FRANTZ' RANTS: NFL bounty problem overblown

"Off with their heads!” seems to be the verdict from the throne of public opinion.

“Fire the coaches! Ban the players! Bring them up on criminal charges, while you’re at it!”

Well, I guess that’s the risk you run when your football franchise engages in Mafioso-type business practices in the National Football League.

That’s right — according to early reports on the NFL’s ongoing “bounty” investigation, the New Orleans Saints, and possibly others, were putting contracts on the heads of key figures from other crime families, err, football teams.

Joey Knuckles was getting $1,500 for whacking out a quarterback. Nicky the Rat was getting a grand for knee-capping the tailback, and Tony Doggs got $2500 for breaking the receiver’s neck.

Fuhgettaboudit, right?

Judging by some of the reactions, you’d think the truth isn’t that far off. But in reality, how big of a deal is this?

It depends on what’s actually true and what’s being exaggerated.

One report, citing a source close to the investigation, suggested Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma actually offered his teammates $10,000 of his own money to knock Vikings’ quarterback Brett Farve out of the NFC championship game.

If that particular report is true, and especially if it’s proven that any of the Saints’ coaches knew about it, we have a very serious problem on our hands. Vilma’s offer would come just about as close to the Mafia scenario described above as you can come.

If any player or coach actually promised a monetary reward specifically for causing a serious injury to an opponent in order to remove him from the game, regardless of the method, let me be clear: The harshest possible penalties against the players, coaches, and the franchise should be applied.

But we don’t know yet if that actually happened.

What we do know, according to multiple players around that league, is that an unofficial “reward” system among players has been in place for a long time on virtually any and every team.

Browns’ linebacker Scott Fujita, a former Saint, is among the players who have compared the small-dollar awards given to one another to the helmet decals given to college players after big plays — including huge hits on opposing players.

“Over the years, I’ve paid out a lot of money for big plays like interceptions, sacks and special teams tackles inside the 20,” Fujita told Sports Illustrated.

Retired defensive lineman Trevor Pryce told the New York Times that the internal reward system is commonplace in the NFL.

“It’s pretty much standard operating procedure,” Pryce said. “It made our special teams better. Trust me, it happens in some form in any locker room.”

However, as Fujita was quick to declare, “I’ve never made a payment for intentionally injuring another player.”

I believe him.

We’re talking about a league which pays its players extraordinary amounts of money to put vicious, violent hits on opponents on every single play. We’re also talking about a league in which rosters turn over more frequently than Peyton Hillis changes agents.

So why would any player making $450,000 per game, or even half that, try to intentionally cripple a guy for an extra $1,000? Especially when that guy might be his teammate the next season?

Sure, there have been reports of cash compensation for “cart-off” hits, which leave the opponent unable to leave the field under his own power, but that does not mean defensive players or special teamers are taking cheap shots to get them.

In the National Football League, every time a defensive end or blitzing linebacker has an open shot at a quarterback — literally every time — he’s going to hit him as hard as he possibly can. Because that’s his job.

Make the QB feel it. Make him hurt. Make his feet a little happy in the pocket next time he drops back. Make him release it a little early. Let him know you’re coming for him again. And again. And again.

Does anyone actually think that this linebacker, who is already going all out to put a big-time hurt on the quarterback on every play, is going to find a way to hit him $1,500 harder?

It would be like a boxer, earning $10 million for a PPV fight, being offered another $1,000 from his trainer to knock his opponent out.

Wasn’t he already trying to knock the guy out? Wasn’t that the point?

Former Saints’ defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has admitted his role in the “incentive” program in New Orleans, and he may still be implicated in similar schemes in Washington and Buffalo. He has apologized for his role, as have Saints’ head coach Sean Payton and GM Mickey Loomis.

The apologies may not be good enough.

If the allegations made against Vilma are true, and if there are others like them, Roger Goodell is going to hang the lot of them from a proverbial yardarm. The integrity of the league and the safety of the players are both in question if it’s proven that guys were actually offered money to injure other players.

However, if the extent of the players’ crime in this situation proves to be little more than throwing money back and forth at each other in the locker room based on big hits and big plays they were already being paid to make anyway, then perhaps people inside and outside the league need to simply accept the NFL for what it is: Violent men being paid to do violent things to other violent men.