Dec 20, 2010; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings former wide receiver Cris Carter (80) laughs during the halftime celebration against the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

When it comes to leaping into controversies, Cris Carter seldom shows hesitation. In fact Carter might be a little too eager to lend his voice to these various debates. But that’s okay because, when Cris Carter talks…it might not always make a ton of sense, but it’s usually entertaining.

Carter’s take on bounties is certainly entertaining, and I suppose it makes its own kind of sense. First off, Carter admits that he indeed put bounties on other players when he was in the league. But Carter insists he never used bounties as a means of injuring the opposition for the sake of competitive advantage. For him it was all about protection.

“I’m guilty of [bounties] — I mean, first time I’ve ever admitted it — but I put a bounty on guys before,” Carter told Mike & Mike. “I put bounties on guys. If a guy tries to take me out, a guy takes a cheap shot on me? I put a bounty on him right now!”

Carter elaborated on his pay-for-protection approach. “I’d tell one of them guards, ‘Hey man, this dude is after me, man,’” the former Viking said.”Listen, on the football field, you only got certain protection, and your teammates are part of that protection. It’s built in, and if I’m playing a certain position where I can’t protect myself — how can the quarterback protect himself? But for his teammates to stand up and do something. There are certain positions you can’t protect yourself.

“The center? How can he protect himself? He’s snapping the ball every time. Like if someone is taking a cheap shot on him? No problem. We’ve got a way to work that out.”

Carter gave one specific example of his bounty approach involving a guy well-known for being a crazy man who wanted to hurt people. “Bill Romanowski — he told me he was going to take me out before the game, warm-ups. No problem. [He said,] ‘I’m gonna end your career, Carter.’ No problem. I put a little change on his head before the game. Protect myself. Protect my family. That’s the league that I grew up in.”

Carter says he wasn’t the only one resorting to such practices. But Carter insists, “You have to realize the league we grew up in, the bounty was based on protection, or a big hit, excitement or for helping your team win. It wasn’t to maim or hurt the dude. When a guy said he was going to hurt me, my recourse was to put a bounty on him to make sure.”

Clearly Carter does not support the bounty system set up by Gregg Williams and implemented against the Vikings among other teams. His idea of a bounty system was more informal and more about preemptive self-defense against roid-raging lunatics like Bill Romanowski. Some may see this as splitting hairs, but I think there is an important distinction between the Williams form of bounties and the Carter form.

The larger point is that bounties have obviously been a part of the NFL for a long time and in the minds of some players are just an accepted part of the game. Roger Goodell would like to change this culture of financially-induced over-the-top violence (as opposed to the normal violence that’s inherent to the game), in part to protect his own league against image hits and legal attacks. Whatever you think of bounties from an ethical point of view, it’s obvious that for the league to continue forward, they must be left by the wayside.

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January 1, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on the sidelines during heir game with Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE

It’s a nice, relaxing morning on this Saturday, so I thought I would pass along a quick note for your amusement/hatred.

Former Saints linebacker, Jo-Lonn Dunbar is coming to the aide of his former defensive coordinator in New Orleans, Gregg Williams.

“Gregg’s a great guy,” Dunbar told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Profootballtalk.com. “A really good person on the field, off the field.”

All of  you who just spit your coffee all over your screen should go get a rag. The rest of you can keep reading.

Dunbar, who now plays for the St. Louis Rams, was sure to cover his tracks somewhat and say he never participated in the bounty system.

“I was a young cat,” Dunbar said. “I had nothing to do with that.”

But he was aware of it, apparently. Hear that, Darren Sharper?

While he is undoubtedly lying, Dunbar’s denial is no surprise. What is surprising it that he would stick his neck out for Williams, who may never coach in the NFL again.

I really hope we get to hear some commentary by Chris Kluwe on this one.

Something tells me it would be…passionate.

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Nov 24, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Miami Dolphins linebacker Marvin Mitchell (50) on the sidelines during the game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving day at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

With Kenny Onatolu moving on to wherever he moved on (Carolina actually), the Vikings had themselves a little bit of a hole at back-up linebacker and in their return coverage units. Notice how I said “had” themselves a hole. That hole’s not there anymore, because on Tuesday they signed linebacker and special teams guy Marvin Mitchell.

Hold on for this next tidbits kids: Marvin Mitchell used to play for the Saints. He was on the Saints the year they cheated the Vikings out of a Super Bowl berth. He probably was offered bounties on someone but being a back-up linebacker never got a chance to cash in. Still, in his heart, he wanted to be paid extra for ripping some guy’s head off and mailing it to Gregg Williams. Does this mean we have to hate him?

The Saints didn’t think enough of Mitchell to keep him around after the 2010 season so he moved on to Miami. In one year with the Dolphins – that would be last year – Mitchell amassed 30 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, an INT and 2 passes defensed. Maybe there’s some coverage skill there? Actually he’s perceived as more of a run stopping linebacker according to what I’ve seen. But he’s played the middle some so, maybe he can compete with Jasper Brinkley?

We’ll see.

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