Larry Brown Sports

strong>Sean Payton is prohibited from having any contact of any kind with the New Orleans Saints this season. By definition, he is “prohibited from direct or indirect communication of any sort with employees of the 32 clubs, including through third parties; and such prohibited communications shall include, but are not limited to, phone or electronic contact.” While we’re not saying Payton has ever violated those terms, we have no way of knowing for sure.

Many people feel it would be naive to think that Payton hasn’t spoken to his team at any point this season. One of those people is New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford.

“Of course he will get his message to them somehow,” Weatherford and other unnamed Giants reportedly told the NY Times. “I’m not saying anything about Sean Payton as a person or anything, but I think any coach would do that. It’s not like he’s just going to sit at home and watch the games and not have any thoughts. His message will be heard.”

Weatherford could be right. Even if it’s through a person who knows a person who knows a person who talks to an assistant coach, it would not be surprising to hear that Payton somehow gives the Saints feedback after he watches the games. Rick Nelson, a counterterrorism and intelligence expert who works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the NY Times that there are a number of discreet options Payton could use to keep in touch with the team and there would be “very little” the NFL could do about it.

Whatever the case, the Saints are 5-7 and likely out of the playoff race. Even if Payton has been in contact with the team through some means during the regular season, it clearly hasn’t been enough to make a difference.

H/T Shutdown Corner

Thanks in part to punter Steve Weatherford, a couple of New York Giants fans have a wedding to plan. After the G-Men concluded their practice on Sunday, Weatherford walked off the field and handed a man named Bryan Wheeler what appeared to be a souvenir. As you can see above, the souvenir had an important message on it and Wheeler handed it off to his girlfriend, Jacklene Murt.

“I thought it went great, she said yes,” Weatherford explained on Monday according to the Giants website. “I don’t know if I’ll get invited to the wedding or not. It was fun. It was very flattering to be requested to do that. It was a lot of fun.

“I think he contacted our community relations people and requested that the craziest guy on the team help him out. I don’t think he had to look too far down the roster…Obviously whenever you get to do something like that, it’s flattering because it makes you realize how important you are to a lot of people. The guy hopefully, cross your fingers, is only going to get married once, and I was the one to help him get engaged.”

We here at LBS are glad the lovely lady said yes. As we’ve shown you in the past, there’s nothing worse than a rejected proposal in public.

Photo via Giants.com
H/T Sports by Brooks Live

After the Giants hit a game-winning kick to defeat the Niners in the NFC Championship game, punter Steve Weatherford went crazy. Weatherford was the holder on the play, and the snap wasn’t perfect. The muddy conditions made life difficult, but he was able to field it cleanly and do his job. Lawrence Tynes knocked the kick through and the Giants are on their way to Indianapolis. For Weatherford, this entire season has been one that he enjoyed far more than the previous two with his former team, the Jets.

“I’m glad it’s with this franchise and I’m glad it’s now,” Weatherford explained according to the NY Daily News. “This is definitely my best season, for sure. I think I’m playing well at the right time. I think I’ve had a strong season. … A lot of it has to do with playing for (special teams coach) Tom Quinn and being comfortable and confident and strong. Playing for the Jets, and playing for that positional coach, was draining, it was difficult and it was physically taxing.”

Apparently Weatherford did not enjoy playing for Jets special-teams coach Mike Westhoff.  Judging by Westhoff’s remarks at the beginning of the season, the feeling was mutual.  He said the Jets got rid of Weatherford because they were trying to improve and he “just didn’t do the job.”  With the other New York team this season, Weatherford averaged 45.7 yards per punt, which is the highest total of his career.  He has won the support of Tynes, who said Westhoff’s comments in September were “the worst statement of the year by any coach.”

Who would have thought a punter and a special teams coach could have such issues?  Better yet, who would have thought a special teams coach could be too “physically taxing” on his punter?  Apparently it happens.  For Weatherford’s sake, the Jets picked the perfect year to cut him loose.