Goodell talks pace-of-play proposal, 'flexible' commercial break times

The NFL is following through on plans to address the pace of games, commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to fans Wednesday.

Reacting to consumer feedback, Goodell wrote that the league's goal is to give fans "more of what you want: a competitive game with fewer interruptions and distractions from the action." The proposed changes mirrored plans he previewed last month during his annual Super Bowl news conference.

The most notable shift will be what Goodell called "increased flexibility" for broadcast partners to "avoid untimely breaks in the action." Specifically, he mentioned "how annoying" it is when a commercial is followed by a kickoff and then followed by another commercial.

"I hate that, too," Goodell said. "Our goal is to eliminate it."

Other plans include:

-- Centralizing replay reviews and shifting the final authority to league officials in New York City. Referees would follow along on a video tablet rather than use a sideline replay "hood."

-- More attention paid to the amount of time that passes when the game clock is stopped. The league plans to add a play clock following extra points, and possibly after touchdowns, to standardize the time between it and the kickoff. It also hopes to standardize when the play clock starts after a player runs out of bounds.

Goodell's push on this issue comes after a season in which NFL television ratings fell 8 percent compared to 2015. NFL owners will discuss these proposals, and in some cases vote on them, next week during their annual meeting in Phoenix. Other topics on a busy agenda there will be the Oakland Raiders' proposed move to Las Vegas, a push to begin hiring full-time referees, a relaxation of rules regarding spontaneous celebrations, and the possibility of automatic ejections and suspensions for players who commit certain types of dangerous hits.