Linebacker Joey Porter is known for his tough, hard-hitting style on the field, but is also known to throw his two-cents in on many topics, including the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal and the fallout afterwards. Porter joined 790 The Zone in Atlanta to discuss a multitude of NFL options, including bounty programs around the league and whether the NFL's ensuing punishment was justified.
Porter talks about his time in the league, and his knowledge of bounties throughout his career.
On his familiarity with bounties from his experience as an NFL player:
"We just played football aggressively because the way we was looking at it is the more plays you get the bigger check you're gonna get. So you're gonna play hard for all kinds of reasons. You're gonna play hard because you wanna win a championship. You're gonna play hard because you wanna be noticed as a good player. We had little side pots on who gets the first sack or stuff like that but never been a part of anything to where a bounty was put on a guy like, ‘Here, this is the target this week and we're gonna hand you this check.... I never knew that a coach would promote it like the way they did. I feel bad for Sean Payton and the Saints for the situation that they're in right now, but no I've never been a part of any bounties."
As for their punishment, Porter noted that he certainly didn't see it coming, but that Roger Goodell and his 'persistent' nature will certainly change how the game is played.
On if he thinks the punishment was justified:
"You know what? And people have their comments on Roger Goodell, but you've gotta say that the guy is persistent. And for him to do that to a coach, that's tough. I didn't see it coming. I knew something was gonna happen. Didn't think he would get suspended for a whole year and lose $7.5 million. That was the biggest blow. I knew some guys were (going to) get in trouble, because I could just tell when you keep talking about it, something's gotta happen. But never seen that coming. I didn't think the penalty would be that harsh, but by him making that penalty, you can't pay a guy $100 to make a tackle no more. ... You won't have nothing going on - guys are gonna play football and that is it."
An example was certainly made of the Saints in this regard, but when you go after Goodell's moneymakers like Brett Favre, Kurt Warner and Cam Newton, you have to expect some severe repercussions.
For more on the NFL and the Saints' bounty scandal, head over to SB Nation's dedicated NFL hub. For more on the Cardinals, check out Revenge of the Birds.