Ravens/Steelers game

[ajmc]

Originally Posted by pmarz1

Many who post here got very defensive with their comments,some feeling I was a Ravens fan/sore loser. I have no connection with them or the Steelers. If you all are truely impartial, then answer the questions that way. You are one of the few that responded as one would hope an official would. .

Perhaps the tone of responses was adversely influenced by the way the initial few questions were asked and some inflamatory rhetoric added to a totally subjective assessment of the NFL game officials abilities and performance.

As some have tried to point out, the amount of time, training, review and almost constant scrutiny NFL game officials devote to the pursuit of excellence is staggering, and considering the speed and talents of the players they monitor, their production and accuracy is outstanding.

However, despite the significant effort, dedication and pursuit of excellence they are not, and never will attain perfection. You should understand that in addition to the written rules code, that are somewhat different for multiple levels of football, there are reams and binders of official interpretations and approved rulings, clinics and years of intense discussion and debate that further clarify the intent, purpose and details of each rule to assist field officials in better understanding the basic intent and purpose of each rule.

Every official who has reached the level of the NFL has already completed extremely successful careers at each of the High School and, likely, multiple levels of the collegiate game. All that experience, training, study, review and constant critiquing, still does not guarantee automatic perfection, but it does bring this small band of professionals as close to that goal as has been achieved.

However, honest questions do deserve honest answers that are devoid of excessive defensiveness, athough defensive excesses sometimes slip through due to the right provocation. Perfection in the art of responding to questions, is also an elusive objective albeit worthy of pursuit.