San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has a mixed feeling about Bounty Gate Scandal – NFL News
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has come out and expressed his feelings about the Bounty Gate Scandal.
Smith is one of the players targeted by the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 season in which 49ers played Saints in the playoffs.
Talking to ESPN's Ed Werder during the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, Smith showed a mixed bag of emotions when asked about the Bounty scandal. He said:
"Never heard a speech like it before. As a QB, I expect defenses to go after me. I expect it in the confines of the rules, no question, but if a guy's got an open hit on me, I plan for them to give me everything they've got. I have mixed
emotions. As a QB, I feel like every defense is out to get me. I think a lot of QBs feel the same way. We all just want to play within the rules."
Before the playoff game against 49ers, Saints’ then defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had put up cash rewards for players who would hit Smith on the head. The whole conversation was recorded and leaked. Williams said:
"Every single one of you, before you get off the pile, affect the head.”
New Orleans saints were found operating a Bounty system in which players were rewarded for doing things that are illegal as per the league rules.
This includes players deliberately hitting opponents on the head or other areas susceptible of getting threatening injuries.
This system was under operation since the 2009 season and it affected many players. After this Bounty scandal was revealed, the league gave some strong punishments to all the persons involved in the scandal.
A considerable amount of players, coaching staff and administrative team of Saints were suspended for their involvement.
Their head coach Sean Payton has been suspended for an entire season and Williams has been suspended for an indefinite period. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma is also suspended for the entire 2012 season.
Smith played a major role in the National Football Conference (NFC) divisional round playoff game against the Saints. He covered 299 yards in that game and produced three touchdown passes. With his performance, 49ers were able to win that
game 36-32.
Smith is not the only quarterback who was affected by this system. Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers and Carolina Panthers Cam Newton were also targeted in the 2011 season.
Tags: