Bounty Gate Penalties Hit a Few Players

This seems to be a side-note story after what had happened earlier today but still a relevant one. Possibly the conclusion of the Bounty Gate scandal was today as more suspensions were handed out, this time to some of the players that were involved. Defensive Lineman Anthony Hargrove, who is now with the Packers, was suspended for 8 games; Linebacker Scott Fujita, who is with the Browns now, was suspended for 3 games; Saints defensive end Will Smith was suspended for 4 games; and Saints Linebacker Johnathan Vilma, who was perhaps the most connected player to this story, got the worst of it and was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season.

Despite the punishments that have been handed down, it seems like the Saints have gotten off light as there could've been a lot more suspensions which some thought would be slapped onto at least 20 players. Gives me pause to think on why they didn't do this. Anyway, I think the suspensions are called for, in a way. I think teams with former Saints players (and even the Saints) would've like to have known they would be without some guys before the draft happened. But it doesn't seem that bad. Vilma, sure, gets the worst of it of all as he will be suspended for the entire season. A whole year of your life and pay out the window.

Now sure all 4 players are going to appeal their suspensions. It will be interesting to see how much the union will play a role in this as they can't exactly pick sides effectively in this kind of situation. If the appeals process for them is anything like the one for the non-players, why bother.