Every team on defense has “orders” to take out the quarterback. Orders is a silly term. I guess you never played defense. The idea is to knock the crap out of the ball carrier or the offensive player. You intimidate the other guy. Receivers get “alligator arms” when they go across the middle of the field. At lest they used to. Some still do.
Defender don't need orders to take out the other guy. It is what you do. You don't want to kill him but if he has to sit the bench for awhile then mission accomplished.
Funny how the “investigation” sort of petered out when Vilma sued the NFL. It was hearsay and the problem was every other team did it to some degree of form.
BTW the very next year when the Giants were in the playoffs did you hear the locker room speech of their defensive coach? Take out the legs of the Frisco receiver as he had a bum knee going into the playoffs.
Sorry these are big boys playing a big boy game for lots of money and fame. No holds barred and if you think it is different you are being naive.
Look, I could care less if they are guilty or not. personally I think we should go back and play the game as they did in the 50s to 70’s, but it isn’t going to happen. So there are silly rules where the QBs are OFF limits.
Now, the truth of the matter is that the referees are more guilty than anyone, because they should have been calling the Saints on their late hits, but I am sure they were told to be blind to it. Mainly because New Orleans was going to win the Super Bowl.
If there was anything illegal going on it was in the front office of Goodell, who was doing the bidding of the left. They needed new Orleans to win to keep up the mantra that New Orleans is a great city. It all went back to Katrina.