Washington wasn't impressed with the way Harper played until well after the whistle. (Getty Images/US PRESSWIRE)

In April, Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith said that a Saints player admitted to intentionally trying to hurt him. In light of New Orleans' turbulent offseason that has included suspensions ranging from the front office to the locker room, as well as revelations that the NFL has a copy of a ledger detailing the Saints bounty earnings, it's not surprising that players from other teams also have been outspoken on the manner in which Gregg Williams' defense went about its business last season.

The latest: Titans wide receiver Nate <span data-shortcode=" data-canon="Nate Washington" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_PLAYER" id="shortcode0">, who told Terry McCormick of Titans Insider that while he didn't know if Saints safety Roman Harper received any cash payments for his actions against Tennessee during a December 2011 game, there wasn't any question that Harper crossed the line. The play in question: near the end of the third quarter with the Titans trailing the Saints 9-3, Tennessee wideout Damian Williams caught a short Jake Locker pass and turned it into a 54-yard gain. Harper brought Williams down at the New Orleans' 12-yard line … by his facemask.

“I don’t know if I could tell that that was something he was trying to do in order to be rewarded for it on a financial end. I’m not gonna say that,” Washington said. “But some of the things I was watching from film, and some of the things he did from our game, it was just downright dirty."

Judge for yourself:


Harper tackles Williams by his facemask after a 54-yard gain.

In addition to that, Harper had been flagged earlier in the Titans game for a helmet-to-helmet hit on quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

“He was just walking over guys, kneeing them, dirty things like pushing guys in the back while they’re not paying attention,” Washington told McCormick.

“Those are the types of things I was seeing on film, and then after what happened with Damian, facemasks are gonna happen, but I saw the picture on the Internet of the exact situation was what happened. Damian’s whole body was parallel to the ground. That’s how hard he grabbed Damian’s facemask, and on top of that you walk over a guy and knee him with your leg, that’s another sign of disrespect. You don’t do that.

“It’s already bad that you grabbed the guy’s facemask. We’ll take the penalty and go on from that, but you walk over a guy and knee him with your leg, that’s a whole other level. You don’t play dirty like that.”

As Washington mentioned, Harper's after-the-whistle tactics have shown up on tape before. In October, the Saints safety was flagged for a cheap shot on Steve Smith following a Panthers touchdown. At the time, Harper explained that the penalty was worth it because "I just was like, 'You're not going to walk and showboat in our end zone like that' … I just lost it, and maybe I shouldn't have hit him but I did. I'm not going to apologize for what I did."

Our response: if you watch the video, it's clear that Smith didn't "showboat in our end zone like that" until after Harper's cheap shot.

Washington called the whole Saints situation "unfortunate" before noting that “I hope as a league we’re able to move on from it and make a better name for ourselves."

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Ryan Wilson on Twitter here: @ryanwilson_07.