You know the scene in monster movies where an outbound highway lane is crippled by traffic while the inbound lane is empty with the exception of one car racing toward the place everybody else is trying to flee?
The "bounty" scandal is that monster. The outbound lane represents Saints veterans signing with other teams. And Curtis Lofton is the guy driving right into the fire.
Lofton thought he would spend his entire career with the Falcons, but the middle linebacker changed his mind after he met with the Saints in his first (and only) free-agent visit. With Jonathan Vilma's status anything but certain, Lofton represents exactly the type of fortification New Orleans needs at a vulnerable period in franchise history.
"I was there before any of that ruling happened. But they're kind of using the mentality 'it's us vs. them,' " Lofton told 790 The Zone in Atlanta (via SportsRadioInterviews.com). "Everyone's out to get them and let's just all make this team strong. I'm happy to be a part of it, and I'm gonna bring my leadership to this team and help in the best way I can."
Prior to the ruling that would sideline him for a year, Saints coach Sean Payton explained to Lofton that the team would be ready for any punishment the league doled out. Payton's message was enough to eliminate any hesitation on Lofton's end.
"For me there really wasn't any thought towards that stuff, because I didn't have anything to do with the bounties," he said. "Like I said, I played with Atlanta the last four years, so I don't really care about all that stuff. What excited me was to be going to a great team that has a chance of winning the Super Bowl, that has great fans that rally behind their team. And that's what I was looking forward to, and playing with great players."
