Is This Super Bowl Tainted By Blown Call? Roger Goodell Does Not Think So
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
ATLANTA (CBS) -- With thousands of media members from all around the globe gathering in Atlanta, the NFL would prefer the focus to be on Sunday's Super Bowl. Alas, there's just no way to avoid the uncomfortable matter of the New Orleans Saints probably deserving to be playing in that game instead of the Los Angeles Rams.
That may be an extreme statement, but there's no doubting that the missed non-call on Nickell Robey-Coleman in the NFC Championship Game played a significant role in one team advancing to the Super Bowl and one team having its season ended abruptly and unceremoniously.
And though the league admitted privately to the Saints that the call was missed by the on-field officials, commissioner Roger Goodell did not make a single public comment on the matter in the nine days that followed.
On Wednesday, at his annual press conference during Super Bowl week, Goodell broke his silence.
"Let me start, just on the basis, listen, we understand the frustration of the fans. I've talked to Coach [Sean] Payton, the team, the players. We understand the frustration that they feel right now. We certainly want to address that," Goodell said. "So whenever officiating is part of any kind of discussion postgame, it's never a good outcome for us. We know that, our clubs know that, our officials know that. But we also know that officials are human, we also know that they're officiating a fast game where things can happen very quickly and they have to make snap decisions under difficult circumstances. They're human.
"We have worked very hard to bring technology in to make sure we can do whatever's possible to address those issues," he continued. "But technology is not going to solve all of those issues. The game is not officiated by robots. It's not going to be. But we have to continue to go down that path."
Goodell said the league will consider ways this offseason to potentially utilize technology to prevent such an occurrence from happening again.
Asked if he considered implementing a rule that could possibly grant him the power to force the game to be replayed after the point of the missed penalty, Goodell said that the rules do not actually give him that power.
"Absolutely not," Goodell said when asked if he considered implementing such a decision.
Goodell's public silence certainly did not go over well in New Orleans, with veteran Saints tight end Benjamin Watson directly calling upon Goodell to lead by example and hold himself accountable. Goodell was asked why he remained silent publicly, but the commissioner answered by referring back to his private conversations with the Saints.
"That's our process, that's what we always do, particularly with judgment calls," Goodell said, avoiding the direct question. "It was handled no differently other than to listen and we communicated that to the officials."
As for what he said to the Saints organization, he did not share what the message was.
"I never disclose my private conversations with anybody," Goodell said. "I was very open, just as I was here. It's a play that should be called. We're going to make sure that we're going to do everything that's possible going forward. ... I understand the emotions. It's important as commissioner and all of our staff, which several of us have done, is to hear that emotion, whether it's frustration, disappointment, anger. Those are things quite frankly I hear frequently during the season from clubs. But I understand the stage and I understand the importance of it to the franchise and New Orleans and the NFL."
Consider the Saints -- and their fans -- believe that an officiating gaffe took their Super Bowl trip from them, Goodell was asked directly if this Super Bowl is tainted.
"We think that, we're proud, obviously, of having the Patriots and Rams here," Goodell said. "We understand the disappointment of Saints fans, the organization, and the players. And we understand that."
In terms of a solution, Goodell did not offer one. He said the competition committee will consider expanding the rules on replay reviews and coach's challenges, though he noted that there's been resistance in the past from the committee to allowing coaches to challenge judgment calls. The commissioner did clearly state multiple times that the penalty call was missed, but his focus was more on looking forward to solutions instead of dwelling on that one monumental moment in sports history.
Outside of making a surprise announcement that the Saints were now invited to partake in Sunday's game, there's nothing Goodell could have said Wednesday to assuage Saints fans who remain apoplectic about the events at the Superdome. Nevertheless, after more than a week of silence, the commissioner has finally spoken publicly on the matter.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
