Saints coach Sean Payton is astonished that NFL officials aren't full-time employees. It's not an original criticism but perhaps there's a reason for that: The officiating has been inadequate this season, woefully so some people would argue.

"There aren't many Mondays that go by that there aren't at least 28 to 30 head coaches that are ticked off about certain calls that were missed or weren't made. You see it all the time," Payton said during an appearance on "Pro Football Talk Live."

Payton was speaking specifically about a pass-interference-call-that-wasn't in the Falcons-Seahawks game two weeks ago, and another in the Saints' season opener against the Raiders.

"And it's the frustration that the system currently hasn't improved. We say it has, but it hasn't. We're the only league that has officials that have primary other jobs, which is really madness. We can pay these guys. They should be full-time NFL officials, and they should be working throughout the week, communicating. And I know they get their hour in here, their hour in there, and maybe even more than that. But by and large, every other sports league employs full-time officials. And ours, these guys all have other significant jobs. And I just think it's very difficult to do with the speed of the game."

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