As has been extensively documented, the 2010 NFL season was played without a salary cap because the owners chose to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement that was in place at the time. During this uncapped year, the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys spent extra money frontloading contracts so the biggest hit would occur immediately, and not be spread out over the course of the contract (presumably when a new cap would be in place). Because this made a lot of sense, the NFL is punishing them for it by lowering the Cowboys’ cap number by $10 million, and the Redskins’ by $36 million.

“The Management Council Executive Committee determined that the contract practices of a small number of clubs during the 2010 league year created an unacceptable risk to future competitive balance, particularly in light of the relatively modest salary cap growth projected for the new agreement’s early years,” the league said in a statement Monday. “To remedy these effects and preserve competitive balance throughout the league, the parties to the CBA agreed to adjustments to team salary for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. [ESPN]

So, as far as I understand things, here is the recap: The owners opted out of the collective bargaining agreement knowing that the result would be at least one uncapped season (meaning both no maximum cap number AND no minimum cap number for the cheapskates), and then when two of the wealthier teams used the uncapped year to their advantage and threw a bunch of money at players, the other owners cried to Roger Goodell and he dropped an anvil on the rich guys’ heads. Did the Cowboys and Redskins take advantage of a weird situation? Sure. Was it 100% on the up and up? Eh. But stepping in later to punish someone for something that wasn’t against the rules at the time isn’t any better. And this is coming from an EAGLES FAN. Someone who LIVES FOR bad things happening to the Redskins and the Cowboys. I am DEFENDING Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder. Ugh.

I feel nauseous. Don’t make me do this again, NFL.

"You owe that dude $2,000... that guy gets $500... and that guy killed Favre, so he gets a zillion."

St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams won himself a free trip to New York City today, as he was hand-selected by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as part of the league’s new contest – “What the F*ck Were You Thinking?” Williams was selected, of course, after a closed NFL investigation that had determined that Williams’ former team, the New Orleans Saints, had not been running a bounty system between 2009 and 2011 was reopened to determine that they were, in fact, running a bounty pool and that Williams may have been a bad little fibber.

As you’re probably already well aware:

The NFL said payoffs were made by the Saints for inflicting game-ending injuries on targeted players, including quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. “Knockouts” were worth $1,500 and “cart-offs” $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.

No punishments have been handed out, but they could include suspensions, fines and loss of draft picks. Several players around the league have said the Saints and Williams weren’t the only ones with such a system. (Via ABC News)

Whether or not the Saints were the only team with a bounty system is probably going to matter very little in Goodell’s “Make an Example” system, so the Saints are probably going to deal with all that stuff mentioned above. But the rest of the media is like, “Let’s hop in Rufus’ phone booth and do some retroactive punishing, too.” Williams’ former players have been more than happy to spill the beans, as long as they remind us that they still love their big, dumb coach.

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"Seriously, Peter King, I'm here right now. You've got me here."

Despite not having the best of track records and a history of disagreements between the league, teams and city, Los Angeles is going to have another NFL team soon enough. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made it clear that he recognizes L.A. as the second largest media market in the country, and he knows that he’s missing out by not having a team there. Of course, you also need a stadium and fans, but baby steps, people.

Ever since Al Davis moved the Raiders back to Oakland in 1995, a number of teams have been rumored to be potential replacements in L.A., including the most recent suspects of the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings. But Goodell doesn’t want to upset a strong fan base like the one in Minnesota or six people in Jacksonville, so he’s going with the logical solution – add more teams to the league and screw up the current perfect system.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday night on Costas Tonight: Live from the Super Bowl that when it comes to the national’s [sic] second-largest market, he’s now more inclined to expand than relocate existing clubs … even if it means expanding twice.

“Really, we want to keep our teams where they are, and that’s the dilemma because not only do we have to get the stadium in L.A., then we have to find out how to get the team,” said the commish.

As for potential expansion plans, Goodell said, “We probably don’t want to go to 33,” adding he prefers 34. (Via the Tucson-Citizen)

Of course he prefers 34. Then he can justify putting a team in London and he wins the professional sports space race of being the first league commish to establish a full-time team on another continent. The results will be magnificent, as David Stern and Bud Selig will summon their dark hell forces and reign 1,000 years of fire and plague upon this Earth until Goodell mounts Shadid Kahn’s mustache like a Pakistani Falcor and delivers his NFL faithful to Valhalla. Or something like that.

"Here you go, kid. Nice haircut."

Each week during the NFL season, I’ll be slinging my random, sometimes nonsensical thoughts about what’s going down. Will I talk about your team’s crazy dealings? Probably not, because I have an east coast liberal media elitist bias. That’s right, only Ivy League flag football will be discussed here.

And speaking of flag football…

1) Terrelle Pryor’s New Number

While quarterback for THE Embattled Ohio State University, Terrelle Pryor wore the number 2 on his jersey. When the Oakland Raiders drafted Oryor in last week’s supplemental draft and when he finally agreed to terms with them and showed up to practice, Pryor asked his new team if he could wear the No. 2 again.

About that – nobody is ever wearing No. 2 for Oakland again. Because JaMarcus Russell was the biggest No. 2 of them all.

Raiders coach Hue Jackson dictated what jersey Tyrelle Pryor will wear with the Raiders. He wore No. 2 at Ohio State, but will wear No. 6 with the Raiders. Last Raiders quarterback to wear No. 2 was mega-draft bust JaMarcus Russell. It’s conceivable Jackson wanted to avoid linkage between Pryor and Russell. (Bayou Buzz)

This might be a first. I can’t think of any other teams that have ever unofficially retired a number because a player was so terrible that they think it’s cursed. This could only be better if they forced rookies to spend the night in Russell’s foreclosed mansion. “It’s haunted by the spirits of lost calories,” they’ll warn.

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It looks like Terrelle Pryor is going to be making that face for while. He’s finally been allowed into the NFL … but not really.

From a breaking report currently destroying Twitter, by way of the Associated Press:

Former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was declared eligible for Monday’s NFL supplemental draft but must sit out the first five games after he signs a contract.

The NFL announced Thursday he was eligible, along with five other players. Pryor gave up his final season with the Buckeyes following an NCAA investigation into the football team’s memorabilia-for-cash scandal. He would’ve had to sit out five games at Ohio State if he had chosen to return to school.

The league informed clubs that Pryor “made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL draft.” Among those, the league said, was his failure to cooperate with the NCAA and hiring of an agent in violation of NCAA rules.

Is it weird to anybody else that the NFL can suspend somebody who doesn’t play in the NFL?

“God bless and thanks for support!” Pryor wrote on his Twitter page. “Time to have a little fun!!” At no point does Pryor point out that Brandon Marshall was only suspended for one game on a domestic violence charge, but he’s got to sit five because he sold and traded things. He doesn’t mention how deep the various college football scandals are starting to run, and that if everyone who got a perk or a wad of cash or a free gift when they were supposed to be a pro bono athlete had to sit five games we’d see more action in a lockout.

He doesn’t mention how great of an idea it would be for the Cleveland Cavaliers to draft him and forever sign him away from a sports organization that would punish him for not being punished enough in college.

Now that the NFL is back in full swing, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has, as expected, increased his PR efforts in regard to his recent interview with Men’s Journal, a magazine that I once had in my bathroom because I received four free issues.

In the interview, Harrison called Goodell “stupid” and a “devil” among other things, regarding Harrison being fined more for his brutal hits last season than other hard-hitting defenders. And despite the fact that those words were printed in a magazine and all over the Internet, Harrison still expects us to believe that he didn’t mean them like that. Now he’s apologizing to Goodell, despite not actually talking to Goodell in person, and we should believe that he’s sorry, because why not? Oh I know why – because he’s full of sh*t.

“The interview that I did and the comments that I made about Roger Goodell were inappropriate, at the least,” Harrison said. “They were way out of line, and I was speaking out of anger and frustration at the time. Any comments that I made that offended anyone, I apologize.” (Via ESPN)

Hold on, I have Goodell’s response right here: *fart noise*

As for the comments he made about Ben Roethlisberger not being as good as Peyton Manning for what he’s paid, and Rashard Mendenhall being a fumble machine, those were taken out of context.

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