Commissioner meeting report

[Tunescribe]

It was better than I thought it would be, with Goodell answering questions by the 75 fans in attendance (full house in the Pats Hall of Fame theater) on a variety of topics. I thought both Goodell and Bob Kraft were sincere and interested in what people had to say.

The session started with viewing of a 15-minute film on the history of the Patriots on the theater's panoramic screen. Bob Kraft introduced Goodell and praised him effusively as doing a great job for the league. Goodell and Kraft then sat together on stools at center stage and answered questions for an hour as microphones were circulated in the audience. It was like a press conference only with fans asking the questions. There were no questions asked about spygate, tripgate or Roger's alleged coziness with the Green Beans. I asked about how the league expects the proposed 18-game regular season not to degenerate into an injury riddled war of attrition. Below are my Cliff Notes on some of the topics discussed:

18-game regular season: Roger said statistical models show that more teams will be in the playoff hunt longer vs. the current 16-game schedule. Adjustments will be made in off-season demands on players to help mitigate physical wear and tear. Key divisional match-ups will be weighted toward the end of the season as they are now to ensure that teams will play to win. He stressed that NFL fans nationwide are adamant about not paying full price for two preseason games, and stressed that making one of those games “count” is a great improvement in the product. Kraft said ticket prices will not go up because of change to 18-game regular season.

Concussions: Goodell said this remains a front-burner issue the league is working hard on addressing. He believes that re-emphasis on proper player technique backed by fines has been successful, and that the fines do matter to players even though they make millions.

Personal conduct policy: The players’ union recognizes the value of keeping it preserved and emphasized in the next collective bargaining agreement.

Michael Vick: Goodell said he is a great believer in redemption/second chances; said he speaks to Vick often and feels he has proven himself worthy of that second chance off the field.

Brett Favre: The league will announce findings of its investigation before the end of the season.

Television: Goodell and Kraft stressed that the NFL's ongoing success is tied to all games being broadcast on free television (the only pro league to do so) and there are no plans to move into pay-per-view.

A team in Los Angeles: This depends almost exclusively on a new stadium being built. No mention of how a team might be brought there.

Games overseas: Will remain an active league experiment. Goodell said the games in London could have been sold out several times over due to strong demand. He said he felt the market could one day support a full-time team. This was when some idiot said he loved going to the Pats game last year in London, wants them to go there again and would love to see a Super Bowl there.

Super Bowl Tickets: Several fans expressed frustration over lack of access. Goodell said he considers the secondary (re-sale) market a good thing as it allows the average fan a shot at going. He also said that some season ticket holders who get SB tix directly from the team turn around and sell them for profit and the league has no control over that. One fan noted that most SB tix landing in places like eBay are from corporate sources. Apparently the league has no plan or desire to control SB ticket scalping.

Officiating: One fan complained that officiating this year seems especially poor. Roger countered that we see more now after the fact because of all the camera angles, super slo-mo replays, etc. He said NFL refs generally do an excellent job and that new advancements in technology to help them be even better will always be considered.

New CBA: Roger said he believes a work stoppage will be avoided and that both sides realize a lockout/strike situation would harm all involved, especially the fans.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Tune, glad to see you back from Goodell's attitude readjustment camp

 

[Patspsycho]

Why were there no questions asked about spygate, tripgate, or his Jettiness? Were you told beforehand that such questions would not be entertained?

 

[BTTA]

Thanks for doing this.

 

[reflexblue]

Tune, glad to see you back from Goodell's attitude readjustment camp

Yeah really, that was my impression too.

 

[Patstopia]

My BIGGEST issue is Favre! How does it take this long? They threw the Pats under the bus in two weeks. But they can't get to the bottom of '****gate' in a full season? Talk about going out of the way to protect someone.

 

[reflexblue]

My BIGGEST issue is Favre! How does it take this long? They threw the Pats under the bus in two weeks. But they can't get to the bottom of '****gate' in a full season? Talk about going out of the way to protect someone.

Tailgate........

 

[Gwedd]

My BIGGEST issue is Favre! How does it take this long? They threw the Pats under the bus in two weeks. But they can't get to the bottom of '****gate' in a full season? Talk about going out of the way to protect someone.

Agreed. He's a golden boy and the league wants to keep putting him back up on that gilded pedestal no matter how many times he's been chipped, cracked, or repainted.

 

[Hoodie]

My BIGGEST issue is Favre! How does it take this long? They threw the Pats under the bus in two weeks. But they can't get to the bottom of '****gate' in a full season? Talk about going out of the way to protect someone.

Absolutely! They are trying to make the issue go away by delaying the decision until after the season. Favre has already said he won't be back. How do you punish a player after he's retired? I hope Jenn Sterger sues just because this blatant attempt to deflect the issue annoys me.

 

[upstater1]

Were Spygate questions forbidden?

I mean, it's kind of like showing up at a concert to watch the singer espouse their views on politics.

 

[Synovia]

Absolutely! They are trying to make the issue go away by delaying the decision until after the season. Favre has already said he won't be back. How do you punish a player after he's retired? I hope Jenn Sterger sues just because this blatant attempt to deflect the issue annoys me.

No, they're not. Sterger is trying to get the NFL to pay her off/settle. They won't do it, and she knows if she blows it wide open, she'll never see any money.

 

[PatsDeb]

In the end, it was probably pretty hard for the audience, who were invited guests, with Robert Kraft sitting right there, to go all postal on Roger Goodell. It was a nice PR event and I'm glad one of us got to attend. Thanks Tune for the report!

 

[reflexblue]

In the end, it was probably pretty hard for the audience, who were invited guests, with Robert Kraft sitting right there, to go all postal on Roger Goodell. It was a nice PR event and I'm glad one of us got to attend. Thanks Tune for the report!

I think its how a question is asked, i'm sure questions about spy gate or thigh gate could have been asked diplomatically. Whats the point of having the event if certain areas are out of bounds to talk about, other than it being PR campaign

 

[Bella*chick]

In the end, it was probably pretty hard for the audience, who were invited guests, with Robert Kraft sitting right there, to go all postal on Roger Goodell. It was a nice PR event and I'm glad one of us got to attend. Thanks Tune for the report!

Damn that Goodell! He used Kraft as a human shield!

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Sadly it sounds like you got the same canned responses that NBC got. Goodell has never been comfortable on camera but he has gotten smoother in delivering his canned responses. It would be a mistake to call them answers because if you analyze the responses you will find he seldom actually answers a direct question. He delivers the canned, pre-planned response to such questions. The 18 game season/overseas expansion is the ultimate example of this. The majority of fans don't want either. They just don't want to watch (and in the case of whining season ticket holders pay the same price for) training games, any more than they want to lose a home game to some marketing ploy. Goodell's mantra seems to be players get hurt all the time, might as well be getting hurt when it matters ($$$$$$$$$). The concept that if they train less that will offset the wear and tear is laughable... Adding 2 regular season games to the schedule will ultimately shorten careers by about a year on average (if not more) because nothing these guys do in the off or even pre season replicates what they face in real game situations and adding a couple of spots to rosters or modifying IR rules isn't going to mitigate for that. What apparently will is TV revenue expansion...period. It will allow for owners to get a better % split while player contract values in the moment continue to increase.

And it is laughable that he was able to adjudicate spygate and rapistgate within a week or two but ****gate is requiring months of anquished deliberation...as tripgate probably will (in hopes it may just all fade away before he has to do anything beyond pay it tortured lipservice until the season is over...).

 

[PatsDeb]

Damn that Goodell! He used Kraft as a human shield!

That was my first thought when I read Tune's description of the event! Beforehand, I kept asking myself how they were going to prevent this thing from getting out of hand. I mean, the Pats must know their fans are no fans of Roger Goodell. Then when I read what they did, I thought, "They must have asked BB to write up a Prevent Defense" for Goodell, and as usual, he came up with a winner!! I wonder if they will put this defensive game plan in the HOF?!

 

[reflexblue]

Sadly it sounds like you got the same canned responses that NBC got. Goodell has never been comfortable on camera but he has gotten smoother in delivering his canned responses. It would be a mistake to call them answers because if you analyze the responses you will find he seldom actually answers a direct question. He delivers the canned, pre-planned response to such questions. The 18 game season/overseas expansion is the ultimate example of this. The majority of fans don't want either. They just don't want to watch (and in the case of whining season ticket holders pay the same price for) training games, any more than they want to lose a home game to some marketing ploy. Goodell's mantra seems to be players get hurt all the time, might as well be getting hurt when it matters ($$$$$$$$$). The concept that if they train less that will offset the wear and tear is laughable... Adding 2 regular season games to the schedule will ultimately shorten careers by about a year on average (if not more) because nothing these guys do in the off or even pre season replicates what they face in real game situations and adding a couple of spots to rosters or modifying IR rules isn't going to mitigate for that. What apparently will is TV revenue expansion...period. It will allow for owners to get a better % split while player contract values in the moment continue to increase.

And it is laughable that he was able to adjudicate spygate and rapistgate within a week or two but ****gate is requiring months of anquished deliberation...as tripgate probably will (in hopes it may just all fade away before he has to do anything beyond pay it tortured lipservice until the season is over...).

Goodell sounds like a good politician, smooth canned answers. I don't remember Rozzel or Tags being so involved on a weekly basis in trying to shape the game like Goodell.

 

[DarrylS]

Was not expecting the "hard" questions to be asked or answered.. Goodell leads a very insulated life, as do most people in his situation..

Still enjoy the insight into it.. wish could have been there.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Exactly Mo. Typical corporate CEO speak featuring the always the same canned answers and only the topics allowed to be discussed.

 

[Deus Irae]

Pravda would be proud!