The past seven days have brought more grist for the NFL officiating debate than any similar time period in recent memory. Three high-profile mistakes on Monday Night Football, all of which the league eventually acknowledged, sparked a barrage of controversy that continued through the fourth quarter of Sunday Night Football.

Bracketed by an inadvertent whistle and an excess timeout, this spell crystallized the public's sense -- as well as some within the game -- that officiating is worsening as scrutiny intensifies. It included an intriguing explanation from a retired NFL executive, which I'll get to in a moment, and a half-dozen instances that alone would have amounted to little but viewed collectively create a damaging image.

Holder Pat McAfee was hit during this Adam Vinatieri field goal attempt. AP Photo/AJ Mast

Among them:

Whenever officiating questions arise, it's crucial to incorporate the human element into any conclusions. Mistakes will happen. We also must take into account the complexity of the NFL rulebook. Who knew, before Sunday night, that the clock would restart after an injury timeout with less than two minutes remaining? (Kudos to referee Tony Corrente's crew for getting that one correct late in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field, an accomplishment that NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino felt compelled to note late Sunday night on NFL Network.)

Officiating roster by experience Experience Number First year 10 Second year 13 Third year 1 Fourth year 0 Fifth year 1 6-9 years 21 10-15 years 38 16-20 years 27 21-27 years 10 Source: NFL

But there seems little doubt that the frequency and impact of mistakes are in a crescendo as the final month of the regular season approaches. Speaking Sunday morning on Fox, former NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira attributed the situation to the significant personnel turnover among officials during Blandino's tenure -- a trend I noted last spring.

The chart, based on the NFL's public roster of officials, shows that there are 23 with two or fewer years of experience in the NFL -- about 19 percent of the full staff. It was believed to be the largest period of officiating turnover in at least 13 years, and has created two segments of officials: Those with high levels of experience and those with little. Pereira noted that the NFL requires five years of experience for Super Bowl assignments, a benchmark for what it takes to reach high-level performance, and alluded to Blandino's emphasis on physical fitness for officials in today's faster-paced game.

"You wanted younger officials," Pereira said, "and you got them."

The smoking gun of Pereira's theory is second-year head linesman Ed Walker, who incorrectly wound the clock on the final play last week of Monday Night Football. (Buffalo Bills receiver Sammy Watkins was not touched and fell out of bounds, meaning the clock should have stopped.) But the theory can't be connected directly to other high-profile mistakes this season.

Side judge Rob Vernatchi, who was suspended after missing the clock runoff in Week 5, is a 12-year veteran. Back judge Greg Wilson, who missed an illegal bat call in Week 4, has eight years of experience. Head linesman Ed Camp, the closest official to the uncalled false start in Week 10, has been with the NFL for 16 years. The line judge responsible for the inadvertent whistle last week, Gary Arthur, has been with the NFL for 19 seasons.

It's possible that a trickle-down effect of inexperience is causing some veterans to overextend themselves, as can happen among NFL players. An alternative view suggests that officiating needed the kind of accountability that this turnover has brought and that its rewards must be viewed in a longer horizon.

But the short-term impact seems undeniable. A craft that comes with unavoidable mistakes is under unprecedented scrutiny and is struggling to perform. Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes or obvious solutions. The NFL and its officiating department have little choice this season but to ride out the ebb and flow.