Roger Goodell defended the Pro Bowl Games and NFL officiating at his Super Bowl press conference.
Pro Bowl Games, controversial officiating heartily endorsed by NFL commissioner
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
PHOENIX, AZ
Two things in the NFL 2022 postseason that became punching bags for fans and media were officiating and the revamped Pro Bowl Games.
Guess what? Commissioner Roger Goodell defended both emphatically at his annual Super Bowl press conference Wednesday.
Goodell said the Pro Bowl Games, which featured competitions such as a water balloon toss and a flag football game, “is the future for us.”
He also said that officiating, which drew heightened criticism after some controversies in the AFC Championship Game, “has never been better.”
Here’s a closer look at Goodell’s comments.
Pro Bowl Games
Goodell has been a frequent critic of the entertainment value of the actual game that used to be played because players didn’t care enough to risk injury and play competitively. Goodell said that Russell Wilson called him the day after last year's game and suggested, “Let’s play a flag game.”
The league revamped the series of “events” between AFC and NFC all-stars this year in Las Vegas and renamed them the Pro Bowl Games. They included a long-drive contest, water balloon tossing, quarterback throwing accuracy, best catch over inflatables by receivers, a relay race through an obstacle course and a flag football game.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett suffered a dislocated toe competing in the “Gridiron Gauntlet” obstacle course.
The TV ratings for the climactic day on Sunday drew an audience of 6.28 million, beating NASCAR and the NHL All-Star Game on the same day.
“The Pro Bowl last week was incredibly well done,” Goodell said. “We had 52,000 people there, paying customers that really enjoyed the experience. They wrapped their arms around this event.
“To me, the Pro Bowl was a pivotal moment for us because we had to make a determination that the Pro Bowl in its current state last year was not something that represented the NFL well.
“When I was there on Thursday, the players loved it, were embracing it. I loved watching it because you got to see the players, got to see their faces, got to see them compete. They loved the flag game .So I think we’ve got a lot to build on there. And I don’t see us going back in any way. I think this is the future for us.”
Goodell said flag football is an opportunity for the league to “grow our game globally … we’ve seen a lot of people participating in that and how they’re embracing that. And seeing NFL players do that, I think, is just going to help launch us faster.”
Officiating
Always an easy target, officiating received increasingly harsh criticism after controversies in the Kansas City-Cincinnati AFC Championship. Among them was a key third-down play being redone after the Bengals had made a stop of the Chiefs on third-and-9.
Referee Ron Torbert made a late call after the fact that one of the officials tried to stop the play before the ball was stopped, but Arrowhead Stadium was too loud for the official to be noticed.
The Bengals made another stop on the redone play, but it ultimately cost them precious time at the end of a close game.
Goodell said the league office did not step in to redo the play. He said stopping it was appropriate and “not an unusual thing to have happen.”
“I don’t think [officiating] has ever been better in the league,” Goodell said.
“There are over 42,000 plays in a season. Multiple infractions could occur on any play. Take that out and extrapolate that. That’s hundreds, if not millions, of potential fouls. And our officials do an extraordinary job of getting those [correct].
“Are there mistakes in the context of that, yes? They are not perfect and officiating never will. But we’ve also had replay and other aspects that help us address those issues to make sure they’re not something we can’t correct on the field.”
Goodell said criticism of officiating may be louder now because of the technical innovations in broadcasting.
“We all have to realize, through the quality of what we see in our broadcast, you’ve never been able to see the kinds of things that you can see today,” he said. “And you see it in super slow-mo, where you can actually stop it. Sometimes that distorts a call, potentially, but the reality is our officials are held to an incredibly high standard, and I think they meet it. Will we try to get better? You betcha.”
