USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell notes the NFL yesterday at the owners' meeting in Irving, Texas, "released statistics showing that, through Nov. 30, there were 31 arrests of NFL players" in '16, compared to 64 at the same point in '14. There were "four arrests for domestic violence and sexual assault," compared to eight in '14 and eight in '15. Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said, "The message is getting through, in terms of what the expectations are and what the standards are" (USA TODAY, 12/15). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab wrote the NFL is "far from perfect," but it is "fair to give credit where it's due" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/14).
OUR STUDIES SHOW: USA TODAY's Lorenzo Reyes notes NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "indicated that the salary cap is expected to rise" by $10M in '17. Meanwhile, Goodell said it is "clear that the election had an impact" on NFL TV ratings this season. Goodell: "Since the election, I think our ratings are about 2% down, compared to double digits prior to that" (USA TODAY, 12/15).
WHY NOT FOLLOW UP? Goodell said that the league "didn’t follow up" on the Giants’ complaint about the Steelers using underinflated footballs in a Dec. 4 game after "determining that officials properly followed protocol for testing and handling the balls." USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero writes Goodell's explanation for "dismissing the Giants’ assessment that the balls were below the permissible psi ... will probably cause more angst among" Patriots fans "still steamed over the Deflategate saga." Goodell said, "The protocols were followed all the way." Giants President & CEO John Mara said of the issue of underinflated footballs, "Much ado about nothing" (USA TODAY, 12/15). In Boston, Steve Buckley writes Goodell was "so dismissive of what some have called 'Deflategate II' that you’d have thought there never was a 'Deflategate I'" (BOSTON HERALD, 12/15). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Michael David Smith wrote while Mara and Steelers President Art Rooney II are "free to try to sweep this under the rug, the rest of us remain free to question why the reaction to the second Deflategate is so different from the reaction to the first Deflategate" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 12/14).
WHAT ABOUT THURSDAY? ESPN’s Trey Wingo said of Thursday Night Football, “It’s not going away. It's collectively bargained through 2020 and if one network dropped it, three other networks would love to have it” (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 12/14). ESPN’s Bill Polian: “Thursday night’s here to stay unless the networks drop it. ... There's talk in the league, perhaps, of giving each of the teams on Thursday night a bye before the game. That would make sense" (“NFL Insiders,” ESPN, 12/14). ESPN’s Dan Le Batard said the "benefits" to playing “TNF” games “are money and greed." ESPN’s Bomani Jones: “There’s nobody winning here but the owners” ("Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 12/14). Colorado Springs Gazette's Woody Paige said “TNF” is a “hoax of a fraud” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 12/14). FS1’s Colin Cowherd said of Seahawks CB Richard Sherman’s comments on “TNF” games, “Sherman’s off base. I don't love them, I don’t think they're the end of the world. They play one a year” (Speak for Yourself,” FS1, 12/14).
