Goodell press conference

Lots of questions from other city media about deflated footballs and consequences. Other than Mike Reiss's, I don't recall another question from NE media. Someone could have asked about heated footballs in Minnesota, doctored footballs by other quarterbacks, coaches who trip players on sidelines, etc. The lack of questions about offenses by other teams spoke volumes. All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others.

OhExaulted1 said:

Respect your opinion PP2 but this seems a little to tin-foil hat for me. I think you're giving Roger way too much credit for being that calculated and intelligent.

I think he truly is a bumbling buffoonish idiot and a nice suit, a bunch of scripted non-answers and a $44 million dollar paycheck hasn't swayed my opinion.

The guy is genuinely stupid and unqualified for his position. The league will do just fine without him. How do you think Rams fans think about him right about now? They might be the only fan base that hates him more than us right now.

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Allow me to clarify:

Like you say, Goodell has turned into a bumbling idiot, and some group or someone behind the scenes, inside the NFL has since realized that.

However, it's not so simple as firing him or asking him to step down (most likely broached). He needs to be voted out by at least 24 of the 32 team owners or representative. That is a pretty high number.

Hence my speculating that he is being forced out this way. The Ray Rice fiasco was a little too public (it is far from the first time an NFL wife has been assaulted). It put Goodell in a bad light in that he said (or was advised to say) very little, and in that those who deserved much harsher punishment (Harbaugh, Newsome Jr., and Bisciotti) escaped relatively unscathed even though they actively participated in the coverup and suppression of evidence.

And I have also speculated that deflategate wasn't really about the balls, but about driving a wedge between Goodell and one of his most ardent supporters, Kraft. That seems to be a mission accomplished, don't you think?

If I am correct, there will be a serious move to unseat Goodell, this offseason.

PP2 said:

Allow me to clarify:

Like you say, Goodell has turned into a bumbling idiot, and some group or someone behind the scenes, inside the NFL has since realized that.

However, it's not so simple as firing him or asking him to step down (most likely broached). He needs to be voted out by at least 24 of the 32 team owners or representative. That is a pretty high number.

Hence my speculating that he is being forced out this way. The Ray Rice fiasco was a little too public (it is far from the first time an NFL wife has been assaulted). It put Goodell in a bad light in that he said (or was advised to say) very little, and in that those who deserved much harsher punishment (Harbaugh, Newsome Jr., and Bisciotti) escaped relatively unscathed even though they actively participated in the coverup and suppression of evidence.

And I have also speculated that deflategate wasn't really about the balls, but about driving a wedge between Goodell and one of his most ardent supporters, Kraft. That seems to be a mission accomplished, don't you think?

If I am correct, there will be a serious move to unseat Goodell, this offseason.

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It's not so easy to move a franchise as well, needing 24 of 32 votes. http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/148181325.html

I can name 1 owner who won't give him a vote and a fan base that would love him for it. Remove the commish, keep a team in STL and sprout franchise #33 in the nations 2nd biggest market. Why rob a fan base like that of STL who will certainly continue to support the team? Makes no sense. If it were, say, SD or Oak I get it.

Remember how close we were to seeing our team moved to STL? According to that article someone needs to step up before Feb. 15. That's why Kraft bought the team in Jan. It was a now or never move. We were that close.

OhExaulted1 said:

That's gospel Joker. We got the kid from Silver Spoons running the league.

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I disagree. Ricky showed compassion when he cried after shooting a deer..... something Goodell is incapable of.

Two questions that got me riled up were the ones about comparing the punishment in bountygate to this which I thought was ridiculous but at least Goodell provided some perspective when comparing the two and without explicitly saying so, he let it be known that this potential issue is not on the same level.

The second one was by this idiot Jason Cole and his comparison of a spitter in baseball to this. What??? Have you ever played QB and pitcher, Jason. If you had, you would not be comparing the two.

But when Goodell referenced upholding the integrity of the game a few times, I was really hoping a Boston media member (i.e. Reiss) would take him to task on this but they didn't which was very disappointing

Specifically, what does it say about the integrity of his office when there are so many leaks to the press, many of which conflict with each other that resulted in the basis of opinions and none of which were confirmed by the NFL. Mr. Commissioner, since integrity is such a priority for you, do you not feel that your office has a responsibility to make a more assertive statement regarding the unconfirmed reports. You have a responsibility to the league as a whole and to all 32 teams, including the New England Patriots. You've stated that the findings of the Wells investigation will be made public once complete but isn't this the perfect forum to stress to the world that you yourself are very disappointed in the amount of information that has been circulating that has not been officially confirmed by the league and action will be taken within your office regarding this.

How the hell is this question or something like it not asked of him?

I'm not so sure that goodell isn't caught in the middle to a degree.....the primary factor with this issue is the obvious hatred of the pats by many in national media.

When someone like Aikman says it's worse than the saints and their bounties, it tells you they're not thinking logically and there's only one reason for that.....hatred

This has been above all a media driven event......I think that beyond the media, there is a faction within the league that is pissed that parity has not taken down the pats like it has every other team. Teams are supposed to get good, then the stars need to get paid and the team comes back to the middle of the pack. The cycle dictated by the cba (4 year rookie deals) seems to affect everyone but the pats......the 2nd most valuable franchise with the most stable front office reloads in mid flight......goes to 4 consecutive AFCC and 9 of 14.

You're not supposed to sit on top for so long.....you're not supposed to be so secure......this is really about nothing more than envy and having to watch the same movie over and over again

The pats have a competitive advantage that nobody can do anything about.......and it's making them insane

Galeb said:

I disagree. Ricky showed compassion when he cried after shooting a deer..... something Goodell is incapable of.

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Damn, I was just referencing the basis of the show. You actually watched some episodes?

OhExaulted1 said:

Damn, I was just referencing the basis of the show. You actually watched some episodes?

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I probably saw most of them when I was a kid.

SacPete1 said:

How the hell is this question or something like it not asked of him?

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Simple. They were instructed not to.

When someone is paid 44 mil, he shouldnt get many 2nd chances. No mistakes, at least not as big as the one the ball boy made by going to the toilet.

I've been around a long time. This fiasco with Goodell & the league office has turned my worldview upside down. It's a shock to the core to realize that I was the deluded person and that Joker is the sane one.

PatsWickedPissah said:

I've been around a long time. This fiasco with Goodell & the league office has turned my worldview upside down. It's a shock to the core to realize that I was the deluded person and that Joker is the sane one.

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I know it's uncomfortable, but ultimately it's for the best. It is when we realize that our strongly held beliefs are wrong that we grow the most.

For the last week and a half ive been wondering why goodell was silent and letting the patriots twist in the wind, why he would alienate his good friend and maybe the most powerful owner in the game and listening to this speech i finally came to the conclusion that goodells throwing kraft and the pats under the but to regain the Integrity he lost in the ray rice debacle. He mention "integrity" at least eight times in that speech 'you know i want to up-hold the integrity of the game' he wants to show by coming down hard on the patriots (which most of the country hate out of envy) that he has integrity, hes not going to let his friendship with bob kraft influence his decision, he (goodell) won't let any team get away from flaunting the rules and staining the shield. So expect some kind of punishment even if they can't find anything. And if they do find something it will be some sort of drastic sanctions against the patriots. Like Patfanken said this is going to be a war between goodell, Irsaya and maybe a few other owners and Bob Kraft and the Patriots.

PatsWickedPissah said:

I've been around a long time. This fiasco with Goodell & the league office has turned my worldview upside down. It's a shock to the core to realize that I was the deluded person and that Joker is the sane one.

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Just for the record there are two things on this forum that I never question. First, Joker's sanity. Second, your advanced age.

Hockey players are ****ies

PatsWickedPissah said:

I've been around a long time. This fiasco with Goodell & the league office has turned my worldview upside down. It's a shock to the core to realize that I was the deluded person and that Joker is the sane one.

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I guess you appreciate my avatar change?

Galeb said:

I know it's uncomfortable, but ultimately it's for the best. It is when we realize that our strongly held beliefs are wrong that we grow the most.

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I sure hope you're right. This Deflategate garbage, combined with some life stuff, has shaken a few core beliefs and hopes and made me very down until the last couple days. The flu didn't help either.

Wax Frog said:

I guess you appreciate my avatar change?

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Expect a letter in the mail from Goodell anyday now.

PP2 said:

Earlier I broached the subject that deflategate wasn't really about the balls, but perhaps about driving a wedge between Goodell and one of his most stauch supporters, in Kraft.

I don't think it takes too much ingenuity to imagine someone or a group realizing an opportunity to create separation by leaking something to Kravitz, especially after a tough loss- knowing that Kravitz is a known Pats-hater. Add a few more talking heads being cued, and before you know it, there's a feeding frenzy.

It's beyond question that this thing was staged, especially when it was revealed that the balls were never measured with a device, only given the good old squeeze prior to the game; so the "1-2 PSI under legal pressure" information is completely false.

Nobody cares at this point.

And at the same time, this same group or person would advise Goodell to keep a low profile and say nothing, exactly the opposite of what he should be doing. This serves a twofold purpose- one in that Kraft would perceive it as a complete lack of support, and question of his character, and two, it would add more fuel to the fire that Goodell's leadership is lacking.

Without knowing the specifics of Goodell's contract, I still would imagine that he can only be removed by majority vote from the executive committee which is composed of a representative from each team.

We now know which side Kraft is on now.

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I think you're giving the NFL officials way too much credit. I see them huddled together after the AFCCG, stroking their handlebar mustaches and crowing, "we got 'em this time," never knowing their plan would blow up in their faces.

Froob said:

Expect a letter in the mail from Goodell anyday now.

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God, if that isn't the last thing I need! It'd put me right over the edge...