NFL speaks regarding Chip Kelly's fast-paced offense

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Officials should dictate the pace of the game.

I don't think that should ever be the case deliberately.

This issue was discussed here several years ago. There is no reason the officials should make the ball ready for play slower than possible. However, nobody's going to notice if they do, as long as nobody wants to play the ball. You only notice it when somebody wants to play the ball and it's not ready. It's not a matter of one team's dictating the pace, it's only a matter of their making visible a possible defect in game administration. If that results in the officials' being conscious of the problem when an offense is trying to hurry up, so the officials make the ball ready for play faster than they do otherwise, so be it. The officials should always have been readying the ball at that pace, but it was inconsequential most of the game. If that looks like favoritism, that's just a misperception on observers' part.

Suppose a cashier wasn't giving correct change, but none of the customers complained until one finally did. If the cashier gives that person correct change, is that cheating? No, it was the cashier who was cheating previously, but nobody cared about it so it didn't matter.