Scott Hanson Defends NFL Officiating as 'Best in America'

Scott Hanson, host of the popular NFL RedZone channel, has defended the National Football League's officiating, stating that it is the "best officiated of the major four sports." Hanson's comments come amidst reports indicating a rise in penalties called during the current NFL season.

An ESPN Insights report indicated that through the first four weeks of the season, NFL officials had called more accepted penalties than in the same period of any season since 1978. Additionally, 17 touchdowns had been nullified by penalties, a significant increase from the five nullified touchdowns through four weeks in the previous season.

Hanson addressed these concerns in a recent interview, citing a statement from the NFL itself that suggested penalties per game are actually down this year. He emphasized that the focus should be on the accuracy of calls rather than the total number.

"I believe the NFL just put out a statement about penalties. I don't know when people are going to watch this [we recorded on Friday, October 9], but as we are talking right here, the NFL says that penalties per game are actually down this year," Hanson said.

When questioned about whether there are too many flags thrown, particularly during the regular season, Hanson responded, "I know people are going to say I'm a company man, but that's truly the way I feel. To answer your question, are there too many? The number is immaterial to me. The accuracy is what should matter."

He acknowledged that errors occur, attributing them to the speed of the game and the limitations of human perception. "Of course, there are calls that go the wrong way, that are not officiated the proper way. And it's not because of an interpretation of rules. It's because the human eye can only go so fast. And a lot of times, the human feet and hands and bodies can move quicker than what we can discern with our human eyes. And then there's error in judgment sometimes."

Responding to the idea that the NFL might ease up on penalties during the postseason, Hanson expressed uncertainty. "This might get me dismissed here, but I'm not even so sure that they do call it differently [in the playoffs]," he countered. "Every game is in a standalone window, so every call is extremely magnified. And so there's a narrative that gets developed, right?"

Hanson also suggested that making officials' performance grades public could foster better understanding among fans about why certain crews might not officiate high-stakes playoff games.