Goodell has been a decent commissioner. The outcry over the way the game is changing is overblown. You can blame the former players's lawsuit against the league for that. If Goodell hadn't helped bring along some of the changes, there might not be a league at all down the road. I belive his mantra is "to protect the shield" and if you examine with an open mind most of the decisions that he makes, you would find that they very much are centered around that.


I think the London thing is more about the other owners than it is about him. He's their employee. Those that stand to gain the most by creating additional revenue streams are the owners. Revenue streams at home are solid. The greatest potential for growth of the sport and of future revenue streams lies in Europe. Follow the money... it will lead you back to the owners.


You can also blame any excessive power he may have been given on the players association as they negotiated it. I do agree with one criticism and that is the expanded playoffs which I am against. But again, I'm sure that has more to do with the owners collectively moreso than it has to do with him. Follow the money.


Lastly on the Ray Rice video fiasco... if it comes to light that the NFL saw the video and only ended up giving Rice the 2 game suspension and only further acted once the video became public, then they will definitely have some splainin' to do. Not sure if I'd call for anyone's head over it but will be interesting to see if any more facts come out. The fact that the NFL didn't ask the casino for the tape doesn't bother me. They asked the cops for all evidence regarding the case and the tape was apparently not part of that. The police may not have attempted to acquire the tape because I don't believe any charges were filed nor was he charged with a crime. Someone correct me on that if I'm wrong. But ask yourself this: Would any other employer call up the casino and ask for a tape of you beating up your significant other?


I do have a problem with how the NFL has handled it since the video came to light, however. They've circumvented their own policy which was to have a 6 game suspension for a first domestic violence offence and a lifetime ban for a 2nd infraction. Ray Rice got neither of those as he was suspended indefinitely which is not necessarily the same thing as a lifetime ban. How does the NFL have the authority to write their own policy for Ray Rice's specific case? You can bet the players union is going to contest it and probably win and have it reduced to 6 games or back to the 2 that he originally had even though he may have trouble finding another team to pick him up right away. I do think he'll play again once this blows over, though he''s nearing over-the-hill status so who knows.

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