It’s already been a tense offseason for the Saints, and things don’t appear to be getting much better between the team and franchise QB Drew Brees.

Brees spoke to WWL-AM in New Orleans and expressed frustration and disappointment with a lack of progress in talks toward a long-term contract.

“It’s extremely frustrating for me, but here we are,” Brees said. “I know I’m certainly committed to getting a long-term deal, as I have been throughout this entire process.”

The Saints put the “exclusive” franchise tag on the QB, which will keep him with the team, but at the same time will cost them $16.371 million in base salary.

Brees said he “didn’t want to think about” signing the franchise tender without a new contract.

“I chose to take a lot of risks in that as well, but I didn’t want anything to get in the way of us having a successful season as we possibly can,” Brees said. “I don’t regret that decision, but this is the first offseason I felt like we had a lot of time to get it hammered out.

“I would say, more than anything, I guess, what’s been a little frustrating on my end or disappointing is the lack of communication,” Brees said.

“I would just say there should be a sense of urgency and yet it seems like there’s not,” he added.

The NFLPA grievance hearing regarding the punishments for suspended players in the New Orleans Saints “bounty” scandal lasted two-and-a-half hours in front of arbitrator Shyam Das at NFL headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

The NFL was represented by Dan Nash of Akin Gump law firm as well as other league attorneys. Jeffrey Kessler argued the NFLPA’s grievance.

There was no ruling and there are no further hearings scheduled for this particular grievance.

Ex-Saints linebacker Scott Fujita and ex-Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, were present for the arbitration, according to knowledgeable sources.

The Saints finished the 2011 season with a 13-3 record and were expected by many to perhaps make it to the Super Bowl once again, as they had won it back in 2009.  The Saints finished the year as the number three seed behind the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers, and went on to face the Detroit Lions in the wild card playoffs.  The Saints put on a show with their offense that game, defeating the Lions by the score of 45-28.  The team then moved on to face San Francisco, and were winning for much of the game until the 49ers were able to get a touchdown at the end of the game to win by the score of 36-32.

The devastating loss for the New Orleans Saints was made even worse in the offseason when it was found that the defensive side of the team had engaged in a bounty system over the past few years, where players would get paid for intentionally trying to injure key offensive players on the other team.  Commissioner Roger Goodell passed swift judgment on everyone who was involved with the system, suspending head coach Sean Payton for an entire season along with Jonathan Vilma, along with suspensions for other assistant coaches, players, and personnel involved with it.  With that said, New Orleans Saints tickets are still going to be a hot commodity as the team still has its offense in tact from last year.  What follows are some of the top players to watch in the upcoming 2012 season for the New Orleans Saints.

Drew Brees

Drew Brees had a fantastic season for the New Orleans Saints in 2011 and will look to do so again in 2012.  Brees passed for an NFL record 5,476 yards to go along with a 71.2% completion percentage and 46 touchdowns in 2011.  Brees was the catalyst for the team’s offense last year, but it will certainly be interesting to see how he performs in 2012 without head coach Sean Peyton on the sidelines calling out plays.  Will he continue to be an effective passer or will he regress without Peyton around?  Not much is known of how he will perform, but Brees is certainly expected to have a lot of confidence coming into the new season after what he did last year.

Jimmy Graham

Coming out of the third round of the NFL Draft in 2010, Graham had a breakout year for the New Orleans Saints in 2011, with 99 receptions totaling 1,310 yards to go with 11 touchdowns as well.  Jimmy was named to the second team All-NFL by the Associated Press that year along with making his first ever Pro Bowl.  For the Saints to continue their success into 2012 they will need Graham to continue improving as a tight end and give Brees a legitimate target downfield.  Expect him to be one of the main options that Brees will throw to in 2012, along with other players such as Darren Sproles, Marques Colston, and Lance Moore.

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The Legislature wants the NFL reconsider the sanctions it imposed on the Saints, its coaches and players in the wake of the bounty scandal according to Ed Anderson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

On a 28-1 vote, the Senate passed House Concurrent Resolution 50 by Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Jefferson. The resolution passed the House without objection March 23rd.

Henry’s resolution urges the league to reconsider the penalties imposed, including a one-year suspension for head coach Sean Payton and fines for a handful of current and former players who allegedly took part in a system in which cash bonuses were paid for big hits on opponents. The sanctions also include a six-week suspension for assistant coach Joe Vitt, and an eight-week suspension for General Manager Mickey Loomis.

The franchise was slapped with a fine of $500,000.

“There is widespread public opinion throughout the state of Louisiana and beyond that the penalties imposed upon the Saints are too harsh and should be reconsidered,” the resolution says.

Former Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargove describes in a sworn statement how he was told by ex-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and current New Orleans assistant head coach Joe Vitt to deny the existence of a bounty program to NFL investigators.

In a document obtained Monday by The Associated Press, Hargrove acknowledges that he acted on Williams’ and Vitt’s instructions to ”play dumb” if asked whether he was aware of bounties being placed on former Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre or any other player.

The declaration does not go into specifics, however, about just what Hargrove knew or did not know about the bounty program in New Orleans, and for that reason it has become a point of contention between the NFL and the NFL Players Association.

From the union’s perspective, Hargrove’s statement does not say that he lied to anyone, nor does it state that he or any other Saints participated in a bounty program that offered cash bonuses for hits that injured targeted opponents.

The NFL, by contrast, has said that Hargrove’s words acknowledge the existence of a bounty program and show that Hargrove initially lied to NFL investigators about it.

In describing Hargrove’s declaration last week, Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney hired by the NFL to review its investigation, said the player, ”acknowledges the nature of the program and his participation in it, and, which is really the thrust of the declaration, that he was told to lie about it, and he did when he was asked about it in 2010 by the NFL investigators.”

Hargrove, currently with Green Bay, was one of four players who received suspensions of various lengths in connection with the bounty probe. Hargrove was suspended eight games, Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire season, Saints defensive end Will Smith for four games and Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita for three games.

Vilma’s attorney, Peter Ginsberg called the NFL’s characterization of Hargrove’s statement ”misleading.”

”All we know from the declaration is that a couple of coaches were in trouble and hoped for support from him,” Ginsberg said. ”Anthony’s declaration in no way supports that he lied, that a bounty system existed or that players participated in any kind of inappropriate program. It’s a shame that the NFL needed to have mischaracterized that declaration in order to justify these punishments. It’s just another reason to conclude that the NFL has no evidence to justify what it has done to the players.”

It’s been the offseason from Hell for the Saints, and on Friday it got even worse, as Adam Schefter of ESPN reports running back Mark Ingram underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday.

Schefter says that Ingram will miss six weeks, which means he’s out for all of the team’s OTAs and mini-camps, which run from May 22nd to June 7th.

In 10 games last season, the first-round pick from Alabama ran for 474 yards and five touchdowns and caught 11 passes for 46 yards before he was placed on injured reserve following season-ending toe surgery.

Ingram missed two games in the middle of the season with a bruised heel.

The NFL players union has challenged Commissioner Roger Goodell’s authority to suspend players who participated in the Saints’ pay-for-pain scandal and wants him removed from hearing appeals.

The union filed a grievance late Thursday, one day after Goodell suspended four players who participated in bounties from 2009-11. The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. It argues that a CBA system arbitrator, and not Goodell, has the right to decide player punishment under such circumstances, as well as rule on any appeals.

In a document obtained by The Associated Press, the union told the league Goodell “released all players from conduct engaged in prior to execution of the CBA.”

“Thus, even assuming for the sake of argument that the commissioner had the authority to punish players for conduct detrimental under the alleged facts and circumstances of this particular situation — he does not — he nevertheless would be prohibited from punishing NFL players for any aspect of the alleged ‘pay-for-performance/bounty’ conduct occurring before Aug. 4, 2011,” the union said.

Last August, the league agreed not to file lawsuits against players regarding detrimental conduct that occurred prior to signing the new CBA. But the clause the union cites doesn’t deal with conduct detrimental to the league that endangered player safety over three seasons.

Earlier this week, Goodell suspended linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the 2012 season; defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, for eight games; defensive end Will Smith, for four games; and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, for three games.

The union said the suspensions violate the league’s “duty of fairness to players,” and that the process “violated various procedural requirements of the collective bargaining agreement, including limits of Goodell’s authority over the matter and failure to disclose sufficient evidence of the violations.”

The league said its investigation showed “a significant number of players participated” in the bounty system — by ponying up cash or collecting it — but noted that “the players disciplined participated at a different and more significant level.” The league said anywhere from 22 to 27 Saints players participated.

The suspended players haven’t filed appeals, league spokesman Greg Aiello said Friday. The deadline is Monday and Vilma and Smith have already said they plan to file.

By Jake Saltzman

Things in the NFC South got a whole lot more interesting, with news that New Orleans Saints All-Pro linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the entirety of the 2012 season. While the loss of Vilma alone isn’t enough to take the Saints out of the pre-season division favorite position, the Saints will have to make significant changes to their defense in order to repeat as division winners.

First and foremost, the Saints will need to determine how they plan to utilize new arrivals David Hawthorne and Curtis Lofton. Because both players are veterans of four NFL seasons, and have spent their entire careers in the NFC (Hawthorne in Seattle, Lofton in Atlanta), it is safe to assume both are relatively familiar with the Saints’ defensive system.

But just because both are capable of playing in Vilma’s spot, Hawthorne and Lofton have different skill sets. Hawthorne is best suited to drop back in coverage on passing downs, as his three interceptions last year were three more than any other Seahawks linebacker. Lofton had two interceptions of his own last year, but also had a whopping 147 tackles to his name, including 12 in Atlanta’s lone playoff game. He excels playing all over the field, and can lineup at both inside and outside linebacker.

As a result, the Saints can go one of two ways. They can either opt to go with the linebacker they feel most resembles Vilma’s style of play, or they can revise their defensive structure to compliment the linebacker(s) who will be replacing Vilma in 2012.

If they go with option one, Curtis Lofton seems to be the better guy for the job. Like Vilma, Lofton thrives on his ability to be involved in any given play, and possesses the ability to singlehandedly take over a game (just ask the 2011 week 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Yet if the Saints elect to modify things a little bit, they may look to implement a system that allows for Lofton and Hawthorne to be on the field together.

In either case, expect both signees to play big roles on the New Orleans defense.

As far as division rivals Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa are concerned, Vilma’s anticipated absence serves to further hint at an increased commitment to the run. The Panthers finished with over 150 rush yards per game (3rd in the NFL) last season, and could actually be even better in that department this year. Improvements to the offensive line arrived via the Draft, and former San Diego Charger Mike Tolbert signed with Carolina early in free agency. Cam Newton, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart all scored rushing touchdowns against New Orleans last year, and bear in mind Vilma played in only one of two games against the Panthers.

Atlanta and Tampa are also well aware of what no Vilma means with respect to the run game. The Buccaneers have said they fully anticipate giving carries to the newly formed Legarrette Blount/Doug Martin running back tandem, while the Falcons and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter look to reap the benefits of new additions to the offensive line. The Falcons also took fullback Bradie Ewing in the fifth round of the draft, giving them an absolute cog at the lead blocker position.

All in all, though the Saints have capable fill-ins for Vilma, I fully expect teams to at least try to exploit New Orleans’ linebacking corps. That may not be too effective though, seeing as the Saints went 13-3 last season despite the league’s 30th ranked pass defense.

Four players – Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove, Will Smith, and Jonathan Vilma – were notified today that they have been suspended without pay for conduct detrimental to the NFL as a result of their leadership roles in the Saints’ pay-for-performance/bounty program that endangered player safety over three seasons from 2009-2011.

Participation by players in any such program is prohibited by the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, the standard NFL Player Contract, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The specific discipline was determined by Commissioner Roger Goodell after a thorough review of extensive evidence corroborated by multiple independent sources. Under Article 46 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the standard NFL Player Contract, a player is subject to discipline by the commissioner for conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL.

The discipline imposed today for such detrimental conduct is as follows:

Scott Fujita (now with the Cleveland Browns) is suspended without pay for the first three games of the 2012 regular season. The record established that Fujita, a linebacker, pledged a significant amount of money to the prohibited pay-for-performance/bounty pool during the 2009 NFL Playoffs when he played for the Saints. The pool to which he pledged paid large cash rewards for “cart-offs” and “knockouts,” plays during which an opposing player was injured.

Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove (now with the Green Bay Packers) is suspended without pay for the first eight games of the 2012 regular season. Hargrove actively participated in the program while a member of the Saints. Hargrove submitted a signed declaration to the league that established not only the existence of the program at the Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it. The evidence showed that Hargrove told at least one player on another team that Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was a target of a large bounty during the NFC Championship Game in January of 2010. Hargrove also actively obstructed the league’s 2010 investigation into the program by being untruthful to investigators.

Will Smith of the Saints is suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2012 regular season. Smith, a defensive end, assisted Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in establishing and funding the program during a period in which he was a captain and leader of the defensive unit. Multiple independent sources also confirmed that Smith pledged significant sums to the program pool for “cart-offs” and “knockouts” of opposing players.

Linebacker Jonathan Vilma of the Saints is suspended without pay for the 2012 NFL season, effective immediately per league policy for season-long suspensions. The investigation concluded that while a captain of the defensive unit Vilma assisted Coach Williams in establishing and funding the program. Multiple independent sources also confirmed that Vilma offered a specific bounty — $10,000 in cash – to any player who knocked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner out of the 2009 Divisional Playoff Game and later pledged the same amount to anyone who knocked Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC Championship Game the following week (played on January 24, 2010). Vilma is eligible to be reinstated after the Super Bowl in 2013.

Fujita, Hargrove, and Smith may participate in all off-season activity, including preseason games, prior to the suspensions taking effect. Each player disciplined today is entitled to appeal the decision within three days. If an appeal is filed, Commissioner Goodell would hold a hearing at which the player may speak on his behalf and be represented by counsel.

“It is the obligation of everyone, including the players on the field, to ensure that rules designed to promote player safety, fair play, and the integrity of the game are adhered to and effectively and consistently enforced,” Commissioner Goodell said. “Respect for the men that play the game starts with the way players conduct themselves with each other on the field.”