7. Steroids policy
The Brian Cushing situation also has brought the league’s steroids policy under scrutiny in at least two important aspects. First, players and their agents and lawyers routinely complain that the league office has the power to impose the discipline and to handle the appeal of the decision.

“It was negotiated,” Goodell said regarding the procedure. “The league and the players association agreed to do it.”

Asked if it troubles him when the league’s power to issue the decision and then handle the appeal is criticized, Goodell said, “I think you’ve got to be really careful about blaming the league. This is a joint program that was negotiated and implemented with the players association and the league. So this is something that we have held as very important to our relationship and to the credibility of our sport. And it’s been acknowledged by most every entity that it’s being done in a leadership way. If somebody wants to attack it because they think ‘X’ was done wrong, I understand that. That’s part of the world we live in. We stand behind what we think is a terrific program and we are going to continue to try to improve it in every way we can.”

Possible improvements include, per Goodell, higher penalties and different levels of sanctions based on different substances, whether steroids, hormones, or stimulants. He also said that changes could come as soon as the next labor deal.

The other issue that has been highlighted of late relates to the confidentiality of the steroids policy, especially since the player can put out any and all information he wants regarding the violation, regardless of whether it’s accurate or complete.

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“We’re in a difficult position,” Goodell said. “They can go have a press conference; we can’t. So the confidentiality is really one way. They can go out and say what they want; we can’t. That part of the system we may need to look at. But it’s clear to me that the confidentiality was protected [as to Cushing]. The owner of the team was complaining that he wasn’t aware, either. So I think this indicates that that was protected in this case, and rightfully so. Until the appropriate time of which there’s been a finding that they violated the program, we should be very careful to protect that.”

And thus while Goodell believes that confidentiality is “very important,” he acknowledges that this aspect of the policy could be revised. “But I wouldn’t be specific as to how it could be,” he added.

8. Los Angeles
Whenever Goodell is interviewed, either individually or at a press conference, he’s inevitably asked a question about when or if the league will return to Los Angeles. So, I felt compelled to ask him an L.A. question, but I wanted to apply a different twist: Given the unprecedented success that the league has enjoyed since leaving Los Angeles in 1994, could the NFL at some point decide not to go back at all?

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“You’re making a point which I’ve made for the last 16 years,” Goodell said. “We don’t have to be in Los Angeles. We want to be in Los Angeles, but we have to do it successfully. The City of Los Angeles is going to continue to be a great community, and the NFL is going to continue to be a great institution, and they’ll do fine. But I believe that one and one is not two here. One and one is three or four, or five or six, if we do it right. What we have to do is find the right solution.”

If/when L.A. gets football again, it won’t be in the form of a series of neutral-site games, an idea we’ve been pushing for a couple of years.

“Southern California and Los Angeles in particular, they want their football team,” Goodell said. “They don’t want somebody else’s for a week. One of the things that makes our sport great is that these teams represent their communities on a regular basis. I don’t see a series of neutral-site games solving the problem in Los Angeles.”

One idea that gained some steam not too long ago entailed playing Super Bowl L in the town where the first Super Bowl was played. Asked whether there’s still any talk of the 50th Super Bowl returning to Los Angeles, Goodell was candid, and direct.

“Very little,” he said.

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Still, when the NFL finds the right solution, a team -- and likely plenty of future Super Bowls -- will be played in L.A.

9. The scheduling process
Finally, we talked about a scheduling process that seems to be improving the quality of games available to the fans, especially on key dates like Thanksgiving. This year, for example, the captive audience on the fourth Thursday in November will be treated to a contest between the Saints and the Cowboys, a game that could have been exported to one of the prime-time slots instead.

Goodell said the changes are a culmination of ongoing efforts to improve the scheduling process. “I’d say that we’re much more sophisticated in our scheduling than we’ve ever been, and that every year we’ve gotten better at it,” Goodell said. “Part of it’s the use of technology. I think we’re getting better at using computers. We’re getting better at inserting different factors. We’re getting better at trying to figure out how do we serve as many masters as we have, the competitiveness of the game, the teams’ issues, the availability of facilities. You have logistical issues, you have broadcast issues. And we’ve just gotten much, much better at it. And taking advantage of every opportunity to put the NFL on the best platform.

“We do think of it to some extent of stages and events. Our kickoff weekend has become extraordinary for us. We think Thanksgiving can be a great time to celebrate football, and that’s why we’re there. It's one of the reasons we’ve looked at the restructured season, too. It gives us a chance to do things differently and bring football at a time when they’re not getting football. The Pro Bowl is another good example of it. It was filling a gap, a void that was there. And it obviously works. Now we’ve got to figure out how to continue to grow.”

That desire to constantly look for ways to continue to grow will continue to set the sport -- and its commissioner -- apart from every other sports league. If that mentality is applied consistently over a 50-year period, who knows? Maybe the American brand of football will overtake what the rest of the world calls futbol.

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