NEW ORLEANS (WWL.com) -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the NFL feels the pain of the Who Dat Nation and the New Orleans Saints.
"We understand the frustration of the fans," Goodell said Wednesday at the annual pre-Super Bowl news conference. "We understand the frustration they feel and certainly want to address that."
But Goodell did not address that. He offered no solutions, no apologies, no investigation.
Instead, he defended the officials who he admitted failed to make the correct call late in the NFC Championship game. Goodell said the officials wish they would have properly called pass interference and a helmet-to-helmet hit on Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on the play.
"Our officials are human," Goodell stated. "They are officiating a game that moves very quickly. ... They are not going to get it right every time."
The commissioner did say the NFL wants to address the officiating that failed to properly call the penalties in the Saints-Rams game.
"We will look again at instant replay," Goodell said. "There have been a variety of proposals. ... There are solutions for this, and that's what the committee has to focus on. It's something that we are going to put to the competition committee."
The closest Goodell got to any apology was saying, "It is a play that should have been called."
Earlier Wednesday, Saints head coach Sean Payton spoke publicly for the first time about the NFC Championship game and the Saints' 2018 season.
"I would say honestly, after the game for two to three days, much like normal people, I sat in my room and ate Jeni's Ice Cream and watched Netflix for three straight days," Payton said with a smile.
Payton went on to say, "I don't know that you ever completely get over it, but you do get past it. There's enough resolve, that this time away is healthy, and when it starts back up in the spring and we look at that calendar, you get back at it again."
Payton said he had a few conversations with the NFL, including Goodell and VP Troy Vincent, in the aftermath of the game. Payton described those conversations as brief and didn’t share details. Payton also praised the NFL’s head of officiating, Al Riveron, describing Riveron as “great” when asked about their conversations.
But was Payton taking a subtle jab at Goodell during the press conference? The eagle eyes of the internet noticed that Payton’s undershirt appears to be a Goodell clown T-shirt that is sold by Barstool Sports.