Goodell Off The Hook, Sorta

Former FBI director Robert Mueller finished his investigation of the NFL’s handling of the Ray Rice incident and punishment and found that nobody in the NFL offices saw the video of Rice knocking out his then fiance.

“We found no evidence that anyone at the NFL had or saw the in-elevator video before it was publicly shown,” the report said.

This directly contradicts an Associated Press report that a woman in the NFL offices admitted receiving the video on April 9th, 2014.

“We also found no evidence that a woman at the NFL acknowledged receipt of that video in a voicemail message on April 9, 2014,” via Mueller’s report.

Goodell’s job as commissioner appears to be safe and sources tell Football Insiders that the league’s owners love the job that Goodell is doing and it would have taken something obscene in the report for his job to even be in any sort of jeopardy.

With that said, Goodell’s handling of the situation was poor at best.

“We concluded there was substantial information about the incident — even without the in-elevator video — indicating the need for a more thorough investigation,” the report said. “The NFL should have done more with the information it had, and should have taken additional steps to obtain all available information about the February 15 incident.”

According to the report, the league failed to ask Rice or his lawyer for the elevator video. They didn’t contact police officers investigating, the prosecution or the hotel itself.

Goodell is looking to put all of this past him and move on with a tougher domestic violence policy.

“While this investigation has now concluded, our focus on the underlying issues and our commitment to positive change remain as strong as ever,” Goodell said in a statement. “We have all learned a great deal in the past months and expect to be judged by how we lead going forward on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault.”

In summation, the NFL used a version of plausible deniability to keep from asking to see the video that showed Ray Rice knocking out his fiance.

Just because there wasn’t any evidence that the league had the video doesn’t mean they didn’t conspire to suppress evidence and then scapegoat Rice.

It could have been a gentlemen’s agreement between the Ravens and the commissioner to go easy on Rice? We’ll never know.

What we do know is that the NFL and Roger Goodell couldn’t have been more inept in their handling of the “investigation”.

Of everyone involved, the guy who punched out his wife seems to look the cleanest.

Bears Hire Pace As GM

The Chicago Bears have taken the first step in rebuilding their franchise as they hired former Saints personnel man Ryan Pace to be their new general manager.

Pace becomes the third Bears GM in four years as he replaces Phil Emery, whose undoing was the nine-figure contract he bestowed upon moody, erratic quarterback Jay Cutler.

“We wish to congratulate the Chicago Bears on the hiring of Ryan Pace as their General Manager,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said Thursday. “He has been an outstanding member of the New Orleans Saints organization for the past 15 years.

“He has progressed successfully from scouting assistant to pro scout to Director of Pro Scouting and finally to Director of Player Personnel, overseeing both college and pro personnel. He has been a key contributor in developing our roster throughout the past years.

“We will miss Ryan and his wife Stephanie, however, we are excited that that they will be with an organization like the Chicago Bears, of which we have the highest regard.”

The 37-year old Pace becomes one of the youngest general managers in NFL history and has worked for the Saints since 2002, just two years removed from his playing career at Eastern Illinois.

Pace began in gameday operations and quickly moved up the ranks with New Orleans.

“He’s really good at what he does,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said. “He’s a big part of what we do. He’s very talented, and I know he’s been promoted here, deservedly so, a few times.”

The biggest order of business for Ryan Pace will be to not only hire a new head coach but to evaluate the Bears’ situation at quarterback with Jay Cutler. Cutler had a solid statistical year but struggled with turnovers (led the NFL) and found himself benched by former head coach Marc Trestman.

Jay Cutler is still owed $15 million for next season.

Mirror Images In Seattle?

The Carolina Panthers are the economy version of the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams try to establish a physical identity on offense while playing stingy defense.

The Seattle Seahawks are simply better at every facet of football than the Carolina Panthers. They run the ball better than anyone in the league, play nasty defense and win championships (last years, anyway).

The Panthers are just now getting to .500 with their win over the QB-less Arizona Cardinals last weekend.

Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett sees some similarities and then goes on a really weird tangent.

“It’s so alike man,” Bennett said. “It’s like you look at a girl that looks like you, and you find out it’s your cousin, so you can’t go on a date with her even though you’d like to, because she looks like you. But then you see her friend, and her friend’s really hot, and you’re like, ‘that’s not my cousin,’ so it’s good.

Umm…yeah Mike. It’s just like that.