During his Monday invitation-only press conference, Commissioner Roger Goodell was invited by Jarrett Bell of USA Today to address concerns raised by the 49ers about the quality of the practice field for Super Bowl week.
The NFL installed a grass field over the artificial surface at UNLV.
“That work is being done every single day,” Goodell said regarding the preparation and testing of the practice field. “We’ve had 23 experts out there. We’ve had the union out there. All of them think that’s a very playable surface. It’s softer than what they have practiced on, but that happens. It’s well within all of our testing standards. It is something that we think — all our experts, as well as neutral field inspectors — have all said, unanimously, that it’s a playable field.”
We’ve asked the union for its thoughts on the matter. The NFL’s position, as articulated by the man in charge, is clear.
It’s playable. Which means it’s practice-able. Which means, from the league’s perspective, stop complaining and start practicing.
