NFL notebook: Goodell 'concerned' about catch rule

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will push to change the league's controversial catch rule this offseason, saying he is "concerned" after years of complaints and confusion from coaches, players and fans.

"I'm not just somewhat concerned (about the rule)," Goodell said in an interview with FS1's Colin Cowherd on his talk show. "I am concerned. ... It's particularly in the going to the ground that I think is creating a lot of the confusion."

Goodell told Cowherd that he convened a summit earlier this month of five Hall of Fame receivers and several coaches to discuss the rule.

"You want there to be clarity from an officiating standpoint and a coaching and player standpoint," Goodell said. "...I think here you might have clarity in a large element of it, but what happens is that it's not the rule that people really want. I hope we'll be able to address this in a way that will bring more clarity and frankly more excitement to this."

--New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady abruptly ended his weekly radio interview Monday morning because of a crude remark one of the hosts made about his 5-year-old daughter last week.

Brady, who appears weekly on the "Kirk & Callahan Show" on sports radio WEEI in Boston, said he was disappointed with the disparaging remark when the host was discussing the "Tom vs. Time" documentary, which includes Brady's family and has been airing as a video series on Facebook.

"I've tried to come on this show for many years and showed you guys a lot of respect," Brady said, per ESPN. "I've always tried and come on and do a good job for you guys. It's very disappointing when you hear (the comments about my daughter), certainly. My daughter, or any child, certainly don't deserve that."

--The New England Patriots are off to Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII after receiving a send-off rally from thousands of cheering fans outside Gillette Stadium. Quarterback Tom Brady praised the Philadelphia Eagles at the Monday morning rally. The two teams face off at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.

"It's going to be fun, it's going to be a lot of hard work, we're playing a great team, but I tell you what, we've got a locker room full of guys that are ready for the challenge," the 40-year-old quarterback said to the crowd, some of the fans arriving in the pre-dawn hours.

"We got one more to go. We're going to go out there are try to win it for you guys. We love you. Patriots out!" Brady shouted to the cheering fans as he ended the rally by dropping his microphone on the stage.

--The Eagles may be less than a week from facing the winningest quarterback in Super Bowl history, but they certainly don't sound like a team that's intimidated by the Patriots mystique.

In fact, they sound like a team ready to take on the challenge. And nowhere does the confidence exude more than from the defensive line. Talking to his fellow D-linemen during a recent team meeting, former New England defensive end Chris Long told his teammates, "Let's go out there and make (Brady) uncomfortable."

That message, relayed to the media by Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox on Sunday, is part of a larger plan the Eagles plan to incorporate against the only quarterback with five Super Bowl wins on Sunday. "We can't go out and just let him bake pizzas back there," Cox said.

--With one more win, Long will end this season the way he did the last -- with a Super Bowl championship. And as he did following the 2016 season, if Long does get that win, he won't be visiting the White House.

Speaking Sunday on the "Pardon My Take" podcast, Long said: "No, I'm not going to the White House. You kidding me?"

Long won Super Bowl LI with New England. He has been vocal in his criticism of President Donald Trump and was one of several Patriots players not to go to the White House following last season.

--After the Cleveland Indians announced Monday they are removing the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms in 2019, the Change the Mascot group is renewing pressure on the Washington Redskins to discontinue the use of its own nickname.

The Change the Mascot campaign has been a long-standing critic of the Redskins' name, but team owner Dan Snyder has resisted calls to change his team's nickname and logo.

"The Cleveland baseball team has rightly recognized that Native Americans do not deserve to be denigrated as cartoon mascots, and the team's move is a reflection of a grassroots movement that has pressed sports franchises to respect Native people," Oneida Nation representative Ray Halbritter, who is the leader of the campaign, said in a statement Monday. "Cleveland's decision should finally compel the Washington football team to make the same honorable decision."

--With middle linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher among the most prominent finalists up for the Hall of Fame this Saturday, fellow finalist Kevin Mawae said he would take Urlacher over Lewis, who is a virtual lock to be inducted.

" belongs in the Hall of Fame, no doubt about it," Mawae said, "but I've got to view it in the lens of how I played against guys. ...To me, Ray was all over the place -- an athletic guy, but he was not a downhill hitter. He's not taking on offensive linemen. He was a jump-around guy.

"Brian Urlacher, sideline to sideline, could do it all, just like Ray. But he was more of a physical player in the box against offensive linemen. ...Urlacher did all the stuff Ray did. But he played downhill on you. He's going to come in and put his helmet on you and shed blocks. I never felt that way about Ray."

--The Carolina Panthers hired Brady Hoke to be their defensive line coach, according to multiple reports.

Hoke replaces Eric Washington, who was promoted to defensive coordinator. Washington was elevated after previous coordinator Steve Wilks was hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

It is the first NFL gig for the 59-year-old Hoke, who was assistant head coach and defensive line coach at Tennessee last season. He served as interim head coach for the final two games after Butch Jones was fired.

-- Field Level Media