Eli Manning has heard all about the Bountygate scandal that is threatening to take down the Saints, and the Giants’ two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback — whose father, Archie, spent 11 of his 13 NFL seasons in New Orleans — sounds sickened by the entire sordid situation.
“Obviously it is a big deal, what’s going on,’’ Eli Manning said last night before the premiere of the official championship video, “Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants,” at a theater in Times Square. “It’s not good for football and can’t be a part of football. I know [commissioner] Roger Goodell will do a good job figuring all this out and making sure this doesn’t happen again.’’
An NFL investigation has fingered the Saints as operating an extensive bounty system for the past three seasons, involving as many as 27 players, with former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams as the ringleader. The most sinister accusation is that the Saints collected money to be awarded to players able to get opponents carted off the field with injuries.
Thus far, no prominent NFL players have come out and ripped into the Saints, until now. Manning, who grew up in New Orleans a big Saints fan, said he has been in meeting rooms and heard how Tom Coughlin instructs the Giants defense to get after opposing quarterbacks.
“I’m kind of sitting there and I say ‘I know the opposing teams are saying the same thing about me,’ ” said Manning. “But when you start talking about injuring a guy and carting him off and trying to end his season or career, that’s not what this game is about. I think we should have more respect for the game than that. It can’t be a part of football.’’
This past season, the Saints hammered the Giants inside the Superdome and in the third quarter a vicious hit by safety Isa Abdul-Quddus sent Hakeem Nicks out of the game with a rib contusion. Abdul-Quddus was flagged for a 15-yard penalty for hitting a defenseless player. Nicks was able to return to the game, but, given what is now known about how the Saints conducted themselves on defense, that hit certainly can be viewed in a different light.
“It’s just part of the game,’’ Nicks said. “He got a good shot on me. It wasn’t the last time I got hit that hard. I took one in the Super Bowl too. You can’t be scared to get hit.’’
Nicks, after reviewing the tape, noticed how Abdul-Quddus celebrated after the hit.
“I remember … I take notes,’’ Nicks said.
Did he think the hit was delivered with the intent to injure?
“The way he was celebrating you would probably think that regardless,” Nicks said.
Safety Antrel Rolle said the Giants have no bounty system and “it’s kind of unfortunate something like that has been brought upon this league.’’
Asked specifically about players getting paid to inflict injuries Rolle said, “There’s no price you can put on it, the health of another opponent.’’
* WR Mario Manningham said “I don’t want to go nowhere,’’ but added he expects to become an unrestricted free agent on March 13.
“I want to come back, I just can’t wait to see what’s going on,” he said. “Am I gonna be here or not? I feel like [himself, Nicks and Victor Cruz] we can do a lot of damage in these next four, five years, that’s just how I feel, because we’re all young. It’s a business too, you got to look at it like that, too. You got to look out for your family, that’s how it is.”