March 7th Update

Saints leaders take blame for scandal

• New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis apologized and took the blame for violations that happened under their watch, referring to Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams' "bounty" system that rewarded players for knocking opposing competitors out of games.
  
• LB Jonathan Vilma even claimed that he had offered $10,000 out of his own pocket to have Brett Favre knocked out of the 2009 NFC Championship game. This ended up happening (pictured) as the Saints were able to force Favre to the sidelines part of the way through their game after a painful looking hit. Other players, like the Chiefs' Eric Berry, have wondered if other teams had bounties on them.
  
• While there is no precedent for what kind of penalties will be enacted, one can only imagine that the NFL's hard line stance on player safety in recent seasons will only make them want to make an example out of the Saints in this situation.

Peyton Manning to be released by Colts

• The Indianapolis Colts are set to part ways with one of the best players in their history, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Quarterback Peyton Manning, who has been on the team since 1998, was set to make a $28 million bonus if he was on the roster on Thursday at 4PM. The Colts decided to release Manning instead of paying him this massive bonus
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• Manning, who missed this last season due to a neck injury, had played every other game since he was the number one pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. After 2 neck surgeries in the last off-season, Manning was unable to play this past year. However, in the past few days a very grainy picture has "leaked" of Manning working out and looking pretty good.
  
• With Manning out, the Colts stumbled to a 2-14 record which gets them the #1 overall Draft pick in this year’s NFL Draft. They are widely expected to select Stanford QB Andrew Luck, who many have called the best college quarterback prospect since Manning. Luck is expected to be ready to play for the Colts on Day 1, so the need to keep Manning on the roster is non-existent.