What next for Goodell?

MetalDog · May 23, 2015, 11:28:04 AM

I love football. I love to watch it and talk about it and play fake games about it. What I don't like is the way the NFL lords it over everyone. Their push in to every month of the sports calendar, a deliberate strategy to keep the spotlight on the shield, makes me ill. It begs for a push back. But, with the league making everyone associated with it rich beyond Croesus, noone is going to tell it, "NO!" Enter, Roger Goodell.

The NFL's current Commissioner is in something of a crisis. Deflategate is just the most recent in a growing list of hits to the league's reputation and luster. His failure to recuse himself from hearing Tom Brady's appeal is going to bite him in the ass, too. And I will just chuckle at his lack of awareness and hope the owners continue to support him. Then, maybe, they will be knocked down a peg or two.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/in-trying-to-restore-his-authority-goodell-undermined-his-credibility/ar-BBk5HB3?ocid=mailsignout

Steelgrave · May 23, 2015, 11:54:20 AM

After this year, I went from the "Goodell is doing what's best for the NFL" camp to "Goodell is a train wreck who needs to be fired" camp. From the Saints to Ray Rice to AP to Deflategate, not to mention the numerous rulings on other domestic violence, criminal or drug incidents, Goodell has been all over the map with discipline. He has no consistency whatsoever. Even if you aren't a Patriots fan, the penalty slapped on them was enormously over the top. Goodell is a loose cannon, more Godfather than Commissioner.

I do think the NFL has gotten a little big for it's britches, but I still love it, want it to be nurtured and successful. Goodell tends the garden with napalm. He's making money for the owners now, but the future may not be as bright if he remains Commish much longer.

And good topic, Dawg.

MetalDog · May 23, 2015, 01:20:47 PM

Thanks, Steelie. I listen to a boatload of sports talk radio, some ESPN, some not. The amount of time spent on football is disproportionate to my interest. The dissection of anything remotely, "scandalous," ad infinitum is tiring. And it never seems to stop. The fact that the NFLPA is just a rubber stamp for the owners is deplorable. Scores of its players get in to trouble every year. Domestic violence. Drug abuse. Terrible judgement in their personal lives. The game is played by bad men with a certain skill set. And we can't get enough. I just fear that it is all coming to a head that will be disastrous and cost lives and/or treasure.

OJsDad · May 23, 2015, 01:32:42 PM

I think Goodell will lower Brady's suspense to 1 or 2 games. It will be interesting to see what the NFLPA will do then.

As for the bad players to mentioned Dog, when the Ray Rice video came out last year, one ESPN female report wrote an article stating that the players and the NFLPA could step up and start to deal with the problem, instead blaming the NFL.

Martok · May 23, 2015, 01:38:47 PM

What's next for Goodell? In a just world, it would be prison.

(Now if only corporate capriciousness was a felony... ::) )

MetalDog · May 23, 2015, 01:51:42 PM

Quote from: OJsDad on May 23, 2015, 01:32:42 PM
I think Goodell will lower Brady's suspense to 1 or 2 games. It will be interesting to see what the NFLPA will do then.

As for the bad players to mentioned Dog, when the Ray Rice video came out last year, one ESPN female report wrote an article stating that the players and the NFLPA could step up and start to deal with the problem, instead blaming the NFL.

I agree. I think Brady's suspension will come down, too.

Personal responsibility would be nice. It will be rare for those who haven't been held to it throughout their playing career, from Pop Warner to the pros. Once they start to exhibit ability above and beyond their peers, the road will get easier for them and their transgressions will be forgiven faster and easier. And those are exactly the type of player the owners are looking for. If the archetype changed, so would the composition. What wouldn't change is their ability would mark them for preferential treatment.

Steelgrave · May 23, 2015, 02:51:41 PM

Pro sports as a whole has to balance public image vs. results on the field. The entitled, the bad boys, the troubled, they all get passes to various degrees in all sports because the same fans who find their behavior abhorrent will be rooting for them when they make the winning dunk, touchdown or home run. The 24/7 news cycle gives bad boys no place to hide.

There are a lot of good guys in sports, a lot of decent people, but the Aaron Hernandez' and Ray Rices of the world will have a place in sports up to the point they go a step too far....and then, after being "rehabilitated" some team will give them another shot in case they have anything left in the tank (I'm looking at you, Dallas).

I did catch something on the Dan Patrick show the other day that I had to agree with. Something like Deflategate would be laughed off in Major League Baseball. Cheating is an art form in MLB, hell, even a tradition. There are penalties for being caught, but somehow it's not taken quite as seriously as the NFL under Godfather Goodell.

MetalDog · May 23, 2015, 03:32:02 PM

Will Smith, the Milwaukee pitcher who the Braves just outted for having rosin and Bullfrog on his arm, might disagree about penalties. 8 games? That's 5% of the season.

Another of my pet peeves is the outrage of baseball players using steroids against the, "no big deal,' attitude of the NFL. I get it, too. In baseball, the statistics allow for a certain amount of historical comparison. Plus, the milestones are ingrained in our subconscious: 755, 61, 4,192. They are sacred to a large portion of the sports public. In football, who knows the exact yardage for the all time leading rusher? And who is it? Or, the career touchdown leader and how many he has? And the players are expected to have an edgier, stronger, more physical appearance and skill set. My question is, rhetorical mostly, what's the difference? If steroids are bad and illegal, why does football get a pass and baseball doesn't?

Steelgrave · May 23, 2015, 03:56:54 PM

Don't really disagree, I guess it's just a matter of what each league emphasizes.

Con · May 23, 2015, 04:29:54 PM

I was sort of indifferent to Goodell. However now supporting one of the many teams that he has capriciously imposed heavy handed punishment too and having learned more about how he does this I feel he has to go.

While the popularity of the NFL is such that no commissioner no matter how bad will actually harm the money making side of the business it will turn out that a terrible inept commissioner will instead poison and polarize the fan bases. This will lead to marginalizing teams and ultimately it means that instead of maximizing profit instead it will minimize it. The owners will not stand for that. My take is Kraft as a businessman can take a long term view on how to gain an advantage. (Look at how he bought the patriots and turned it into a 2.6 Billion dollar franchise for an investment of under $550 million in less than 20 years or a CAGR of over 15% when the stock market does around 7-8%)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2015/03/05/how-new-england-patriots-owner-robert-kraft-turned-a-540-million-investment-into-2-6-billion/

What this means is that Kraft is going to wait and use his influence for when the moment is right. He was not in a strong position with the other owners just now to go against Goodell and I can bet you that is going to change. He sits on some of the biggest boards including the influential NFL TV rights board. Goodell is going against a very patient and methodical business man and he is going to get creamed in the long run. In the short run dont expect Kraft to pull Goodells nuts out of any more of the fires that Goodell seems determined to pour gasoline on instead of like a good commissioner trying to put them out.

Con

endfire79 · May 23, 2015, 05:47:58 PM

Quote from: Con on May 23, 2015, 04:29:54 PM
My take is Kraft as a businessman can take a long term view on how to gain an advantage. (Look at how he bought the patriots and turned it into a 2.6 Billion dollar franchise for an investment of under $550 million in less than 20 years or a CAGR of over 15% when the stock market does around 7-8%)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2015/03/05/how-new-england-patriots-owner-robert-kraft-turned-a-540-million-investment-into-2-6-billion/

Con

No argument there, he did well. During the early 90's, the team & franchise looked fit for a garbage scow.

Con · May 23, 2015, 07:56:43 PM

I also think that when the footballs are measured during the upcoming season and you will see that there is such a variation in the PSI due to pre conditioning of the leather, humidity, gauge variation, and the natural gas law and temp that Kraft will then lower the hammer on Goodell. No way that this tight a spec on football pressure will be maintained if the balls are measured at half time and full time after games outside. Now I know facts wont sway most people/fans but it will be enough once a big data set from NFL games is used to overturn the Pats loss of draft picks. You are going to see some ugly numbers for inflation from bad weather conditions and between the balls from both teams.

Con

Bison · May 23, 2015, 08:04:40 PM

I'm pretty much over the NFL as anything more then a casual fan. I'm tired of the drama and the politics of the game and it's coverage.

Steelgrave · May 23, 2015, 08:24:30 PM

Wait, are you talking about the NFL or our Fantasy League >:D

OJsDad · May 23, 2015, 10:10:30 PM

Quote from: Con on May 23, 2015, 07:56:43 PM
I also think that when the footballs are measured during the upcoming season and you will see that there is such a variation in the PSI due to pre conditioning of the leather, humidity, gauge variation, and the natural gas law and temp that Kraft will then lower the hammer on Goodell. No way that this tight a spec on football pressure will be maintained if the balls are measured at half time and full time after games outside. Now I know facts wont sway most people/fans but it will be enough once a big data set from NFL games is used to overturn the Pats loss of draft picks. You are going to see some ugly numbers for inflation from bad weather conditions and between the balls from both teams.

Con

Remember, Goodell didn't punish Brady and the Patriots for the deflation of the footballs, but the cover up. In the same tradition that the Federal government sends people to prison when they cannot get them for anything else.