Roger Goodell says NFL stands by current overtime rules - NFL - SI.com

Roger Goodell says NFL stands by current overtime rules - NFL - SI.com

The NFL said again Friday that it likes the league's oft-debated overtime rule.

Goodell pointed to this season's pair of overtime postseason games and called them "two of the most exciting games we've had."

Arizona beat Green Bay in a wild 51-45 overtime game, and the New Orleans Saints earned the right to play in Sunday's Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts by beating Minnesota in overtime in the NFC championship game.

The NFL's sudden-death overtime rule has long been debated, especially after college football went to a system where both teams get the ball at least once. Goodell says the NFL hasn't "been able to find a better solution" even after talks with players and coaches.

"NOT ABLE TO FIND A BETTER SOLUTION"??? I don't think they could have found a WORSE solution!!!

A change may be possible, Goodell says, adding: "But I wouldn't hold your breath."

Longer season still in consideration
When the NFL and its players association resume contract talks, extending the league's regular-season will be part of the discussion.

Goodell is talking about a 17- or 18-game schedule once again, with the likely trade-off for a longer regular season being a shorter preseason.

Goodell says he hears "from players and fans that the quality of our preseason is not up to NFL standards."

The NFL currently plays a 16-game regular season.

League in want of progress in labor talks
The NFL wants to see more progress in labor talks between the league and players' union.

Speaking Friday at his annual state-of-the-league address during Super Bowl week, Goodell said fans "expect solutions ... and we should deliver" on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL Players Association said Thursday it is bracing for a lockout in 2011 after the current labor pact expires. Goodell said he and the league's owners want an agreement and it's "absolutely false" that owners would want to see a work stoppage.

Goodell added that there is no contingency plan for the 2012 Super Bowl, on the chance that no football is played in 2011.

"We still have a lot of time and a lot of important opportunities here to structure something that makes sense for everybody," Goodell said.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said Thursday the union views the chance of a lockout as a "14" on a scale of 1-to-10, something Goodell said he hopes won't become a "self-fulfilling prophecy."

"I sure hope he's wrong. ... Right now, we we don't need a lot of focus on that," Goodell said.

Goodell has also said he doesn't agree with the union's contention that owners are insisting on an 18 percent player pay cut.

"The players hould be paid fairly and they should be paid well," he said. "And I assure you that they will."

NFL looking south of the border
The NFL is still eyeing a return to Mexico.

Arizona and San Francisco played the NFL's first regular-season game outside the United States in Mexico in 2005, followed two years later by a game in London between Miami and the New York Giants.

More trips to London have followed. On Friday, Goodell said Mexico remains on the league's radar screen, noting that "it's good for the NFL."

Goodell also says the NFL isn't choosing London over Mexico. He'd like to see games played in both cities, and later in his state-of-the-NFL session Friday, also called Japan and the Far East "an important market" for the league.

Browns WR Stallworth welcomed back
Goodell says Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth will be reinstated from his suspension for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk.

At his annual Super Bowl-week news conference Friday, Goodell said Stallworth's suspension will be lifted after the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Goodell said he met with Stallworth about a month ago, and the receiver is "in a better place than he was." Goodell said Stallworth recognizes what he did and has prepared himself to return to the NFL.

Stallworth spent 24 days in jail for a DUI manslaughter conviction in the case. The accident occurred last March in South Florida, and he was suspended without pay last August.

New York Super Bowl on tap?
The prospect of a potentially cold-weather Super Bowl at the new Giants Stadium in 2014 is "interesting" to commissioner Roger Goodell.

There would be real benefits if the owners chose to award that game to the new stadium, said Goodell.

He says being exposed to the elements isn't necessarily a bad thing, noting "that's the way the game of football's played."

The Giants and Jets want to bring the Super Bowl to their new 82,500-seat stadium in New Jersey in what most certainly would be a chilly NFL title game. The $1.6 billion stadium set to open later this year does not have a retractable roof or a dome.

Jaguars numbers a concern
Attendance at Jacksonville Jaguars' home games continues to be a concern for the NFL.

Commissioner Roger Goodell says he's had several talks with Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver about the ongoing issue. The Jaguars often played before a half-filled stadium this season, and Goodell says with attendance around 40,000 per game, "you can't continue to have an NFL franchise."

About 17,000 Jacksonville fans opted not to renew their season tickets this year, many citing the economic climate.

Goodell says the NFL is aware of what's happening in the game's marketplace and the challenges fans and the league's business partners are facing.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295