NFL referees are far from perfect, and their mistakes have been quite glaring and high-profile throughout this postseason. But instead of finding solutions to the problem, it sounds like the NFL is coming up with some excuses.
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of conversation about the possibility of using microchips in footballs to help spot the football and determine first downs.
However, it sounds like that technology won’t be perfect, either.
During a recent interview with Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, NFL V.P. of football business strategy Kimberly Fields, Esq. claimed that while the league is close to rolling out technology that would help determine whether or not a first down has been gained, she says there will “always be a human element” when it comes to spotting the ball.
“What this technology cannot do is take the place of the human element in determining where forward progress ends,” Fields told Maaddi. “There will always be a human official spotting the ball. Once the ball is spotted, then the line-to-gain technology actually does the measurement itself. So I think it’s probably been a point of confusion around what the technology can and can’t do. There will always be a human element because of the forward progress conversation.”
NFL insider and analyst Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk does not find this response acceptable. In fact, he sees it as nothing but an excuse.
“The NFL has the money. The NFL has the incentive, even if it won’t admit it. Smarter people than me (that bar is low) can figure out how to do it, if they want to,” Florio wrote for Pro Football Talk.
“At this moment in the history of the game, the last thing anyone from the league should be saying is that ‘there will always be a human element because of the forward progress conversation.’ What Fields, and her bosses, should be saying is that the NFL is doing everything possible to fully incorporate digital methods for determining where the ball is when forward progress was stopped.”
All eyes will be on the officials when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX later this month.
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