Roger Goodell State of the NFL: Top Takeaways, Reaction from Press Conference

Roger Goodell delivered his annual state of the NFL address Friday, two days before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots play Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Arizona. The commissioner spoke about a wide range of topics, including player safety, improving the on-field product and upgrading the fan experience.

It's been a rocky year for the league's chief executive. The United States' most popular sport dealt with domestic abuse issues, continued questions about the long-term health of players and, more recently, the Deflategate scandal involving the Patriots.

Goodell opened with a statement about his vision for the league moving forward.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN passed along some of the injury-related stats the commissioner mentioned as examples that the rules meant to protect players are working:

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports noted the league plans to hire a chief medical official to handle the player safety aspects of the game:

Goodell wasn't ready to commit to adding more playoff teams. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News provided his remarks on that hot-button subject:

Extra points are something the competition committee is discussing as well, according to La Canfora:

La Canfora also noted that the commissioner is considering expanding the review of penalties:

Following his opening comments, Goodell opened the press conference to questions.

Ben Volin of The Boston Globe noted the commissioner wasn't prepared to provide any further insight into the Deflategate investigation at this time:

The Boston Globe's Shalise Manza Young added more on that subject:

Goodell made it clear it's not evident whether there was an infraction, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald:

He also separated it from past investigations such as the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal, as noted by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:

Another area of major interest was the possibility of moving a franchise to the Los Angeles market and the impact that could have on the St. Louis Rams.

Goodell stated he hoped all of the teams would stay put, as quoted by Pro Football on ESPN:

La Canfora points out he did admit if such an issue did arise, however, that it would be subject to league votes:

Albert Breer of the NFL Network summed up the outlook:

Jane McManus of ESPN New York provided her view on the remarks:

Also of interest were the actions of Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, who's made it clear he doesn't enjoy the mandatory sessions with the media. Vacchiano highlighted that Goodell said the NFL hasn't reached a conclusion about the potential violation involving an unapproved hat at media day:

Carl Quintanilla of CNBC provided Goodell's overall outlook on Lynch's actions:

"

“It’s part of your job … There are a lot of things we don’t like to do in our jobs” - Goodell, on Marshawn Lynch & the media. #NFL

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) January 30, 2015"

The commissioner was asked whether he believes there's a conflict of interest since the league pays any necessary outside investigators. He quickly shot down that notion, per Seifert:

There were also some comments about the status of a few lingering issues.

Breer noted he wants to see progress with the San Diego Chargers' stadium situation:

As for the Saints' ownership question marks, he continues to support Tom Benson, as pointed out by Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune:

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated gave his overall takeaway:

Tom E. Curran of CSNNE also offered Eric Winston's take on Goodell:

"

As I wrote this column, NFLPA President Eric Winston walked by me in the Phoenix Convention Center. He had this to say about Goodell’s 2014 performance, “Hey, even the worst bartender at Spring Break does pretty well. Think about it, a 2-year-old could [be NFL Commissioner] and still make money.”

"

Winston would later issue an apology:

All told, Goodell stood at the podium and answered every question thrown his way. He didn't provide much insight on some subjects, most notably Deflategate, and clearly seemed well prepared for the line of questioning that was coming his way.

It's not the type of press conference that's likely to win over any of his detractors. He stuck within some main talking points. He also focused more on the growth of both the game itself and his tenure moving forward after a year that was at times challenging.

Now the focus shifts to the Super Bowl.