Brett Favre wasn't "pissed" when Gregg Williams' illegal "bounty" program was exposed by the NFL, but he's happy the bill has come due for the Saints.
The league's two-year investigation yielded a direct connection to Favre by way of Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who allegedly offered $10,000 to any player who could knock the quarterback -- then with the Vikings -- out of the NFC Championship Game in January 2010.
"Now the truth comes out. That's good. But that's football," Favre told Sports Illustrated while planting soybeans at his farm in Mississippi. "The only thing that really pisses me off about the whole thing is we lost the game. That's the thing about that day that still bothers me. And that's the way it goes. If they wanted me to testify in court about this, they'd be calling the wrong guy."
Favre took a nasty beating in the 31-28 overtime loss, and the NFL's findings help explain why.
"It's football. I don't think anything less of those guys," Favre said. "I would have loved to play with Vilma. Hell of a player. I've got a lot of respect for Gregg Williams. He's a great coach. I'm not going to make a big deal about it.
"In all honesty, there's a bounty of some kind on you on every play," Favre continued. "Now, in that game there were some plays that, I don't want to say were odd, but I'd throw the ball and whack, on every play. Hand it off, whack. Over and over. Some were so blatant. I hand the ball to Percy Harvin early and got drilled right in the chin. They flagged that one at least."
Favre is referring to a hit early in the game in which New Orleans defensive lineman Bobby McCray popped the quarterback in the chin. The play drew a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty and an eventual fine. Favre also was subjected to a pile-driving tackle by defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove (another 15-yard foul and fine) and a brutal high-low takedown by McCray and defensive tackle Remi Ayodele (which drew, almost inexplicably, no flag).
Favre believed he broke his ankle on the high-low play. "I felt a lot of crunching in there," he said.
"I've always been friends with (former Saints safety) Darren Sharper, and he came in a couple times and popped me hard," Favre told King about his former Packers teammate. "I remember saying, 'What THE hell you doing, Sharp?' I felt there should have been more calls against the Saints. I thought some of their guys should have been fined more."
If it's any consolation to Favre, the Saints undoubtedly will get those fines now. And that might be just the start of it.
