via NFL.com
 
New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the 2012 season, the NFL announced Wednesday, as it handed down player discipline for the team’s pay-for-performance “bounty” scandal.
Three other players — Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove, Will Smith — also were notified that they have been suspended without pay for conduct detrimental to the NFL as a result of their leadership roles in the “bounty” program that endangered player safety over three seasons from 2009 to 2011.
“It is the obligation of everyone, including the players on the field, to …

Written by Nick Canepa, the San Diego Union-Tribune

 
“To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.”
— Anatole France
Dreamers dream for a living. Sometimes it works. But when your reveries produce thoughts of starting up a new professional football league, dreams tend to become delusional and eventually morph into cold-sweat-uh-oh-I’m-going-broke nightmares.
Jaime Cuadra is one such dreamer. And he fully intends to act on it and live it.
Cuadra, 52, is all San Diego. He came to this country from Nicaragua as a baby, attended El Cajon Valley High and received …

Written By: JD Kruger
TGP Owner & Editor
In what appears to only be the first round of punishment in regards to the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, the league offices sent a clear message that they would not be tolerated this sort of behavior.
Saints head coach Sean Payton has been suspended for the year without pay. General Manager Mickey Loomis has been suspended for half the season, and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been told that he must stay away from the league for an indefinite amount of time.
The Saints …

Written by: Jason La Canfora
Peyton Manning is driving his free-agency process himself, directly dealing with team officials, and hasn’t given a firm timetable on a decision, according to sources with knowledge of the process.
The four-time NFL MVP quarterback has worked out for three teams — the Titans, Broncos and 49ers — and, according to sources, looked good at his workouts.
“I wouldn’t say he’s all the way back, but definitely he’s on the way back,” said one source with a working knowledge of the process. “You could really see (how close …

Written By: Huffington Post
During an emotional press conference, Peyton Manning bid farewell to the Indianapolis Colts and the fans of the franchise. Colts owner Jim Irsay began the press conference by addressing the franchise’s decision to part ways with the four-time NFL MVP, a move hastened by a March 8 deadline to pick up the option on Manning’s contract and pay a hefty bonus.
“I have been a member of the Colts nearly my whole adult life,” Manning reflected. “But nothing lasts forever…”
Both Manning and Irsay suggested that this outcome was forced …

Written By: Contributing TGP Staff
This Mock Draft was created by the staff members of The Gridiron Palace. Make sure you tell us what you think in the comments section. Naturally this is a one round mock with no trades, so Raiders, Falcons and Saints fans are out of luck. For the rest of you though, you have something to look forward to.
1. Colts: Tridentdawgpound
Andrew Luck | QB | Stanford
Obvious pick here. Probably the most hyped QB to come out of college in the past decade.
2. Rams: RANGA
Matt Kalil | OT …

Written By: ESPN New York
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants arrived at Newark International Airport from Indianapolis at approximately 1:55 p.m. on Monday, and bused over to their practice facility about a half hour later, where they were greeted by about 200 raucous fans.
Fans lined up about three to four people deep at the gates of the practice facility, waiting to get a glimpse of their heroes. They also lined up the exits, waving goodbye to the playerswhile also slapping hands and getting some autographs from …

Written By: JD Kruger
TGP Editor
The hawk can describe brisk autumn winds — gusts that you can often find billowing over the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. During the 2006 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers breathed life into those gusts by selecting linebacker AJ Hawk with the fifth overall selection.
Hawk took control right away, snapping Nick Barnett’s streak of leading the team in tackles for so many years prior. He played with discipline and authority, and rarely gave offensive players that extra inch that they fought so hard to gain.
Alas, the years ahead would …

Written By: DoomSayer

Eli Manning vs. Aaron Rodgers 
This is the only match up in this game that needs discussion. This is not a slight to the other 104 players on the active roster, but both of these quarterbacks are on a different level this year.
In the first match-up the two combined for 716 yards, seven touchdowns, and 73 points. Defense seemed to be optional in this game, although the deciding score was essentially a pick-six thrown by Eli Manning to Clay Matthews. The quarterback that makes that big mistake first is …

Written By: Favre4Ever, TGP Editor
Only a few months ago NFL fans were in a massive panic over the looming lockout. Would there be a season? If so, when? What can we expect from a lockout-shortened year?
That’s all behind us now as we say good bye to the final week of the NFL regular season and hello to the NFC Wild Card round of the playoffs. Let’s take a closer look at this game, and I’ll let you know what to expect.
Areas of Focus for the Detroit Lions

The Lions secondary is …