I was pulling so hard for the Seahawks during their fourth quarter rally Sunday.

Paul Tagliabue's decision Tuesday to vacate discipline against current and former Saints players in the Bountygate episode was the right one, but it is disappointing that Commissioner Roger Goodell did not make it when he had the chance. Regular readers to this column will recall my September 12 column in which I climbed up on the commissioner's throne and pretended I had the power.

Now that the New Orleans Saints have gotten back on the road to redemption with their Monday Night Football win over the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s time for them to move on to the next opponent.  And, on to the next distraction too.

A Channel 6 sports reporter called last night to ask if I would comment on the legacy of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the 10 pm news.

The battered New Orleans Saints and the emotionally-bruised Drew Brees take on the flabbergasted Green Bay Packers Sunday in a Jim Mora coulda, woulda, shoulda moment.  For the Saints, it's what if bountygate had not occurred and Sean Payton were still in the pit.

According to a declared affidavit signed by former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the New Orleans Saints had a "pay-for-performance/bounty program.   Here is a copy of the sworn affidavit.  The Affidavit was given to Jonathan Vilma, the New Orleans Saints linebacker who was suspended by Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner.

ESPN: NFL gave Vilma affidavit from Gregg Williams citing bounty offer of 10,000
NFL gave Jonathan Vilma a sworn affidavit from former Saints DC Gregg Williams that the New Orleans LB offered $10,000 to any teammate who knocked Brett Favre out of the January 2010 NFC Championship game. More on ESPN and ESPN.com.

Robert Griffin III, or RG3, the new NFL rookie sensation has begun to finish what Commissioner Goodell started--the systematic demolition of the New Orleans Saints football team.

He and his Washington Redskins won the opening game of season 2012, the year the New Orleans Saints have been hoping to return to the Super Bowl glory but this time would be playing at home in the Super Dome. 

The NFL Players Association filed another losing motion this week when it asked federal judge Ginger Berrigan to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the suspensions of Will Smith and Scott Fujita. Berrigan must rule in the next day or two since the season, for everybody but Dallas and the Giants, begins Sunday. So the beat goes on.

But lost in all the discussion of a TRO's, a new NFL season, Sean Payton's vacation, interim head coaches and interims to the interim head coach is one big tuna can at the bottom of the New Orleans Saints' travel trunk. It is still only a faint smell, but the longer it sits and spoils, the more likely it will result in another stinker on the Saints reputation. If you recall, Saints owner Tom Benson retained former FBI Director Louis Freeh to conduct a complete and impartial investigation into the Bountygate scandal and its assorted tentacles.

It is now obvious that Roger Goodell will not have a good welcoming come Super Bowl Sunday 2013.
Goodell could not have picked a worse time to punish a team than he has done with the New Orleans Saints and in particular Jonathan Vilma.
Goodell is not welcome in Vilma’s eatery. The city of New Orleans hosts the Super Bowl and presumably, should the Saints not make it to the land of NFL glory this year, the NFL and Goodell could be blamed for their fate.