Dec 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) calls a play during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. The Saints beat the Cowboys 34-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Matthew Stafford was a huge Pro Bowl snub a year ago but an opportunity to rectify that issue, albeit a year late, opened up with Robert Griffin III unable to participate due to injury.

Stafford wasn’t as good in 2012 as he was in 2011 but he was still named a Pro Bowl alternate.

RGIII’s replacement has been named and it isn’t Stafford, although it’s hard to argue against the choice.

Drew Brees will replace Robert Griffin III on the NFC Pro Bowl roster #Saints

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 9, 2013

Stafford still has an opportunity to make his first Pro Bowl appearance if the Packers or Falcons make it to the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan are the other quarterbacks on the NFC roster but one will be replaced if his team wins the NFC.

Jan 7, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Detroit Lions defensive end Willie Young (79) hits New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) causing a fumble in the second quarter during the 2011 NFC Wild Card Playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-US PRESSWIRE

The big news of the day is the release of some audio of Gregg Williams’ pregame speech to his defense before their playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers. What can be heard on the audio is damning evidence related to the news of the Saints’ bounty program. Williams is heard referencing players and specific injuries and body parts to target in an attempt to remove them from the game. He also makes it clear that he’ll pick up the tab for any fines. It’s also important to remember this all happened after the league told the Saints to immediately stop putting bounties on their opponents.

The incident and the latest developments with the release of the audio brings up not only more talk of the Saints’ actions but also continues the discussion about what is and isn’t common practice around the league. The Houston Chronicle’s Lance Zierlein tweeted the following that paints the Lions in a less than flattering light:

Coach just text: “Detroit left some writing on board vs the Saints talking about taking out Brees.Members of Giants saw it nxt wk”

— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 5, 2012

It doesn’t sound good but there is a clear problem. The Giants played in New Orleans one week BEFORE the Lions. The Atlanta Falcons were the only other team to play in New Orleans between the Lions’ regular season game there and the playoff game and that was three weeks later.

The tweet is either based on truth but the details are incorrect or flat-out false information is being sent around as coaching staffs around the league go into self preservation mode. In either case, it isn’t good.

UPDATE: I brought the inconsistency up to Zierlein via twitter and he went back and corrected the previous report with the following:

My bad on earlier text.Dbl checked w/ coach & it wasn’t Giants.He said week after giants.Equip manager from lsu supposedly saw it

— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) April 5, 2012

Maybe I’m being a homer but the “fishiness” factor still seems high. LSU played at the Superdome for the BCS Championship Game but the Falcons had played there in between. Zierlein offers the explanation that an LSU equipment manager may also work with the Saints and therefore at the Superdome apart from the LSU team.

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Clipped from: www.foxsportsdetroit.com (share this clip)

Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew might prefer to be the shadowy figure of the franchise’s management team, but he won’t be able to be the man behind the curtain anymore.

With Matthew Stafford thoroughly entrenched as the Lions’ quarterback for the next dozen or so years, Mayhew and Co. can now settle into putting the finishing touches on a Lions team that appears ready to leap into the upper echelon of the NFL.

From www.foxsportsdetroit.com (share this quote)

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