A few days ago my Zoneblitz colleague wrote a post questioning why NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was getting directly involved in the Green Bay Packers’ efforts to end the Brett Favre saga. Now that Favre is a New York Jet Goodell has found another issue on which to opine and I question his motives on this topic even more.

Goodell sent a memo, according to ESPN’s John Clayton, to all NFL teams telling them to quit complaining about the 80-man roster, a move instituted before this season. Thing is, Clayton has visited 14 camps since they opened and other football media have been reporting on the negative impact this has had on teams since as long ago as May.

Clayton reports that four draft picks – including three fifth-rounders – have already been cut from rosters and that teams are having to arrive at injury settlements with players they would normally allow some time to heal because they don’t have enough depth to keep guys fresh.

The change has also forced teams to stop bringing second-team guys in at positions like kicker or long snapper, instead opting for people who aren’t necessarily good enough to make that or any other team, but who can both punt and kick extra points or long snap and fill water bottles – so as to save roster space.

“Anything that helps you save a roster spot,” Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome told SportsIllustrated.cnn.com in May. “There are positions where you’ve got to have extra bodies because you need fresh legs to practice.”

The decision to stick to an 80 man roster as opposed to allowing a half-dozen exemptions for reasons such as players who spent time in developmental leagues reportedly was a financial one. I haven’t seen another published reason. That seems ridiculous – teams are spending nine figures on players who make the team during the regular season, they expect fans to pony up four and five figures for season tickets and personal seat licenses – and even more when it comes to paying taxes to support their new stadium toys. What’s another hundred grand or two for allowing another half-dozen guys to come to training camp chasing a roster spot?

And who does Commissioner Goodell think he is trying to squelch the rights of coaches and players to speak their minds about a rule-change that nearly everyone involved so far appears to think was a mistake? Goodell needs to listen to these complaints, not stop them. If players are getting hurt because they’re fatigued or the quality of game play declines because coaches have to shorten practices in order to keep players healthy it’s bad for the game. This is something that could be fixed right now.

The commish has done some good things in attempting to clean up the game. His personal conduct policy suspensions have to at least enter the minds of players who sometimes seem to think playing in the NFL gives them a get out of jail free card. But his dictatorial approach in some other areas could very easily come back to bite him in the rear.