The news of the New Orleans Saints "bounty" scandal came as a complete shock to Pierre Thomas, but equally shocking to the Saints running back were the harsh penalties levied by the league against his team and head coach Sean Payton.
Payton was suspended without pay for the 2012 season, but is appealing his suspension along with the rest of the principle figures penalized by the NFL this week.
"It's really up to them, but if you ask me it's kind of crazy," Thomas told NFL Networks' Michelle Beisner while attending Nike's official uniform unveiling in New York. "It's a physical game. You're going to get hit hard just like I got hit hard in the playoffs vs. San Francisco. ... I try to run defenders over. ... Even if I accidentally hurt them, I'm just trying to make a play."
Thomas said that as an offensive player he was unaware of what went on during the Saints' defensive meetings during which then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams ran his "bounty" program, and he does not know how much of that information was shared amongst the coaching staff.
"I play offense," Thomas said. "I'm not in their meeting room. I don't know what Gregg is telling those guys. Payton, he deals with the offense. That's all I know."
"I don't know what was said (in the defensive meetings)," Thomas said, adding he hopes Payton doesn't miss the entire season. "They say it's a bounty list -- that's ridiculous. They're going out there to play the game."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he hopes to resolve the "bounty" appeals by the end of the week, but a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL.com's Steve Wyche on Tuesday that the reviewing of all the information by the appealing parties could delay any rulings.
A resolution to Payton's appeal could lead to the Saints bringing in Bill Parcells as the team's interim head coach for the 2012 season. Payton has acknowledge that he's discussed the possibility with Parcells, and Thomas said Tuesday that would be just fine with him.
"I feel great about that," Thomas said. "Sean Payton, he talks about Bill all the time: what a great guy he is, how much he learned from him."
"Having him there would be a great outfit for us. ... I think it will be some of the same similarities to Sean Payton."
