Moore - Woodson: Cowboys had pay-for-hit program in during Super Bowl run

[Cr122]

By: David Moore
dmoore@dallasnews.com

The Cowboys never used the word bounty.

But the pay-for-hit program that has been exposed in New Orleans was practiced by the Cowboys during their Super Bowl run in the 1990s.

"That's how we went about our business,'' said safety Darren Woodson, a key figure during the Cowboys title run. "As defensive backs we would bet or get money for interceptions, big hits, sacks or hits that caused fumbles.

"It was never a situation where we had malicious thoughts of wanting to seriously hurt someone. But hey, we wanted to knock people's teeth out. We wanted to hit people as hard as we could and seperate them from the ball. That is how we were raised to play the game. That was our job.''

Woodson stressed that what took place was never organized or sanctioned by the Cowboys coaching staff. It was something done among the players as a point of pride and for bragging rights.

Woodson said safety James Washington, known as Drive By among his teammates, was loosely in charge of the system and established the payments. But again, Woodson stressed that everyone in the secondary bought into what was being done and fed off it.

The word bounty was not used and the Cowboys did not have a specific payment for a hit that resulted in a player being carted off the field. But Woodson said you would receive a higher payment if your hit knocked the player out of the game for a play or two because that gave the Cowboys a competitive advantage.

"Say I won the pot one week,'' Woodson said. "It wasn't about the money. The reward was in being recognized in front of 12 other guys in the room.

"It might have been $800. It might have been $500. It was whatever the guys put in that week. But when you're making $4 million a year it's not about the money, it's about being recognized for it by your teammates.

"It's the machismo part of it. I'm the big alpha dog in the room.''

Woodson knows how this sounds. He understands it won't go over well with those who have never played football and will come across as some sort of cave man mentality.

"Let me try to put it into perspective,'' Woodson said. "A buddy of mine is a Wall Street trader and has been a trader forever. He was trying to explain to me a payout system.

"The first thing I said was, 'dude, that's way over the line.'''

The trader's response?

"He said, 'man, this is what we do,'' Woodson related. "This is who we are. It's not going to change.

"It's not going to change for football players, either.''​

 

[Cr122]

Woodson: No Bounties But Pay System Existed

Posted by ​

nickeatman

at 3/6/2012 2:25 PM CST on dallascowboys.com


With the mess that is going on in New Orleans, with the apparent bounty system the Saints and their coaching staff were allegedly using to pay players for big hits and knocking out opponents, it’s opening eyes around the league to see just how common this practice is.

Former Cowboys defensive back Darren Woodson, who also serves as an NFL analyst for ESPN, said there was a pay-out system when he played in the 90’s, enforced by the players and had nothing to do with the coaches. And it wasn’t generated to hurt players, but more of a reward for big plays. And as a defensive player, sometimes that meant a big hit.

“Yeah it’s about being recognized by your peers, especially on defense,” said Woodson, who played 12 seasons – all in Dallas. “The offensive guys get the fame. A receiver scores a touchdown, he gets instant fame. Running backs, instantly recognized. But for a defensive guy, the way you get recognized is if you make a huge play, whether it be an interception or a big hit. That’s how we get recognized. And if you get recognized in front of a team, that’s what it’s about for us.”

Woodson explained that the money used to pay out, was generated by fines – issued by the secondary players, organized by guys such as Thomas Everett and James Washington, who passed it on to Woodson, Brock Marion, Kevin Smith and George Teague.

“The defensive backs for the Cowboys, we had money in the pot,” Woodson said. “Most of the time, it was for fines. We would fine each other – late for a meeting? You got hit a $50 hit. If you give up a touchdown in practice, it’s $10. We’d have all this money accumulated and then we’d all throw in a little extra for a big hit this week. Or $50 for an interception or what not. We’d add to it if there wasn’t a lot of money in the pot.

“As far as coaches involved, it never got that big at all. These (current) things you’re hearing thousands and thousands of dollars. For us, it was maybe a grand for a pot once. Usually it was a few hundred dollars. It’s a small scale for what the Saints were doing.”

Woodson said the importance of this practice was teaching the players to be accountable for one another.

“It’s a way for us to police ourselves. That’s how the pot got bigger and bigger,” Woodson said. “It’s all about accountability. And don’t fall asleep. George Teague was one, Kevin Smith, Brock Marion. George Teague was by far the most ruthless. He’d hit you for walking into a meeting barefoot. It made us closer as a unit in my opinion.”​

 

[CowboysRMX]

I say NFL players are playing a physical sport being played by some of the strongest biggest fastest and brutal athletes in the world. I understand injuries are going to happen. If teams are going to intentionally try to hurt people that's wrong. But imo I'm starting to get turned off by the game with the powder puff rules the league is going by now. The way things are going I really don't see myself watching football 5 years from now if the rules get any more pro pussy.

 

[Bonecrusher#31]

STFU Woody