Peter King

Peter King of Sports Illustrated, SI.com and NBC chimed in with Dale & Holley on Wednesday to discuss some of the offseason issues in the NFL. With the implementation of new overtime rules, which reportedly upset many coaches, King said Roger Goodell and the owners pulled together to pass this new rule to prove a point to the players

“It was also a good example that these owners want to show that they were a united front and going into the negotiations with the players that 28 of them didn’t agree with this deal still voted for it,” he said. “I believe there was a message that was sent yesterday by the NFL and by Roger Goodell.”

King also talked about a more open communication from the Patriots, the Ben Roethlisberger alleged sexual assault case and gave us an update on everyone’s favorite draft pick Tim Tebow.

To read the interview look below, but to listen click here.

How mad were the coaches about the new overtime rules?

Mad. I just posted a story on SI.com about an hour ago, of Sean Payton ripping not only the decision by the owners, but how it was implemented. He told me that, “I hate it. They snuck it through the back door on us. They know we didn’t want it.” He said, “I was with seven coaches at the time of the vote on the golf course and including me we were all eight no votes.” So they are upset. I sort of ended my story by saying in essence welcome to the world: owners own and coaches coach. This was a great example of that. It was also a good example that these owners want to show that they were a united front and going into the negotiations with the players that 28 of them didn’t agree with this deal still voted for it. I believe there was a message that was sent yesterday by the NFL and by Roger Goodell to the players that basically said that, “This isn’t just about this rule, this is about us showing the fact that we are behind our commissioner and we are going to remain that way in negotiations with players.”

Why did the owners have to sneak around?

They didn’t sneak around. It wasn’t their decision, this was Roger Goodell’s decision to call for the vote yesterday. Tom Benson didn’t stand up and say, “Hey I want this let’s vote while Sean Payton is out of the room so I can pull an end around on him.” Roger Goodell looked at this and thought it was time. The most compelling thing that happened at these meetings happened before the meetings began when Roger Goodell stood in front of the press and basically said, “We have to continue to innovate. We have to stay ahead of the curve. We have to modernize this game. We have to be ahead of other sports leagues.” One of the things he said to the owners was, “Do not let perfect stand in the way of better.” What he was saying to his owners and everyone in the league was if you don’t like something that we are doing don’t just vote against it because you want something else, vote for it because you think it’s a better system than the one we have now. I’ve said this about overtime for a long time. Overtime was put in place 36 years ago and Bill Polian said this to me this morning, “This rule was not having now the intended consequences that Don Shula, Paul Brown and the grandfathers of this game intended it to have, which was to give two teams an equal chance in the start of overtime.” It wasn’t doing that anymore.

How much of this has to do with the NFC championship and Brett Favre?

Absolute zero or I should say it’s a brick in a 1,000-brick wall. I’ve heard that 100 times in the last 24 hours. I didn’t hear Brett Favre’s name mentioned once in the 72 hours of these meetings. I’ve heard it by fans and by a lot of people who texted me or tweeted me that this is a Favre rule. Rich McKay and the competition committee had been putting this idea together for months and months. This idea in and of itself is almost a year old. Did the Minnesota vs. New Orleans game give it an exclamation point? Ofcourse it did. But this was not done because Brett Favre was standing on the sidelines. If the Vikings had a single possession in overtime nor would it have been because Drew Brees had been standing on the sidelines without a chance.

What was something else that intrigued you at these meetings?

What was really interesting to me was something that Roger Goodell just snuck in under the wire. This blew me away. Remember how last year we were all trying to figure out ways to make sure that the Indianapolis Colts didn’t sit on the ball and didn’t pull their guys at the end of the season like they’ve done so many times the last few years? Well Roger Goodell just said and I had it confirmed 15 minutes after by a top league official, that one of the reasons that the schedule is so late this year, usually the schedule starts leaking out with the opening weekend games always announced on Monday and part of the reason why that was delayed because the Giants and Jets were in a little hissing match over who was going to play the first game in the new stadium, but part of it to is the fact that Roger Goodell and the powers that be are trying to formulate a schedule where Week 17 is all division play and as much as possible that Week 16 will be as much division play as they can do within the confines of making up the schedule. The theory being that you have a better chance of a game being a meaningful game if it is a divisional game rather than a interdivisional game or an interconference game.

So it sounds that the NFL didn’t like the way the season ended, either?

Who would? I haven’t liked the way the Indianapolis Colts have played it, but it’s their right. They are just playing by the rules. They get the home field advantage late in the year and they play whatever they want for what they think is the best interest of their team in the playoffs. Obviously it hasn’t turned out well for them, they are rapidly becoming the Atlanta Braves of the NFL, one and done. If Peyton Manning wins one Super Bowl in his career I think we could all agree that his career would be severely diminished. I think this is a way to attempt, because I think it will be hard to legislate telling the Colts you’ve got to play Reggie Wayne for four quarters today when you are three games up with one to play.

Have you noticed that Bob Kraft and the Patriots are changing there ways in terms of letting out more information?

I haven’t thought about it in that way but now that I think about it I think they have been pretty open relatively speaking. I did not sit at Bill Belichick’s table when he met the press but in reading some of his comments particularly about Tim Tebow I was really interested in that. Teams are playing Tebow extremely close to the vest because the teams that want him don’t want to raise the flag that they want him because then people are going to draft him and say that, “We got to move up ahead of them if we want to get Tebow.” I thought some of his really overt praise of Tim Tebow was interesting because it could raise a flag to the other teams in the league that the Patriots have three picks in the second round and they are going to be easily in position if they want Tebow to move up to 28 or whatever wihtout much difficulty. So if they want Tebow they got to keep that in mind going forward. I think you are right and I think Bob Kraft wants to be a little more open than he has been in the last few years, because I think he feels that he wants to be able to be more open with his fans. I think that is something also, and keep in mind that Roger Goodell has had a message to these teams also that, “We have a battle to win in the court of public opinion. So we want to make friends out there in public.” I can’t tell you how many times that Roger Goodell in his two press conference totaling 30 minutes, one Monday and one today, mentioned the word fans. If I had an over/under it would be about 75. “We have to be fan friendly. We have to be responsive. We have to listen to the fans.” So I believe he has passed that message to coaches, general managers and owners of these 32 teams.

Where will Tebow go and what team is in love with him?

All along I’ve said the San Francisco 49ers because they have two picks in the first round and in the middle of the second round pick and they seem the most logical because Mike Singletary loves guys who are first of all devout Christians and are, “Yes sir, no sir, I’ll run through that wall for you, sir.” I believe when it’s all said and done the 49ers will be involved. Mike Shanahan loves Tim Tebow, but he has to many holes to fill to take a guy who might be able to play quarterback for them in two years. Eric Mangini and Mike Holmgren love Tim Tebow, but they have too many holes with one pick in the first 35 to pick a guy who may or may not be a long-term quarterback. Movement isn’t over. Next year’s one could be involved. I asked a team who is definitely going to draft a quarterback in the first two rounds, sat down with the head coach and I asked him, “What do you see is the most logical scenario for Tim Tebow?” He goes, “It’s either going to be a team with multiple twos with the power to move up or a team that puts next years one into play to try and move around in the second round to get Tebow.” Everybody is probably as sick of hearing about Tim Tebow as they are about Brett Favre, but you got three weeks more of it because we are going to bombard you with Tim Tebow all the time I’m afraid.

Do you think being more “fan-friendly” was part of the reason why Roger Goodell made some comments about the Ben Roethlisberger situation?

I think quite honestly that Roger Goodell is echoing what the Rooney family is feeling that, “Hey kid you are an idiot.” That, “We don’t care what the situation is but you are in a college bar, and you can do whatever you want, but you are in a college bar flirting with 19 or 20 year olds, drinking heavily or doing whatever it is you are doing in this bar, wake up kid be smart.” I know a little bit about this case and I am not at liberty to talk, but I would echo Roger Goodell 1,000 percent on that. That Ben Roethlisberger has got to wake up and grow up. I think right now that Roger Goodell by saying that this is a problem and I’m going to meet with him, that all I can say is that I hope the Steelers’ schedule is soft the first two games next year because I believe Roger Goodell will suspend Ben Roethlisberger, whatever the status of this case, just for a couple of games just for a slap on the wrist wake up call to him. I’m not reporting that or anything but I believe that’s the level of how disturbed that some people in this league are with Ben Roethlisberger.

Will Roethlisberger get just a wake up call from the law or will it be a little stiffer than that?

That totally has to do with what he’s found to have done, obviously. If he’s found to do nothing more than fool around with a girl in a bar then he’s going to walk away scot-free and life goes on. Georgia does not react very kindly and there are some forms of sexual assault, which I don’t believe this form would be, but some forms of sexual assault that carry a 25-year jail sentence. This is something where he’s got to get lawyered up pretty well and if he’s found to have any guilt in this case that he could be in some serious trouble. We are way ahead of ourselves because nothing has really happened in this case other than an accusation has been made. I do think that it’s something the Steelers should be very worried about it, and I don’t care what anybody says the Steelers would be naïve and I would not have a good feeling about them as an organization if they are not scouting quarterbacks very heavily in this draft.

We’ve heard that he’s not the leader of the team, is that what you have heard?

He’s not the leader of the team. Early on there was a player on his team, this was I think his second year in the league, a lesser player like a practice squad player goes to him with a Roethlisberger jersey and said, “Hey I’m doing a charity auction back home and I was hoping you could sign this jersey for me?” He goes, “No, can’t do it. I can only sign for” whatever autograph company he was with. Some of these guys have deals with whoever it is, but that doesn’t preclude them from signing for a teammate, for doing something for a teammate. One of the other leaders on the other team said, “What in the world is wrong with you? This is a guy you go to war with. This is a guy you go to the trenches with. You won’t sign a jersey for him?” So Ben relented and signed the jersey, but the guy who told me this story just basically told me that Roethlisberger just doesn’t get it. He’s gotten it a little bit better over the last couple of years. In his bye week last year he flew his offensive lineman to Chicago and he’s made a concerted effort to be more of a leader than he has been.

Is it going to be Gerald McCoy or Ndamukong Suh with the first pick?

I wish you would ask me the question if the Rams take Sam Bradford who will the Lions take? Because I believe if the Rams take Bradford the Lions will take Suh. I think the Rams are a little bit of a house divided but I believe that Sam Bradford is going to win the first pick for them. After passing on Matt Ryan two years ago and passing on Mark Sanchez last year, they are not going to for the third consecutive year going to pass on a potential franchise quarterback for an interior lineman.