New Orleans, La. -
He suffered a season ending injury at the hands of an arch rival 27 years ago.
Two time Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Theismann says bounties are old hat in the NFL, and he's now weighing in on the Saints situation.
It was an injury that ended a brilliant career. In 1985 All-World linebacker Lawrence Taylor sacked quarterback Theismann on a flea flicker play, snapping his leg at a 45 degree angle.
Though Theismann doesn't believe a bounty had anything to do with the play that ended his career, he said when he played, bounties were very much part of the game.
"Absolutely there was a bounty system and we knew it. It was unspoken. If they could take out a key player it was an advantage to the other team," he said.
But Theismann said times have changed.
"It's a wrong philosophy. It shouldn't happen. This isn't old time football anymore."
No one is paying a higher price than Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma. Though Vilma denies allegations he participated in a bounty program, He's currently on a one year suspension being appealed before a federal judge.
While Vilma waits for a decision on whether he will play this year, Theismann predicts the Saints will be okay.
Theismann says there will be challenges for a team with a suspended head coach, and a soon to be suspended interim head coach.
He says in spite of denials, it's important for the Saints to learn from this experience and make sure it never happens again.
An ESPN poll dubbed Theismann's injury "the most shocking moment in NFL history."
