Roger Goodell finally broke his silence on Friday afternoon addressing the Ray Rice scandal, the litany of domestic violence cases that have appeared over the course of the last several weeks and what future steps the NFL should take when dealing with these cases. However for many analysts, staff, coaches and players, this was too little too late.

The conference started on a well enough note with Goodell delivering a fairly idealistic message on the need for change in the NFL. Where things fell apart was the questions portion.

Goodell did very little during this time to ensure the public and the professionals involved in the league that he was committed to changes and that he was conscious of his mistakes. He spoke in circles, came off as defensive and did not really say much in the way of reassurance.

What viewers were treated to were apologies. Apologies that he handled the Ray Rice scandal the wrong way, apologies that he made a mistake in managing the over all issue and an apology that he, frankly, did not have anything else to say.

Many in the public wanted to hear some sort of specifics. Sure the commissioner talked about making changes, but what are those changes going to be? Did have any sense of specifics that he could divulge? He said he would let the public know soon. Probably by the Super Bowl at the latest.

That is a major missed opportunity for someone who was quoted at the conference saying, "We want to get to work immediately."

Goodell also confused attendees when he claimed that the NFL is not close to losing any of its sponsors. That directly contradicts the statements made by Anheuser-Busch, McDonald's, Visa and Pepsi made voicing their extreme disapproval of how the league was conducting itself.

Some positives to take from the conference included hiring a panel of female advisers who are experts in domestic violence and a new partnership with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Still, Goodell has done nothing to ensure that the unbelievable amount inconsistencies and flat out ignorance on the part of the league will be over any time soon.

Moreover, there was an immense lack of responsibility taken on the part of Roger Goodell. He can only say that he is sorry so many times, but if he does not show that he genuinely understands his transgressions, then he is not giving a meaningful message. Could he not have fined himself and had the proceeds donated to a charitable organization? Or perhaps forced himself to reapply for his job? Such actions would have shown a level of vulnerability that people respect leaders for in times like this and would have gone a long way towards ensuring the public that he is still the man to rebuild the league.

In this press conference Goodell noted that the NFL cannot be judge, jury and executioner, and he is absolutely right. However, it is still, all else aside, an employer and an employer has the power to punish employees that do not act in accordance with their standards of policy. Not only do those policies remain undefined, but the NFL is also failing in its responsibility with to uphold an ethical work place.

Maybe one of those experts that Goodell hired could act as a mediator to provide proper perspective on appropriate punishment for players who act out will be. That would provide some positive action and not step on any legal toes.

Unfortunately, Roger Goodell has not been so forward thinking. If anything, he has proven with this press conference that he is not the person to lead the NFL out of this hard situation. 

Goodell was also said in this conference, "We need to do a lot better." This may be the most critical statement made in the afternoon and it is something that NFL officials should keep in mind when they eventually begin looking for Goodell's successor.