player involvement.

The league said 22 to 27 players were involved over a three-year period. Obviously, that could include some players who now are with other teams and some players who are out of the league. The NFL also has implied that players who took leadership roles in the bounty program could draw the stiffest penalties.

Some players may draw fines, but Goodell’s statements are a pretty good indication that at least some suspensions are coming.

We’ll find out for sure soon.

LZ Granderson's column makes a strong case for Gregg Williams' return to the NFL and (presumably) the St. Louis Rams for the 2013 season.

Granderson cites examples of players returning to the NFL following illegal or prohibited activity. He says Williams was suspended for actions commonplace enough for the Saints to let a documentary film crew record them.

"In March 2009, Donte' Stallworth got drunk, got in his car and hit a pedestrian, killing him," Granderson wrote. "He was convicted of manslaughter and was suspended by the league … but not for long. He was reinstated after missing a season and signed with the Ravens. He has a lifetime suspension of his Florida driver's license, but in March he signed as a free agent with the New England Patriots."

Williams is reportedly seeking a framework for reinstatement. The league has indicated it could issue conditions if and when allowing Williams back into the game.

"Commissioner Roger Goodell will review Coach Williams’ status at the conclusion of the 2012 season and consider whether to reinstate him, and, if so, on what terms," the NFL said in announcing Williams' suspension. "Commissioner Goodell said he will give close attention to the extent to which Coach Williams cooperates with the NFL in any further proceedings."

Williams has, by all accounts, cooperated.

News reports recently said Williams assisted tornado victims in Missouri. Other reports said certain San Francisco 49ers still thought highly of Williams, even though he encouraged New Orleans Saints players to injured various 49ers during the playoffs last season.

Those types of stories can help shape public perceptions. They could score points with Goodell. Williams has also accepted his punishment meekly, declining to pursue an appeal. That should help him, too.

There is no NFL merit badge for reinstatement, however. Giving Williams a clear path back to the NFL would give him an easy way out. I'm more inclined to think the league will make Williams sweat a little.

Breakdown: After all the punishments the NFL has placed on the Saints for their bounty program, there was some fear that would continue when the schedule came out. But that didn’t come true. The Saints got four nationally televised games. They’ll host San Diego in a Sunday night game (Oct. 7) and play at Denver (Oct. 28). They’ll host Philadelphia Nov. 5 in a Monday night game and they’ll be at Atlanta Nov. 29 for a Thursday night game.

That’s plenty of national attention and there will be other reasons why the Saints will be an attraction throughout the season. They’re in a very unique situation with head coach Sean Payton suspended for the entire season. General manager Mickey Loomis will be suspended for the first eight games. Loomis will return just in time for a Nov. 11 home game with Atlanta. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt will start off the season as the interim head coach. Vitt won’t coach the Saints in the regular season until the Denver game.

Offensive line coach Aaron Kromer is expected to step into the top role while Vitt is out and he might be catching a bit of a break. The first six teams the Saints will face went a combined 47-49 last season. After Vitt’s return, the Saints will face teams that went a combined 84-76 last season.

Complaint department: The Saints face a potentially brutal November schedule. From Nov. 5 through Nov. 29, they’ll play five times and not a single one of those games looks easy. The Nov. 18 game at Oakland might appear to be the easiest in that stretch, but any time you have to travel to the West Coast, it’s a challenge. The game with the Raiders is sandwiched between home games with Philadelphia and Atlanta and a home game with San Francisco on Nov. 25 that’s followed quickly by a Thursday night game at Atlanta.

Bounty Bowl: Gregg Williams is gone. First, the former New Orleans defensive coordinator left for the same job in St. Louis. Then, he got suspended indefinitely for his role as the ringleader in the bounty program. But you know Williams’ name, or at least audio tapes of his voice, are going to come up when the Saints play San Francisco. That will be a rematch of the January playoff game that was won by the 49ers. That also is the game that has become the most tangible example to most people of the bounty program. The night before that game, Williams spoke to his defenders and urged them to injure specific members of the 49ers. There’s no doubt those San Francisco players and their teammates will remember Williams’ words. That audio tape likely will get constant play that week -- in the media and in the 49ers' locker room.

Saints Regular-Season Schedule (All times Eastern)
Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 9, Washington, 1:00 PM
Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 16, at Carolina, 1:00 PM
Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 23, Kansas City, 1:00 PM
Week 4: Sunday, Sept. 30, at Green Bay, 4:15 PM
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 7, San Diego, 8:20 PM
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 21, at Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM
Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 28, at Denver, 8:20 PM
Week 9: Monday, Nov. 5, Philadelphia, 8:30 PM
Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 11, Atlanta, 1:00 PM
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 18, at Oakland, 4:05 PM
Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 25, San Francisco, 4:15 PM
Week 13: Thursday, Nov. 29, at Atlanta, 8:20 PM
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 9, at NY Giants, 4:15 PM
Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 16, Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM
Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 23, at Dallas, 1:00 PM
Week 17: Sunday, Dec. 30, Carolina, 1:00 PM

Even if you’re tired about hearing about the New Orleans Saints bounty program, I urge you to read this fine column by Johnette Howard.

It’s about what I find one of the most interesting and complex issues in this whole saga: the decision by filmmaker Sean Pamphilon to release audiotapes of Gregg Williams, the ringleader of the bounty program, talking to his players the night before last season’s playoff game in San Francisco. It’s also about former Saints special-teams star Steve Gleason, who is battling ALS and was the person who got Pamphilon access to the meeting room in the first place.

Pamphilon talked at length about why he released the tapes. He also talked about the fallout he’s faced since then. He said hearing Williams talk so graphically about injuring specific San Francisco players left him extremely conflicted. The aftermath hasn’t been what Pamphilon expected.

"And what do you do? What do … you DO?" Pamphilon asked. "What I thought releasing this audio would do is create a public dialogue that could not be ignored … something that's going to make everyone think and talk. Because before this, people knew bounties existed. But nobody knew what a bounty actually sounded like. How disgusting it is.

"But what happened instead is most of that was swallowed up. The dialogue has shifted to 'Filmmaker betrays dying man.' And how do you defend yourself against a man who you love, when almost everyone says you betrayed him, and it's destroying your reputation? I mean, I love this guy. I love this guy."

Gleason has said he didn’t authorize the release of the tapes and said he was disappointed they became public. Pamphilon apologized for taking what he said was a cheap shot at Gleason when he said the former player was “protecting his own interests’’ in football by denouncing the release of the tapes. But Pamphilon made no apology for making the tapes public because he thought society had a right to know about the bounty program. Pamphilon said he still cares deeply for Gleason.

“It is very difficult trying to defend yourself in public against a man who has a terminal disease,’’ Pamphilon said. "I treated Steve like he was living. Not like he was dying. I met him not as the person he was before [ALS or the NFL] and I see him as a man living in a very glorious way. I see him as a fighter. I haven't seen Steve as dying. I've always seen him as a man gracefully living."

The New Orleans Saints' Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and Joe Vitt won the potential for financial relief after appealing their bounty-related punishments to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The bulk of their appeals failed, however, affirming Gregg Williams' strategy as the right one for his situation.

Williams, now with the St. Louis Rams, decided against appealing, and for good reason:

• The contrition factor: Williams was the brashest and most flagrant violator of NFL rules. His eventual reinstatement depends upon the sincerity of his contrition. Appealing the commissioner's decision would have sent the wrong message on that front.
• Suspension length: The league handed down well-defined suspensions to Payton, Loomis and Vitt. Williams was suspended indefinitely. It would be tougher to appeal "indefinitely" than to appeal a set amount of games. The commissioner had already said he would review Williams' case following the 2012 season. Shortening that time frame would have been unrealistic. If and when Williams does return, he'll do so most effectively between seasons.

The best strategy for Williams will be to keep a low profile in the short term, cooperate fully with any future investigations and, eventually, to publicly explain the error of his ways.

Williams, though widely scorned at this point, will have opportunities to redefine himself through outreach programs and charitable works. Sports figures routinely draw from their own mistakes in advising others to take different paths.

This will be a tough transition for Williams, with no guarantees for success. His decision against appealing marked a small step in the right direction.

Darren Woodson and Tedy Bruschi recently discussed whether Gregg Williams' indefinite suspension from the NFL should become a lifetime ban.

Just about everyone should get a second chance, Woodson said, and Bruschi largely agreed.

Whether Williams deserves a second chance and whether he will get one are separate issues.

The NFL, faced with hundreds of player-safety lawsuits, has much invested in making an example out of Williams and the New Orleans Saints for their bounty-related violations. Fair or not, the league gains more legally and politically from a lifetime ban than from welcoming back the person most directly associated with bounties.

A recently released audio recording brought to life the allegations in a manner that further damaged Williams. After hearing the recording, I doubted whether Williams, now the St. Louis Rams' defensive coordinator, would ever coach again in the NFL.

But the backlash against Williams could fade over time. Woodson and Bruschi sounded amenable to the NFL clearing Williams following the 2012 season.

ESPN NFL analyst Antonio Pierce, who played for the Redskins in 2004 when Gregg Williams was their defensive coordinator, had some thoughts on the audio of Williams' pregame speech that was released Thursday. Antonio sat down with Rachel Nichols for a discussion that aired on "SportsCenter," in which he said the stuff he heard in the Williams speech sounded very much like speeches he'd heard throughout his NFL career, including from Williams.

"It took me back to 2004, honestly. I know the tone. That was Gregg Williams. I love him for it. I loved his approach to the game. If I had to play for him today, I would, no problem."

Fine. Understood. The opinions of our former-NFL-player analysts are very much worthwhile, and it's good of them to be open about sharing them. But they're all missing the most important point in all of this.

This discussion has moved beyond the issue of bounties, well beyond the issue of what kind of motivator Williams is, and it needs to move beyond the issue of how common these speeches are. We get it. This stuff gets brought up. Players are made aware of opposing players' injuries so that they might take them into consideration when they decide how and much and how hard to hit them.

Happens from high school on up. We all completely get that this is common practice and has been for a long time.

But the real point in all of this is that it has to change, along with many other time-tested aspects of physical football, to fit in with today's player-safety-conscious NFL. You can argue that the league is hypocritical. You can argue that it was late to the party. You can argue that all of the player-safety initiatives and related discipline are a reaction to the proliferation of lawsuits by former players who claim the league ignored or covered up serious injuries for years. All of that is absolutely true. But what's also true is that, whether fans like it or not, player safety has become a paramount issue in today's NFL, and it's not going the other direction anytime soon.

That being the case, the idea of a motivational speech that urges players to target opponents' specific injuries is either outdated or must become so. If you're a defensive coordinator, and you're watching what's going on the past couple of days and weeks, and you're smart, you're leaving that kind of stuff out of your pregame speeches from this point forward. It's entirely possible to fire up your players without mentioning anything about concussions or ACLs, and given what's happened to Williams and the Saints, smart coaches are going to realize that and stop talking like this. Because whether you or I or anyone who's ever played football like it or not, the NFL is going to be very interested in knowing who does and who doesn't.