Owners want Goodell role modified

[Denver Native (Carol)]

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith will both be present when the two sides meet Tuesday in New York to discuss how to handle player personal conduct incidents.

One concept that emerged from the league meetings Wednesday is that several owners want Goodell's role to be modified so that the commissioner would not decide on the initial player punishment but rather yield to a neutral arbitration panel chosen by the union and league, a source said.

The twist: Goodell would be the appellate officer or appoint a designated hearing officer if a player appeals his disciplinary action administered by the panel, sources told ESPN.

rest - http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11688081/owners-want-roger-goodell-role-modified

[Northman]

Im totally on board with this. Goodell should of never been the be all, end all to dolling out punishments.

[BroncoWave]

Yeah, he definitely needs to reduce if not eliminate his role in the discipline process. He should focus more on what he is good at which is more the business/sponsorship/revenue aspect of the league.

[Joel]

Yeah, he definitely needs to reduce if not eliminate his role in the discipline process. He should focus more on what he is good at which is more the business/sponsorship/revenue aspect of the league.
He's not really great at that either; look at the NFL Network attempt to cut out the middle man selling broadcasts directly to fans and advertisers instead of selling OTHER networks that chance: They created nearly a seasons worth of Thursday games as a cash cow and wound up selling to a REAL network anyway because if TV viewers wanted to pay extra to see games they'd buy tickets. Are we loving Pink Awareness Month (remember the pink penalty flags indistinguishable from the pink towels?) London games popular?

Goodell's job is to be the lightning rod for decisions the owners make but he announces; the problem is that lately he's been CREATING bad press for them, and they don't like his failure to do the ONE thing they pay him for when it ends up COSTING them sponsorships. His last service to them will probably be getting fired so they can say "the NFL has dealt with the problem" and salvage its image (or try.)

[BroncoJoe]

He's not really great at that either; look at the NFL Network attempt to cut out the middle man selling broadcasts directly to fans and advertisers instead of selling OTHER networks that chance: They created nearly a seasons worth of Thursday games as a cash cow and wound up selling to a REAL network anyway because if TV viewers wanted to pay extra to see games they'd buy tickets. Are we loving Pink Awareness Month (remember the pink penalty flags indistinguishable from the pink towels?) London games popular?

Goodell's job is to be the lightning rod for decisions the owners make but he announces; the problem is that lately he's been CREATING bad press for them, and they don't like his failure to do the ONE thing they pay him for when it ends up COSTING them sponsorships. His last service to them will probably be getting fired so they can say "the NFL has dealt with the problem" and salvage its image (or try.)

Your life must be miserable. Completely and totally negative 90% of the time. Your wife must be a saint.

[Bronco9798]

I think Goodell does a good job. Easy to judge anybody until you walk in those shoes. He has a tough job.

[Shazam!]

I miss Paul Tagliabue.

[Bronco9798]

If Tagliabue was still there, he'd be facing the same problems and taking criticism as well.

[Ravage!!!]

I don't think Goodell has done a good job with the league. I think the NFL is just strong, and Goodell is riding that wave of 40 million a year.

The thursday night games were a complete failure, UNTIL this year and putting them on prime time. But even then, the consensus is that fans don't like their team playing short weeks and playing on thursday nights. To me Thursday night football sucks. Having to move them to CBS has proved that the "the fans will buy NFL network to get football, not matter what"..was/is completely wrong.

This is a good move, and it should have happened when they negotiated the new CBA. But Goodell wanted to have all the power. I compare him to President Snow in Hunger games (if you read the books, not just seen the movie). I wouldn't have a tear drop or a sad moment in passing if Goodell was fired and removed from his position, completely.

[Ravage!!!]

If Tagliabue was still there, he'd be facing the same problems and taking criticism as well.

I think Tagliabu was much much MUCH better at making sound decisions. Goodell has proved time and time again, not to be.

[Bronco9798]

I think Tagliabu was much much MUCH better at making sound decisions. Goodell has proved time and time again, not to be.

We all have our opinions. I have no issues with him. Again he has a tough job. We don't get all the facts so we really have no clue most of the times whats going except for what we hear from mainly a biased liberal media. And yes that was a run on sentence I was in a hurry..

[Shazam!]

If Tagliabue was still there, he'd be facing the same problems and taking criticism as well.

Tag was quiet, unless the NFL was just quieter and didn't have the same issues then.

[BroncoJoe]

Still don't get the dislike of Goodell. It makes zero sense.

[spikerman]

I think Tagliabu was much much MUCH better at making sound decisions. Goodell has proved time and time again, not to be.
Such as?

[Simple Jaded]

I think Goodell does a good job. Easy to judge anybody until you walk in those shoes. He has a tough job.

Agreed, remember the culture Goodell took over, the punishment was laughable and the players even more out of control. Goodell did exactly what the league needed, he cracked down on players and gave them consequences to fear, now the irony is he's being unfairly criticized for going too easy on a player, at an owners behest no less.

[Joel]

If Tagliabue was still there, he'd be facing the same problems and taking criticism as well.
And just as deservedly; he was just as bad, and Goodell's pretty much his protege. I miss Pete Rozelle, none of whose successors are fit to SHINE his shoes, let alone fill them.

[7DnBrnc53]

And just as deservedly; he was just as bad, and Goodell's pretty much his protege. I miss Pete Rozelle, none of whose successors are fit to SHINE his shoes, let alone fill them.

When Rozelle was on his way out, ex-Bear and Viking GM Jim Finks had his eye on the position. However, the greedy owners wanted someone more money oriented, not old-fashioned. So, they picked Tags.

[Joel]

When Rozelle was on his way out, ex-Bear and Viking GM Jim Finks had his eye on the position. However, the greedy owners wanted someone more money oriented, not old-fashioned. So, they picked Tags.
This is incredibly shocking news. :tongue: It's also what's so absurd when people expect Goodell to lay down the law with guys like Jerry, Bisciotti or Irsay. Like the Executive VP storms into the CEOs office and tells him how it's gonna be. Pimps run hoes, not the reverse; Goodells problem is hoes who get arrested a lot tend to "OD" and end up face down in the river....

[OrangeHoof]

My problem with both Goodell and Tagliabue is that they are lawyers and think like lawyers. That's why we get all this political correctness crap and idiotic rules to try to reduce lawsuit liability.

For example, they want to reduce kickoff returns for player safety reasons so they move up the kickoff where most don't get run back yet they are willing to penalize 15 yards for excessive celebration after a TD which moved the kickoff line further back and increases the chance of a kickoff return.

My other big problem with Goodell is he wants to tamper with the perfect structure of the league and the season. 32 teams in four-team divisions in a 16-game schedule works perfectly and should never be altered. No expansion to London, no extra playoff spots, no extra weeks to the season, etc. Leave the damn thing alone.

[Joel]

My problem with both Goodell and Tagliabue is that they are lawyers and think like lawyers. That's why we get all this political correctness crap and idiotic rules to try to reduce lawsuit liability.
That's the heart of it, and why the owners hired him as their mouthpiece/lightning rod. Now that he's drawing fire instead of deflecting it though, he's in trouble.


For example, they want to reduce kickoff returns for player safety reasons so they move up the kickoff where most don't get run back yet they are willing to penalize 15 yards for excessive celebration after a TD which moved the kickoff line further back and increases the chance of a kickoff return.

My other big problem with Goodell is he wants to tamper with the perfect structure of the league and the season. 32 teams in four-team divisions in a 16-game schedule works perfectly and should never be altered. No expansion to London, no extra playoff spots, no extra weeks to the season, etc. Leave the damn thing alone.
No, 6 divisions of 5 teams was perfect, or would've been after extending the season to 18 games: 8 game division round robin, then a game against each other conference team.

Sadly, Rozelles single grave failure was letting Davis set the precedent of moving the Raiders, then letting Irsay invoke it to move the Colts. So Tagliabue inherited an NFL where EVERY owner was doing it to get fancy new stadia filled with pricey skyboxes (remember: Gate receipts are NOT part of revenue sharing, but split between the home and visitiing team each week.) Tagliabue decided to have it both ways by letting the Browns and Oilers move AND promise Houston and Cleveland new teams, so not only were divisions uneven, the CONFERENCES were.

Now too many teams play too few games to tell us who's legit. Worse, they've diluted the talent AND viewer pool until several teams are no longer profitable, surviving solely on revenue sharing charity from teams still pulling their own weight. Fan loyalty's a joke in an age of FA mercenaries and owners playing Musical Cities to extort new stadia where taxpayers get the bill and billionaire owners get the profits.

GOODELL doesn't want anything but to keep getting his 8 figure salary to take the heat for announcing what the OWNERS want. What THEY want is what they've ALWAYS wanted: Yet MORE profits from historys most profitable sport. The billion-dollar CTE settlement was about protecting those profits from litigation over a half-century of severely injurious negligence and fraud. The proposed season, playoff, team and transatlantic expansion is about increasing those profits despite US ratings that have been flat for 5 years.

Much as I loathe Goodell and his mentor Tagliabue as the spineless weasels they are, none of that's their doing; they "just follow orders:" That's the PROBLEM.

[BroncoJoe]

That's the heart of it, and why the owners hired him as their mouthpiece/lightning rod. Now that he's drawing fire instead of deflecting it though, he's in trouble.


No, 6 divisions of 5 teams was perfect, or would've been after extending the season to 18 games: 8 game division round robin, then a game against each other conference team.

Sadly, Rozelles single grave failure was letting Davis set the precedent of moving the Raiders, then letting Irsay invoke it to move the Colts. So Tagliabue inherited an NFL where EVERY owner was doing it to get fancy new stadia filled with pricey skyboxes (remember: Gate receipts are NOT part of revenue sharing, but split between the home and visitiing team each week.) Tagliabue decided to have it both ways by letting the Browns and Oilers move AND promise Houston and Cleveland new teams, so not only were divisions uneven, the CONFERENCES were.

Now too many teams play too few games to tell us who's legit. Worse, they've diluted the talent AND viewer pool until several teams are no longer profitable, surviving solely on revenue sharing charity from teams still pulling their own weight. Fan loyalty's a joke in an age of FA mercenaries and owners playing Musical Cities to extort new stadia where taxpayers get the bill and billionaire owners get the profits.

GOODELL doesn't want anything but to keep getting his 8 figure salary to take the heat for announcing what the OWNERS want. What THEY want is what they've ALWAYS wanted: Yet MORE profits from historys most profitable sport. The billion-dollar CTE settlement was about protecting those profits from litigation over a half-century of severely injurious negligence and fraud. The proposed season, playoff, team and transatlantic expansion is about increasing those profits despite US ratings that have been flat for 5 years.

Much as I loathe Goodell and his mentor Tagliabue as the spineless weasels they are, none of that's their doing; they "just follow orders:" That's the PROBLEM.

Only to a select few. I'm a fan of the Broncos. While I care who wears the uniform, it is a distant 2nd place to the team.

[Joel]

Only to a select few. I'm a fan of the Broncos. While I care who wears the uniform, it is a distant 2nd place to the team.
You're blessed to have a fine owner who actually give a dead rats rump about the state, city and fans; MANY (probably most) fans aren't so lucky. That's why the Rams and Cardinals are on their third host city.

[BroncoJoe]

There was a lot of movement in the 20's, 30's and 40's. I wouldn't say the Rams and Cardinals are in their third city.

Either way, it's the exception, not the rule (moving a team). As of today anyway.

[Joel]

There was a lot of movement in the 20's, 30's and 40's. I wouldn't say the Rams and Cardinals are in their third city.
Okay, that's a fair point, but there was a lot of movement in the '90s, too, after two pivotal ones in the early '80s. People say GB's the only team that CAN'T move, but during Favres SB runs even THEY played half their home games in Milwaukee because team execs decided "the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field" wasn't good enough anymore; imagine what happens if they're privately owned.


Either way, it's the exception, not the rule (moving a team). As of today anyway.
As of today for now, but wait till aa few of those '90s state of the art pacifier/enticements have too much wear and tear for a mere renovation. The only good news (if we can call it that) is that skyboxes have also gone from the exception to the rule. yet somehow there are still never quite as many as any given owner thinks there should be. The Dome was one of the first places DESIGNED with them, but neither that nor his inability to sell out games prevented Dud Adams demanding more and more of them each year, even though adding one skybox means removing lots of cheap seats (which also hurts fan loyalty.)

We'll see what the future holds, but a big part of the talk about a London team is Jacksonvilles recurring problem with gate receipts (seriously, without revenue sharing, the Jags couldn't even afford a BALL, much less a roster.) Cleveland's not much better off, which is as much about the Ravens (and even Paul Browns Bengals) as their awful play. The Broncos truly are blessed to be owned by Bowlen, both for his commitment to the community and sagacity in finding staff to field teams that have been annually competitive for nearly 40 years.

[7DnBrnc53]

Sadly, Rozelles single grave failure was letting Davis set the precedent of moving the Raiders, then letting Irsay invoke it to move the Colts. So Tagliabue inherited an NFL where EVERY owner was doing it to get fancy new stadia filled with pricey skyboxes (remember: Gate receipts are NOT part of revenue sharing, but split between the home and visitiing team each week.) Tagliabue decided to have it both ways by letting the Browns and Oilers move AND promise Houston and Cleveland new teams, so not only were divisions uneven, the CONFERENCES were.

Now too many teams play too few games to tell us who's legit. Worse, they've diluted the talent AND viewer pool until several teams are no longer profitable, surviving solely on revenue sharing charity from teams still pulling their own weight. Fan loyalty's a joke in an age of FA mercenaries and owners playing Musical Cities to extort new stadia where taxpayers get the bill and billionaire owners get the profits.

GOODELL doesn't want anything but to keep getting his 8 figure salary to take the heat for announcing what the OWNERS want. What THEY want is what they've ALWAYS wanted: Yet MORE profits from historys most profitable sport. The billion-dollar CTE settlement was about protecting those profits from litigation over a half-century of severely injurious negligence and fraud. The proposed season, playoff, team and transatlantic expansion is about increasing those profits despite US ratings that have been flat for 5 years.

Much as I loathe Goodell and his mentor Tagliabue as the spineless weasels they are, none of that's their doing; they "just follow orders:" That's the PROBLEM.

Al Davis made a mistake in moving the Raiders, but as a Bronco fan, I am glad because that's when the Raiders began their downfall.

It didn't happen immediately. The Raiders made the playoffs their first four years in LA, and won a SB in their second.

However, since the 1986 season (when they started 8-4 but lost the rest of their games and missed the postseason), they have only made the playoffs six times in 28 years.

Take away the early-90's and early-00's, and this team would have nothing since then.

As for the Colts, Ernie Accorsi said that Rozelle stopped caring about Baltimore around that time. He went to Pete and begged him to do something, and he wouldn't.

As for more profits, it has seemed to have gotten worse and worse over the years. The late Ralph Wilson said that, when he would go to the owner's meetings, the other owners would know who was on their teams. Recently, though, he said that all the other owners seemed to care about was finding new revenue streams.