Tag: Sean Payton (Page 6 of 13)

      Did Saints’ GM try to cover up Vicodin theft?

      May 12, 2010 /

      According to former Saints security director Geoffrey Santini, general manager Mickey Loomis tried to convince him to cover up the theft of Vicodin from team’s headquarters.

      From ESPN.com:

      “I was witnessing crimes, and I wasn’t going to stand for that,” Santini told the newspaper. “I did everything I could to save the people that were involved, but it just didn’t go that way. Mickey didn’t let it.”

      The lawsuit, filed April 30, alleges one “senior staff member” was caught on video stealing the prescription pain killer Vicodin, while another was allowed to take a seemingly excessive amount of Vicodin from team supplies.

      Santini told USA Today the “senior staff member” caught on video stealing Vicodin was Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt and the other staff member mentioned in the lawsuit is Saints head coach Sean Payton.

      The Saints say that Santini is just a disgruntled former employee looking for payback. But Santini maintains that he resigned because he was being ordered to either undertake or ignore that several members of the Saints’ coaching staff was stealing the drug.

      It sounds as if this is your typical “he said, she said” case. Santini has credibility because he worked for the FBI for 31 years, but you never know what someone’s motives are. He could be fabricating the truth because he’s pissed off at the Saints, or he could be the key to uncovering a serious infraction. Who knows at this point?

      What we do know, however, is that these are serious allegations. Stealing Vicodin is a felony offense that can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. And considering Sean Payton’s name is tied to this situation, the Saints have cause for concern.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

      Sean Payton accused of receiving painkillers

      May 2, 2010 /

      From UPI.com:

      New Orleans Saints head Coach Sean Payton is the unnamed staffer accused of receiving stolen painkillers, The (New Orleans) Times Picayune reported Saturday.

      Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper reported that Payton is the person referred to in a lawsuit brought by former Saints security director Geoff Santini as “Senior Staff Member A,” who was allegedly given a large quantity of Vicodin pills stolen from the team’s drug cabinet.

      Santini’s suit alleges that “Senior Staff Member A” was given the pills despite having no medical condition after they were stolen by “Senior Staff Member B,” whom The Times-Picayune identified as Saints linebackers coach Joe Vitt.

      Payton vehemently denied the allegations in a statement Saturday, saying, “I have reviewed Geoff Santini’s lawsuit and the unwarranted publicity it has received. I have never abused or stolen Vicodin or any other medication and I fully support the Saints’ position in this matter as expressed by (team spokesman) Greg Bensel yesterday.”

      See, this is what happens. A man has a little success in the NFL and then he’s accused of stealing painkillers.

      Same thing happened to that nice young man Ryan Leaf.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

      Will the Saints become a dynasty?

      February 8, 2010 /

      I know what you’re thinking: Great, the Saints win one Super Bowl and now the media wants to anoint them the Steelers of the 70s, the 49ers of the 80s or the Cowboys of the early 90s.

      Relax – I’m not doing that. But I bring the topic up because there’s a case to be made that the Saints have all the pieces in place to become a mini-dynasty this decade.

      Over the next couple weeks, the Saints will ensure that centerpiece Drew Brees finishes his career in New Orleans by giving him a very large contract extension. Whenever the time is right, they’ll also do the same with head coach Sean Payton and make sure that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is happy where he’s at in order to keep their two playcallers intact for years to come as well.

      With those three vital pieces in place, the Saints could challenge for multiple Super Bowls and not be a one-year wonder. Continuity breeds success and considering they have a family-like atmosphere in their locker room, the team won’t have a hard sell on its hands in trying to bring free agents like Darren Sharper back to New Orleans next season.

      But as I’ve highlighted below (after the jump), they do have some huge hurdles to overcome if they want to build upon their success from the 2009-2010 season.

      Continue reading »

      Barstool Debates, NFL, Super Bowl

      Manning comes up short in the postseason once again

      February 8, 2010 /

      If one were to look up Peyton Manning’s stats from Super Bowl XLIV, they would assume that he did enough to propel his team to a victory. After all, he completed 31-of-45 passes for 333 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

      But as has been the case his entire career, Manning’s numbers weren’t enough.

      Football is a team sport and one play doesn’t settle the outcome of a game. But when Tracy Porter intercepted Manning (who forced a pass into Reggie Wayne in the face of a New Orleans’ blitz) and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth, it sealed the Colts’ fate. In essence, Manning delivered the nail in the coffin for his own team, although it isn’t a surprise that he failed in the postseason.

      The Colts have been very average in the postseason with Manning under center. Don’t believe me? Even with their Super Bowl victory four years ago, Indy is just 9-9 in the postseason with Manning as their starter. Considering he’s referred to as one of the best to have ever played the game, is it a stretch to say that the Colts should be better than that? I don’t think so.

      Don’t get me wrong: Peyton Manning is brilliant. He’s always the most prepared player on the field at all times and he’s the definition of being a student of the game. But isn’t this always the same story with him? Aren’t we always talking about his numbers and forgetting the fact that he only has one Super Bowl victory despite countless appearances in the postseason? Something is wrong here.

      Manning wasn’t the only reason the Colts lost tonight. Had they recovered the onsides kick to start the first half and scored, they would have stolen all the momentum from the game and probably would have won. Had they sustained the momentum from the first quarter (a quarter in which they absolutely dominated), they probably would have won. Had their defense produced more second half stops, they probably would have won.

      But I can’t shake the fact that when the Colts needed him most, Manning threw a pick six to essentially ensure a Saints’ victory. That’s not to take anything away from the Saints because they played great, but if we’re going to talk about Peyton being one of the best ever, then he needs to win this type of game. (After all, Joe Montana was 4-0 in the Super Bowl and Tom Brady was 3-1.)

      It wouldn’t surprise me if Manning won another Super Bowl before his career is finished. But until then, let’s slow down with all the “best ever” talk, shall we?


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL, Super Bowl

      Despite Payton’s mistakes, the Saints emerge victorious in Super Bowl XLIV

      February 7, 2010 /

      There’s a difference between being risky and being stupid and Sean Payton straddled that line all night tonight.

      With the Colts ahead 10-3 late in the first half and his team facing a 4th and 1 from the one-yard line, I thought Payton did the right thing by winding the clock down to the two-minute warning before making a decision on whether or not to go for it or kick a field goal. Unfortunately for the Saints, he arguably made the wrong decision by going for it as Pierre Thomas slipped and was stopped short of the goal line.

      Forget the fact that Thomas slipped – it was a dumb decision by Payton. Not to go for it mind you – one could debate that it was a decent call given the score and situation. But calling a running play out the single back formation when he has a quarterback like Drew Brees running his offense just wasn’t a smart decision by Payton. I could go as far as to say it was a horrendous play call and he was lucky that his defense produced a three and out on the Colts’ next series and wound up still getting a field goal to cut the Colts’ lead to 10-6 right before half anyway.

      Then to open the second half, Payton called a surprise onsides kick and had the Colts player fielded it cleanly, the Saints would have been screwed with horrible field position and a total lack of momentum. Payton once again came up lucky that 1) the Colts player mishandled it and 2) the Saints jumped on it, or else Indy might have ran out to an early double-digit lead early in the second half.

      But despite all that, the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl Champions. Despite all of Payton’s mistakes, the Saints were still able to execute. Despite getting dominated in the first quarter, the Saints didn’t freak out and the wound up being victorious in the end. Despite having so much go against them early on, the Saints were the team that showed enough grit and determination in the end to beat an opponent that had just won the Super Bowl four years ago and that had the Hall of Fame quarterback.

      And you know what? That’s a testament to Sean Payton.

      The Saints have had their backs against the wall several times this season, including near losses in Miami and Washington during the regular season, as well as when they entered the postseason as losers of three straight. But their head coach never wavered in his confidence for his team and they repaid him by showing their confidence in him. Forget destiny – the Saints won because they all bought into Payton’s philosophy. Brees may be the face of the franchise, but Payton is the heart and soul.

      A team that didn’t have as much trust in their head coach would have lost tonight. But because the Saints backed Payton, they were able to overcome his mistakes and dominate three of the four quarters to become Super Bowl champs. It takes a special team to do what Payton’s Saints just did.

      I’ll be doing more Super Bowl XLIV recap posts, so make sure to click here for more coverage.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL, Super Bowl

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