NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave his State of the League press conference in Atlanta on Wednesday ahead of Super Bowl LIII.
Goodell was obviously hit with questions surrounding the controversial non-call in the NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints.
While his comments were more of the company line variety, Goodell did indicate that the league will once again look to expand instant replay this offseason.
Roger Goodell, on the #Saints missed call: “We understand the frustration they feel. Whenever the officiating is part of a discussion, it’s not a good thing. But we also know our officials are human. … We will look again at instant replay, should replay be expanded?”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 30, 2019
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Goodell is all about optics. And the optics are bad for the NFL in the lead up to Sunday’s championship outing between the Rams and Patriots.
Whether an expansion of instant replay is actually in the cards remains to be seen. Goodell can say one thing publicly, but actions speak louder than words.
One of the ideas being floated is that the NFL expands instant replay to take into account pass interference calls. It’s a small window. It’s also something that might work.
In any event, Goodell made sure the public knows that the NFL is thinking about an expansion of replay. Following recent events, that’s not a bad thing.