Report: Bengals LB Dontay Moch suspended four games for banned substance

Posted: 10:12 AM ET May 20, 2012

By Will Brinson | Senior NFL Blogger

Moch's reportedly been suspended four games for using a banned substance. (Getty Images)
We've spent a lot of time lately lauding the Bengals draft picks over the past few years. But they're not perfect all the time. And example of this is linebacker Dontay Moch, who's reportedly facing a four-game suspension from the league.

According to Jason LaCanfora, Moch was suspended for using banned substances, and will miss four games, pending an appeal.

The linebacker, selected 66th overall by the Bengals last year, generated a lot of interest prior to the 2011 draft with his fast 40 time at the combine (the quickest among all linebackers and linemen).

Moch suffered a foot injury (a broken metatarsal bone, to be specific) in the Bengals first preseason game and didn't see any action during his rookie season.

It appears as if Moch is going to continue to miss games, pending his appeal process working.

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Tags: Dontay Moch, Cincinnati Bengals, NFL

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Report: Sean Payton banned from 'any contact' with Saints, other coaches

Posted: 10:23 AM ET April 17, 2012

By Will Brinson | Senior NFL Blogger

Payton's banned from contact with anyone on the Saints in 2012. (Getty Images)
Sean Payton got a hefty one-year suspension from the NFL and when he appealed that suspension to Roger Goodell, he got the Heisman from the commissioner. So we knew 2012 wouldn't be a fun year for Payton.

But according to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, it's worse than imagined: Payton is "not allowed to have any contact with the Saints organization or anyone around the NFL."

Additionally, any contact with coaching friends or members of the Saints organization must be reported to league executive Ray Anderson, which is an interesting little application of the honor code when it comes to Payton's suspension.

Payton's suspension begins Monday and ends in February, following the Super Bowl. So, if Payton does, say, bump into Mickey Loomis at Bed, Bath and Beyond on a Saturday in May, he has to ring up Anderson and self-report a violation of his suspension.

The obvious conundrum for Payton is this: he could break the honor code and keep his fingerprints on the 2012 Saints. And he could conceivably get away with it. But (in the hypothetical that he attempted to do so) if he got caught without self-reporting these violations, he might be in big trouble when reinstatement time rolls around.

Of course, from a practical standpoint, it's an absolute disaster: the people in the Saints organization and the NFL are, one assumes, his circle of friends. Surely he has compatriots outside the game, but if he wants to get dinner with a good friend in the Saints organization, it's unlikely the NFL would look on too kindly.

Tags: Bounties, Bountygate, New Orleans Saints, NFL

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