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I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - nativefalcon - 12-07-2012 12:06 AM
Roger Goodell is getting the front cover of time, he wants to eliminate kickoffs and replace them with punts, Which we know of course, would take a 2/3 majority of the owners for the rule to change and I bet the owners would say hell fucking no. Since this guy has gotten the job, eveeybody has hated him, I just wish the owners, would just say, everybody doesn't like your ideas and your a detriment to football. We need a person like Taglibue, in the back that said when he had to. Goodell takes as much air time as possible, you know its not just us, the owners got to be getting tired of it, too and they can take his ass out.
Roger Goodell talks Chiefs, eliminating kickoffs, and player safety with TIME magazine
(TIME Magazine)NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is on the cover of this week's TIME Magazine, and Goodell has many interesting things to say in a wide-ranging story written by Sean Gregory. First and foremost, Goodell discussed the thought process that went into the decision to have the Kansas City Chiefs play the Carolina Panthers at Arrowhead Stadium just one day after Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins, at the couple's home, and then took his own life at the team's facility.
"My first thoughts weren't about football at all," Goodell said, recalling when he heard the news last Saturday morning. "This is not a football tragedy. It's a human tragedy that impacts families, loved ones and an innocent child left behind."
That innocent child is Zoey, the 3-month-old daughter now without a mother or father. The NFL has a trust in place for her, based on the NFL's current collective bargaining agreement, that will provide for her through college. As to the game, Goodell said that he consulted with the Chiefs before making his final decision. Kansas City won that game, 27-21, and quarterback Brady Quinn put together an improbably excellent performance that earned him the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award.
"It was ultimately my decision. But it was important to get the views of the players and try to honor their wishes. [Chiefs chairman] Clark [Hunt] got back to me and said [Coach] Romeo [Crennel] and the captains felt that playing the game—being together as a team and a community—was important. So that's exactly what we did."
[Related: The timeline of the Kansas City Chiefs tragedy]
Now, Goodell must find a way to address the need for trustworthy and confidential counseling for players who feel they need it, but don't want any perceived psychological issues affecting their place on the roster.
In more general NFL subjects, the TIME article revealed a possible plan to eliminate kickoffs from pro football altogether.
TIME sat in on meeting between Goodell and Rich McKay, head of the NFL's powerful competition committee. Goodell brought up a proposal promoted by Greg Schiano, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: after a touchdown or field goal, instead of kicking off, a team would get the ball on its own 30-yard line, where it's fourth-and-15. The options are either to go for it and try to retain possession, or punt. If you go for it and fall short, the opposing team would take over with good field position. In essence, punts would replace kickoffs, and punts are less susceptible to violent collisions than kickoffs.
"It's a much different end of the play…It's an off-the-wall idea," Goodell said. "It's different and makes you think differently. It did me."
Of course, player safety came up. And of course, there are players who feel that the league's current focus on the elimination of violence from the game is an impossible, but elaborate, sell job.
"Really a lack of accountability from the top down," New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees said of Goodell's tenure as commissioner. "Also, I feel like, in large part, this bounty scandal, so to speak, is a big facade and a way to cover up the shortcomings of the league with regard to player health and safety over the last three years."
Goodell, as you might expect, had a different take on the general subject, and the Saints bounty scandal to which Brees refers.
"I don't do things for public relations," Goodell told TIME. "I do things because they're the right thing to do, because I love the game … If you want to do the popular thing, be a cheerleader."
[Also: Try Y! Sports' NFL playoff scenario generator]
Doing things in the name of legal damage control? That's a different subject. More than 4,000 former NFL players have attached their names to lawsuits claiming that the NFL knew of the dangers of concussions for decades and did nothing to make the game safer. Goodell says that he's currently managing a precarious balancing act -- to keep the things people love about the game while trying to -- at least in his own mind -- clean things up when it's needed. Many don't like his methods and find the transparency in his process to be lacking.
But as his power grows, Goodell cares less and less about such things.
"A lot of times, you know the right thing to do," Goodell said. "But you have to have the courage to do it. And I think that's harder than it seems."
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/roger-goodell-talks-chiefs-eliminating-kickoffs-player-safety-164839047--nfl.html?fb_action_ids=2608869038779&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=facebook_cb&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%222608869038779%22%3A433204416739516%7D&action_type_map=%7B%222608869038779%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%222608869038779%22%3A%22facebook_cb%22%7D&code=AQDX6K7jioE8meiJ8CRCggl8qqGEMR8y9-xPWKZmHvJo6iIdCEmY7UeRaZnO60FnS6RooikypBa_oOJPBkuyPEDWsYqI6WPyu7Dr3t9Pj7Oww95FgIR_PNs5F_MtRhCwbR9TO6FjaFBj4Je1MKK07zomonDLu_6-ZV91Dd8ek3tmf1aa3fGewboDWJAiV7wkA98jFZmHcDyLX0XFVva1dNpL#_=_
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - RnB - 12-07-2012 12:50 AM
I am sure the discuss all kinds of retarded shit. Simply because they discuss it does not mean it will ever be a part of the NFL. It is their job to discuss it, so they do. They had a reporter from Time sitting in on the meeting. That reporter needs some interesting tidbits to put in the story. Do the math. I am not a huge fan of Goodell either, but I think you are overreacting a little bit.
I don't think the owners have any reason NOT to like him. NFLPA deal done, Ref deal done, some stadium deals done, revenues high; what exactly makes you think that owners don't like him? The last thing I saw was when he came to the dome and did a fan Q&A with McKay and Blank before a game. I didn't see any hostility there between our owner and the commissioner. All three seemed like pals.
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - Drathdon - 12-07-2012 03:07 AM
Goodell is the mouthpiece of the owners. Why would they be sick of him when he is their puppet, and it is their hand moving his mouth?
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - ATLBound - 12-07-2012 11:02 AM
Also Goodell just offered to help pay for Oakland's new stadium because they need one badly. He isn't as bad as people make him out to be.
I'm pretty sure the owner and fans of Oakland are appreciative of that offer. He is just very adamant about his positions that he takes.
And also the only thing that people really have a problem with are all these fines for hits and what not. I think it sucks for him because he did jump into the job trying to take care of these lawsuits, some ridiculous, that happened when Goodell was a teenager...lol
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - ggp - 12-07-2012 11:05 AM
Just a bunch of lip service. The NFL has to make the public (and the courts) believe that they are a proactive organization that does all it can to protect its players. Personally, I don't give a crap about kickoffs, but it is a tradition that will be kept.
To me, the tradition that needs to be altered, for the sake of more intrigue, is to back the extra point to the 35-yard line. This nonsense of awarding a point for a chip shot is stupid and boring. Back up the extra point and we will see more attempts for two points. That would make the games more interesting.
If the NFL were truly serious about reducing catastrophic injuries, they would slow the game down. How do you do that? You simply return to the more traditional rules of the game:
1. Allow for more sustained contact between the CB's and WR's.
This would encourage much more man-to-man coverages. The devastating collisions in the secondary occur mostly because of zone defenses. The DB's must cover a territory and consequently behave like missiles after completions. These collisions are extremely dangerous and were once a rarity in the NFL. Man-to-man coverage puts the DB's in closer range of the WR and reduces the acceleration towards their targets.
2. Allow OL's to grab DL's more.
If you are going to allow DB's more contact, QB's will need a little more time to find the open receiver. Giving OL's more freedom to detain the new generation of DE's would go a long way to protecting vulnerable QB's.
3. Penalize hits to the head with the traditional yardage, and penalty box time.
Viscious hits by defenders that aim for the head should be punished by a specified time off of the field. Believe me, hits to the head would vanish over night. We would see the return to the wrap up tackling techniqes of old.
I know that a lot of people would see these changes as a watering down of football. Afterall, the old school guys, like Butkus, would never have played like that. The fact of the matter is that players are much bigger, stronger and faster today. The forces at impact have sky rocketed ( F = Mass X Velocity ). We have reached a patho-physiological limit to the human body. Guys are suffering catastrophic, long-term injuries. Something must be done about it. The impact of injuries are felt all the way down to the Pop Warner leagues.
If the league does not step up its efforts, the game may be brought to its knees in the courts....nobody wants to see that.
Re: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - juraitwaluzka - 12-07-2012 12:03 PM
Just remove the helmets, bet they don't lead with their head anymore :-P
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - Jesus - 12-07-2012 01:30 PM
More needs to be done at the lower levels of football. Once a football player retires from football at say age 36 he might have been playing football for 30 years. At that level the contact, while not as hard as it appears in the NFL, is still very damaging. Some kids play harder than others. If you compound the hitting, especially over the years where kids practice in pads with nutjob coaches every day, we could be looking at years of damage that don't manifest themselves until decades later. As part of the new CBA NFL teams practice less and less in pads with fewer contact drills during practice. So why do kids who are less developed go through more contact drills?
Kickoff coverage in the NFL happens at the end of one's football career. By that point the majority of damage is already done. Take the tackle out of football until age 13.
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - ATLBound - 12-07-2012 02:55 PM
@ggp I don't think the answer is that easy. The purpose of the business is to make sure you meet that happy medium where u r taking care of your employees as well as your customers.
In this instance, take too much away and you ruin the game and your business. Don't take away enough and the same thing happens.
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - ggp - 12-07-2012 10:27 PM
(12-07-2012 02:55 PM)ATLBound Wrote: @ggp I don't think the answer is that easy. The purpose of the business is to make sure you meet that happy medium where u r taking care of your employees as well as your customers.
In this instance, take too much away and you ruin the game and your business. Don't take away enough and the same thing happens.
I understand what you mean. However, the fact of the matter is that the NFL has not done enough to protect its players. The suggestions I mentioned are reasonable and would still provide a product that looks and feels like true football.
RE: I think the Commish wants to get fired, he wants to eliminate kickoffs. - AsylumGuido - 12-08-2012 03:33 PM
(12-07-2012 11:05 AM)ggp Wrote: Just a bunch of lip service. The NFL has to make the public (and the courts) believe that they are a proactive organization that does all it can to protect its players. Personally, I don't give a crap about kickoffs, but it is a tradition that will be kept.
To me, the tradition that needs to be altered, for the sake of more intrigue, is to back the extra point to the 35-yard line. This nonsense of awarding a point for a chip shot is stupid and boring. Back up the extra point and we will see more attempts for two points. That would make the games more interesting.
If the NFL were truly serious about reducing catastrophic injuries, they would slow the game down. How do you do that? You simply return to the more traditional rules of the game:
1. Allow for more sustained contact between the CB's and WR's.
This would encourage much more man-to-man coverages. The devastating collisions in the secondary occur mostly because of zone defenses. The DB's must cover a territory and consequently behave like missiles after completions. These collisions are extremely dangerous and were once a rarity in the NFL. Man-to-man coverage puts the DB's in closer range of the WR and reduces the acceleration towards their targets.
2. Allow OL's to grab DL's more.
If you are going to allow DB's more contact, QB's will need a little more time to find the open receiver. Giving OL's more freedom to detain the new generation of DE's would go a long way to protecting vulnerable QB's.
3. Penalize hits to the head with the traditional yardage, and penalty box time.
Viscious hits by defenders that aim for the head should be punished by a specified time off of the field. Believe me, hits to the head would vanish over night. We would see the return to the wrap up tackling techniqes of old.
I know that a lot of people would see these changes as a watering down of football. Afterall, the old school guys, like Butkus, would never have played like that. The fact of the matter is that players are much bigger, stronger and faster today. The forces at impact have sky rocketed ( F = Mass X Velocity ). We have reached a patho-physiological limit to the human body. Guys are suffering catastrophic, long-term injuries. Something must be done about it. The impact of injuries are felt all the way down to the Pop Warner leagues.
If the league does not step up its efforts, the game may be brought to its knees in the courts....nobody wants to see that.
I really like these suggestion. Far better than the knee jerk reaction of eliminating kickoffs.