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Can the New Orleans Saints Rebound from the Bounty Scandal?
After the NFL learned about the bounty program in the Big Easy, the New Orleans Saints were severely penalized with head coach Sean Payton taking the majority of the blame by being suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season. This penalty was considered harsh by many and many a bit over the top, but the league wanted to make an example of the Saints and now the fans will most likely be the ones that suffer the most.
Not only has the league shed light on all the ugly goings on in New Orleans, but the Saints are also in trouble with the current contract negotiations with the face of the franchise in quarterback Drew Brees. After getting franchise tagged by the Saints, Brees was not happy and felt that he deserved a long-term deal that would keep him in the Big Easy for the rest of his Hall of Fame-caliber career.
So along with the bounty program scandal, the Saints are risking their future as a perennial Super bowl title contender by not extending a much needed and deserved contract extension to their best player.
Now the Saints will head into the 2012 NFL regular season with an ugly scandal hanging over their heads and an unhappy superstar. There’s no question that the Saints were one of the best teams in the league last season with a near unstoppable offense, but this season may be drastically different with Payton sitting at home and Brees unmotivated to lead this team that hasn’t given him the courtesy of paying him the money he deserves.
Things could get very ugly for New Orleans as this season will almost certainly be a disappointment and might end in disaster with the franchise in disarray.
Will the New Orleans Saints be Able to Keep Drew Brees?
Heading into last season, the New Orleans Saints were ready to avenge the playoff loss to the lowly Seattle Seahawks and get back into Super Bowl title contention in the NFC Conference. Superstar quarterback Drew Brees was motivated and had his teammates onboard to make another run.
Even though the Saints were dominating the competition all season long and appeared to be back to form as one of the elite teams in the league, New Orleans still had major flaws on the defensive side of the football. Fortunately, Brees and company were able to make a somewhat impressive run in the playoffs and were threatening to get back to the Super Bowl.
The Saints were rolling in the postseason with the offense firing on all cylinders and the defense playing well enough to sustain leads. Despite that being the case, the San Francisco 49ers had home field advantage and were a better all-around football team. The game was about as good as it could get with both teams battling down to the wire, but in the end the 49ers prevailed and reached the NFC Championship game.
After the season was officially over for the Saints, things began to fall apart in New Orleans with failed contract talks with Drew Brees and bounty allegations. These allegations were just the beginning of the fallout in the Big Easy with head coach Sean Payton being suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season and doubts about being able to please Brees in contract negotiations.
Needless to say, the Saints are in trouble right now as the future of the franchise is up in the air with a good chance of losing superstar Drew Brees.
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