The Tuesday Stew: Calvin Johnson, Anthony Hargrove and Bountygate 

The Tuesday Stew is going to be looking a bit different going forward, and I just wanted to prepare you guys for it. We just passed what is said to be the slowest NFL news week of the year, and news should also be flowing in slowly during, and before, the London Olympics.

I will now occasionally not follow this article’s regular weekly layout—Main Story of the Week, Question of the Week, 10 NFL Wrap-Ups, five Non-Related NFL Wrap-Ups, and three Recommendations of the Week—instead, it will fluctuate from week to week. Sometimes there will be five NFL Wrap-Ups, like today, and maybe some other days there will be more, or less, and this goes for all the sections in the article that come after the Main Story of the Week, and the Question of the Week.

There will still be a Tuesday Stew every week, it just may look a little bit different. I’m doing this because I don’t want to force in stupid stories to this article, by forcing myself to succumb to this article’s weekly layout during the slow weeks we have up ahead. I wanted to save the dignity of this article, and during the upcoming slow weeks, only put as many stories in as I see fit.

Sorry for the long intro. Now for your favorite time of the week, your Tuesday Stew:

Main Story of the Week: Bounty Evidence is Being Put into Question

Instead of me going step-by-step and probably missing some information, I’m going to give you a general outlook on this whole “Bountygate”, and then provide you with links to read more in-depth articles, and make your own opinions.

General Outlook: It doesn’t seem like the NFL really had enough evidence to make the player suspensions it did. A lot of evidence seems very shady, and is being brought into question. A lot of the “evidence” is also based on assumptions, which we all know is never good. The NFL is worrying me.

Before they presented the Anthony Hargrove video, they claimed it was a 100 percent deal that Hargrove said, “give me my money”. However, in that video, you can’t really tell who said those infamous four words.

The NFL made it look like Joe Vitt had contributed to the bounty pool, but then later made a retraction on that statement.

Then, the NFL said that they punished Hargrove for “lying”, and not necessarily for his involvement in the “bounty” program.

As you can see, this is a very complicated case, and one that needs to be followed very carefully to fully grasp. Read this article on grading the Saints bounty evidence, and read what Scott Fujita had to say about the bounty situation. Then, try and tell me the NFL had enough full proof evidence to suspend the players, and for the amount of time they did.

Question of the Week: Did Anthony Hargrove say, “Bobby, give me my money”?

This is a question for you, the reader. I will post the link to the video again, but keep in mind, the NFL had said it was certain that Hargrove said, “give me my money”, and it used this video as a cornerstone for their “bounty” “evidence”.

Also, one more thought: When your accusing people of this sort of thing, and ruining their reputations, taking time away from their lives, taking away money from them, ruining a team’s reputation and countless other things, you better have some hardcore evidence to do that, and it just doesn’t seem like the NFL had the right to do what it did.

NFL Wrap-Up:

1) Calvin Johnson is going to be “stronger and faster” this year. Well, that’s at least what Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson thinks, and told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Burleson even admits that “You wouldn’t think a guy like that could come back and get better, but he does.” All I have to say, is that I feel bad for those defenses. Johnson is already one of the best receivers in the league, and if he’s stronger and faster this year, defenses really shouldn’t be sleeping well at night.

2) Drew Brees compares bounty evidence to Weapons of Mass Destruction. Brees wrote on Twitter, “If NFL fans were told there were ‘weapons of mass destruction’ enough times, they’d believe it, but what happens when you don’t find any????” Brees is comparing the league’s bounty evidence to the Bush Administration having said that Saddam Hussein had WMDs, but that claim later turning out to be false. It seems to be a slightly over-the-line comparison, but nonetheless, it still gets the point across.

3) Hard Knocks caused “a lot of groans” in the Miami Dolphins’ locker room. That, according to Dolphins tight end Anthony Fasano. Fasano isn’t wrong. Having a team star on HBO’s hit series Hard Knocks is awesome for fans, but not so great for coaches and players who will now have a camera on them 24/7.

4) Michael Turner’s carries are going to be cut down. That is according to the Atlanta Falcons’ team website, saying that coach Mike Smith said that Atlanta’s running game will be distributed “on a more by committee basis.” This is somewhat sad news for fantasy owners, but it seems like a good decision for the Falcons. They are now going to spread the ball out more in the run game, and in the passing game. I think both of these decisions will prove to be great ones for the Falcons.

5) I like this story by the wonderful Mike Florio of NBC’s Pro Football Talk. I think Florio is absolutely right. There seems to be almost no way that anybody will break LaDainian Tomlinson’s record of 31 touchdowns in a single-season. Florio brings up the point that if anybody breaks the record, it would be a receiver, but I still think even that’s far fetched. Rob Gronkowski had the most receiving touchdowns this year, with only 17, a little over half of Tomlinson’s record.

Non-Related NFL Wrap-Up:

a) The Wimbledon is underway, and I got my money on Roger Federer. If he is going to win a major any time soon, it’s got to be here on the grass courts. Did you know that the Big 3 (Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer) have won 28 of the last 29 majors? This just shows a total domination of a sport by these three great men.

b) Jerry Sandusky got exactly what he deserved.

c) My Euro 2012 prediction: I want to preface this by saying that I don’t know a whole lot about soccer. Spain wins 2-1 against Portugal, and Germany wins 2-0 against Italy. Then, I have a feeling, that sadly, Germany will beat Spain in the final. I’ll be rooting for Spain, but I feel Germany will beat them in the final. If my predictions are perfect by next Tuesday, I will tell you my predicted score for the final.

Recommendations of the Week:

i) Watch this absolutely brilliant video from Outside The Lines. Incredible job, and amazing story.

ii) I know its Summer, but guys, you still have to pay attention to your Fantasy Baseball teams. I’m looking at some teams in my highly competitive family league begin to really slump, and for stupid reason too.

iii) Watch Euro 2012.

iv) Follow me on Twitter @Fersports101.I’m getting really close to 300 followers. If you’re that 300^th  follower, you’ll get a very special thank you (don’t get your hopes up, I’ll probably just tweet to you or something).

Bonus Section:

That’s right, I just made up the Bonus Section. Why you ask? Because I can.

NFL Network‘s list of the Top 100 Players of 2012, as voted on by the players, is coming to an end. There are only 10 sports left to be revealed, and here is my prediction (not my opinion) on how the Top 10 will go down:

10) Adrian Peterson

9) Haloti Ngata

8) Patrick Willis

7) Larry Fitzgerald

6) DeMarcus Ware

5) Darrelle Revis

4) Calvin Johnson

3) Tom Brady

2) Drew Brees

1) Aaron Rodgers