NFL Network analyst calls for bounty on Cowboys' Elliott
Former NFL player Brian Baldinger may be in some hot water with the network that employs him.
The NFL Network analyst was on The 97.5 Fanatic Friday morning and he was asked to give his best attempt at a pep talk for the Philadelphia Eagles as they get set to face the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night.
Instead, Baldinger suggested that the Eagles put a bounty on rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott.
As transcribed by Patrik Walker of 247 Sports:
They've got this running back, Ezekiel Elliott, the fourth pick in the draft. He shows up at the draft in New York. He's got a belly shirt on, tuxedo collar, just arrogance. Just screams arrogance. He's got this powder blue shirt. He's got 703 yards. He leads the league in rushing. Everybody talks about how good the offensive line is. He's the difference maker.
And it just bugs me. If I'm (Eagles defensive coordinator) Jim Schwartz right now, I'm putting a picture of Ezekiel Elliott in that belly shirt from the draft up there. This is the guy that right now, the Cowboys are making their bell cow. He's the leader, he's what makes it go. The quarterback has been good, but this is the guy. It's the running game, it's the time of possession.
And I just want you guys to have the same amount of ... I want you guys to be irked the way I am. I want you to go to bed tonight thinking about this guy, and how pretty he is, and how good he is, because all these backs are the same. They're all pretty, and they're all special, and they do all these commercials until they just get tattooed.
Until you just pound them into the turf. Until you just drill 'em. Until their head hurts. So that bumblebee is flying around inside their helmet, so he just didn't know how hard he just got blasted.
... This is the guy that we've gotta hurt. This is the guy we gotta take out of the game. There's gotta be 10 guys that want to hurt him every single play. In fact, we may even put a little bounty on Ezekiel Elliott. Let's get to Alfred Morris.
Regardless of if he was playing a character on radio, Baldinger's words are shocking considering the league's stance on bounties.
The New Orleans Saints were heavily fined and forced to forfeit draft picks after the league conducted a thorough investigation into suggestions the Saints held a bounty system in 2009. And just this week, the Minnesota Vikings were alleged to have run a bounty system in 2008. The league provided no comment on the allegations today.
Baldinger, a former offensive lineman, played in the league for 13 years, with stops in Dallas and Philadelphia. His broadcast career began in 1997.