NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell believes the league's officiating has never been better despite recent criticism, most specifically after the conference championship games.

Goodell made his remarks at his annual pre-Super Bowl press conference. His full response can be found via Football Zebras.

Other people do not agree with Goodell's opinion.

Former Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman had this to say after championship weekend:

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show (h/t Austin Nivison of CBS Sports) that he believes the best referees the league has had are working for networks now as rules experts, a la Gene Steratore for CBS.

The AFC Championship Game, which the Kansas City Chiefs won 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals, featured a controversial moment when Kansas City had a do-over on a 3rd-and-9. The play had actually been blown dead before the ball was snapped the first time around, though, although the noise of the crowd drowned out the official.

Cameron Filipe of Football Zebras explained the situation.

"The clock reset/play shutdown snafu looked very bad, but as we explained, it was handled properly. Arrowhead Stadium is very loud, and we saw on two occasions that the volume of the crowd can drown out whistles on the field. While it is messy to have to go back when team personnel has changed and redo a play, it was administered properly.

"The crew did not back down when they needed to make critical decisions, and that does speak to their toughness. While it did not run completely smoothly, the game was managed well. The casual fan will not agree, but try to tell a casual fan to look through clear lenses rather than those that are tinted by the loyalty to a team."

Still, NFL fans and media members were not pleased with the officiating, as Mike McDaniel of Sports Illustrated relayed. ESPN's Mike Greenberg notably called the performance "unimaginably terrible."

Of course, it's easy to sit on the sidelines and lament officiating performances. Being a referee is a thankless job and one that's impossible to do perfectly.

At the same time, NFL referees have received plenty of criticism over the years from various sources. It got really loud after the Seattle Seahawks' overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18, which ultimately vaulted Seattle into the playoffs over the Detroit Lions.

"After multiple controversial officiating decisions in Sunday's playoff-shaping game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks, multiple executives and coaches said the NFL needs to reevaluate how it chooses and trains its officiating staff for future seasons," ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote.

We'll see if the officiating conversation continues into the offseason. A clean, drama-free Super Bowl might go a long way toward mitigating any ire toward referees.

As for the Big Game, the Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET in Glendale, Arizona. Carl Cheffers is the head referee for that one.