Former official explains new hires’ orientation

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Mark Schultz

How does the NFL get their new officials up to speed?

Larry Upson knows what it is like to be hired into the NFL.  Upson was an NFL official from 1993-98 before moving into the front office to become Mike Pereira’s assistant.  Upson then became supervisor of the now defunct United Football League.  Upson has been on both ends of the spectrum of being hired as an NFL official and calling the new hires in his capacity as an officiating executive.

Former NFL official and officiating supervisor Larry Upson knows what it is like to be a rookie NFL official and what it is like to prepare a rookie official for the pros.

“Outside of the birth of my children, getting the call that I was hired by the NFL was one of the most exciting and euphoric moments of my life,” Upson says.  He adds that the moment of euphoria then gives away to feelings of anxiety and doubt as the new hire usually wonders if they can make it at the next level.  

As a supervisor, Upson says the most fun part of his job was to make the phone call welcoming the new official into the league.  ”I looked forward to making the phone call and making someone’s day and making someone’s dream come true,” Upson comments.  The officials’ orientation process starts immediately.  Upson explains that just as soon as he hung up the phone with the rookie official, he mailed a packet to the new hire.  The packet included information about uniforms, rules, rule changes, rule exams, points of emphasis, and physical exam requirements.  Upson also adds that officiating finalists who didn’t get hired would still be considered as finalists if another officiating position opened up.  The NFL would tell an official if they are no longer being considered for an officiating position.

Officiating is a tight fraternity, and word spreads quickly among the current NFL officials’ roster about the new hires.  The current officials reach out to the new hires to welcome the new officials into the league and offer to help the transition from college to the pros.  ”When I was hired into the NFL, one of the first people to call me was Red Cashion.  That’s humbling,” Upson says.  He adds that the current NFL officials immediately offer their services to the new hires – offering to help the rookies with rules study, NFL officiating philosophy, and other procedures.

Many NFL officials are known by their uniform number.  I asked Upson if the the new officials have any input into the number they will wear.  “They don’t,” says Upson.  He adds, “Veteran officials can request a number change for a special reason.  Tony Veteri, Jr., wanted to wear his dad’s number 36.  Jerome Boger admired Johnny Grier and wanted to wear number 23.”  The two veteran officials changed from numbers 52 and 109 respectively, and took their requested numbers when they had the chance.  “Rookies have no option,” Upson comments.

Once the NFL starts to get the new hire up to speed, the league decides what crew would be best for the rookie official.  Upson says the league tries to put the rookie near some experienced veterans who do a good job tutoring and mentoring their fellow officials.  “We strive for balance.  For a rookie line judge, we’d pair him on the sideline with a veteran field judge, and put him across the line from a veteran head linesman.  Or, we’d pair a rookie umpire with a veteran referee,” Upson says.  He adds that it is important that the referee is a good teacher so he can help a rookie official. 

For veteran officials, preseason games are a chance to knock the rust off in a more laid-back atmosphere.  But for rookies, Upson says the preseason games are a vital learning tool. He adds, “This is the time to make mistakes.  This is the time to learn the speed of the game, and learn what the NFL wants called and what should not be called.”

Now that we are in the month of May, the NFL is ratcheting up communications with all officials and are preparing the rookie officials for their new career in the pros. 

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2013 rule changes will challenge officials

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Mark Schultz

The NFL has announced the 2013 rule changes.  In most years, the rule changes are easy for the officials to adapt to and does not give extra headaches to the men in stripes.  All but one of the 2013 rule changes seem fairly benign.  Officiating-wise, I would say two rule changes are welcome, but one rule change will significantly impact the way the game is played and officiated.

First of all, I would assert that the officials are happy that the tuck rule is gone and are glad that that the competition committee changed the “red flag rule” .  The tuck rule was never popular (outside of New England!) and it was a difficult call to make.  The red flag rule change corrected an unintended consequence.  The coach will still pay a penalty for not knowing the rules, but unlike last year, the play will be reviewed.  Officials always want to get the call right and the 2013 change will allow a proper instant replay review.

The real challenge for the officials in the coming season will be to accurately call the crown of the helmet rule.  Starting this season, a  runner in the open field cannot  lower his head and initiate contact with a defender with the crown (top) of his helmet.  This rule applies to all ball carriers – not just running backs.  This will alter the way players play the game and a play that officials have ruled legal for their entire careers is now a penalty. 

NFL vice president for officiating, Dean Blandino, says he does not expect the new rule to be more difficult to enforce than any of the other player safety rules (video).  “The way we are going to teach it is that we are looking for the player that squares up the opponent, lowers the head, the delivers the blow with the very top crown of the helmet,” Blandino adds. 

Senior director of officiating, Alberto Riveron, explains how he wants the officials to make the call,

One of the things we will look at when we have a play like that is that we will have three sets of eyes looking at it.  We will have three different angles: one from the front, one from the rear and, hopefully, at least one from the side.  We are going to encourage our officials when this foul is thrown on the field to have a conference and make sure we have seen what we actually saw.  We are going to encourage our officials to slow down when they have this kind of play and…make sure they have the components of the foul: squaring up, head down, and contact with the crown of the helmet.

NFL coaches spoke against this rule before the owners voted to pass it.  The media and many fans are skeptical of this rule.  Some say that Walter Payton’s highlight reel runs would be flagged under this new rule (video).  I think there will be some short-term growing pains as officials learn the new rule and apply it on the field.  If the teams and fans are patient, by the middle of the season the players and officials will most likely be on the same page.  I am glad that Blandino and Riveron plan on educating the officials on this new rule and will encourage the officials to conference together before reporting the foul to the referee.

It will be very interesting to see these new rules applied starting with the Hall of Fame game in a little over four months.

 

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Owners consider 2013 rule changes

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Ben Austro

rulebookNFL owners at their annual league meeting are now reviewing new rules proposals from the Competition Committee. An announcement is expected Tuesday or Wednesday on the results.

A two-thirds vote (or 22 team owners) is required to pass each individual rule change.

You can download a copy of the Competition Committee proposals for the specific wording of the rule changes.

Wed • 2:43 pm EDT • Mark Schultz

NFL modifies the “red flag rule.”  If a coach throws a challenge flag on a play that is already subject to review, the coach will still be penalized, but the play will still be reviewed. 

Wed • 2:39 pm EDT • Mark Schultz

Here’s a news story about the rule changes.

Wed • 2:37 pm EDT • Mark Schultz

In a surprise move, owners vote 31-1 to outlaw the ball carrier from lowering his helmet to meet a defender.  This is surprising since the coaches spoke out strongly against this proposal earlier in the week.  This rule applies to all ball carriers who are outside the tackle box.

Wed • 2:36 pm EDT • Mark Schultz

Tuck rule, RIP.  The owners vote overwhelmingly to eliminate the infamous tuck rule.

Tue • 2:55 pm EDT • Ben Austro

Judy Battista of the New York Times is reporting two proposals have passed.

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Competition Committee aims at Tuck Rule, 3 player-safety initiatives

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Ben Austro

The NFL Competition Committee, chaired by Falcons general manager
Rich McKay, announced their proposed rule changes for 2013. All
proposals require a two-thirds vote of the ownership at next week’s
annual meeting.

1a. For instant replay, the red-flag challenge rule would be
removed. Any coach who throws a red flag would be assessed a timeout,
and would only get the timeout back if a challenge is successful. By
challenging when a coach is not permitted to do so would forfeit the
timeout, but the play could still be reviewed by the replay official.
A team that is out of timeouts is assessed a 15-yard penalty.

1b. Incomplete passes can be overturned to a fumble with a
defensive recovery. Previously, this was considered two separate acts
and not allowable for review. The new rule proposal matches the ruling
if the quarterback botches a pass and is ruled incomplete, but
overturned to fumble and recovery.

2. Field goal and extra-point formations would be no more than six
defensive players lined up on either side of the snapper. The snapper
is also considered to be in a defenseless posture.

3. Proposed removal of the Tuck Rule. The act of tucking ends the
initiation of a pass.

4. Tight ends and H-backs would be allowed to wear numbers 40-49,
alleviating the crunch for numbers in the 80s.

5. The “peel-back” block exceptions for players inside the tackle
box would be removed.

6. A runner who leads with the crown of the helmet when outside the
tackle box would be subject to a 15-yard penalty. This could be
offsetting fouls if the defense also leads with the crown.

More on these proposals with the exact rewording of the rules will
be posted later tonight.

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Don Carlsen retires from the NFL

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Mark Schultz

The veteran side judge reflects on his 24-year career

Don Carlsen woke up one day this past October and made one of the toughest calls of his career.  He decided to retire from the NFL after a 24-year career as line judge and side judge.  Carlsen’s last on-field assignment was the Pro Bowl in January.  Carlsen wore uniform number 39 for his entire career.  “I just woke up one morning in mid-October and decided it was time to move on and give someone else the same opportunity Art McNally  gave me 24 years ago.  Physically, I feel great, so fortunately that had nothing to do with my decision,” Carlsen says.

Carlsen started working as an official in 1972, officiating the local Pop Warner league in Chico, Cal.  He then moved on to high school football and then worked for seven seasons in the Big Sky Conference and six seasons in the Pac-10 (now Pac-12) Conference.  He worked as a line judge in those conferences.  When he officiated small college ball he worked mostly as a referee.  When he entered the NFL in 1989 he started out as a line judge, but for 1990 he was on the move.  Carlsen explains, “Going into the 1990 season, my second, they needed side judges due to staff changes and asked me if I’d work the position.  Of course, I said, ‘yes.’ “  Carlsen was a side judge for the rest of his career. 

Don Carlsen makes a new friend before taking the field. Carlsen retired at the end of this past season after a 24-year career in the NFL.

Carlsen worked 19 playoff games in his career, including the classic NFC Championship Game in January 2012 between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers.

In 24 years, Carlsen worked with many outstanding referees, including Jerry Markbreit, Pat Haggerty, Dick Hantak, Bernie Kukar, Ron Blum, Tony Corrente, Bill Leavy, Ed Hochuli, Mike Carey, and Pete Morelli.  He says each referee had a different management style and personality.  “I enjoyed working with all of them,” Carlsen comments.  He hoped to put on the white hat at the NFL level, but that never came to fruition.  “I let that be known about my fifth season, but I was never asked to work the position.”  Carlsen doesn’t harbor any ill-will adding, “I simply enjoyed where I was!”

Carlsen says mastering the rules is one of the biggest challenges facing a new NFL official, and the learning process never stops.  Carlsen explains,

Without a doubt, the biggest thing a new NFL official has to learn, and continue to work on throughout his career, is the NFL philosophy of what is and is not a foul.  Things you saw and reacted to in college ball or earlier in your officiating career may not be enough to react to on Sunday.  One of my greatest enjoyments was working on the rules.  They are complicated and intense and require constant work.  Each summer for about 10 years I had a study session at my mountain cabin and had about eight or nine guys in attendance.  We worked through all the details of our annual 200 question test over a long weekend and it always made for great discussions and eventual questions for New York.  And the social aspect just added to the enjoyment of the weekend.

Carlsen has plenty of memories after a 24-year career in the NFL, but he says one game stands out.  Carlsen adds,

After 480 games worked, this is a difficult question to answer, but my most enjoyable game was a divisional playoff game after my second season between the then-Oilers and Broncos in Mile High Stadium.  It was dubbed “Drive 2″ by the media after Elway drove his team 98 yards in the final two minutes of the game, with no timeouts and a 10-second runoff thrown in to put them in position for a game winning field goal.  This last December, I spoke to John at a game about that playoff game and he got the biggest smile on his face.  I also talked that month to a defensive back who was playing for the Oilers in that game.

Carlsen remembers one big call saying,  “It was a wild card playoff game in Green Bay versus the Falcons in the mid-’90s and I awarded a touchdown to Green Bay late in the game on a force-out catch made by Dorsey Levens just inside the goal-line pylon.  That was fun!”

Like recent retirees Tom Barnes and Ron Phares, Carlsen agrees that the pro game has changed quite a bit over the past several years.  He says instant replay and several changes to the rules definitely changed the way he called the game, plus he says the players got bigger and faster which added to the challenges he faced as a side judge.

While he has no regrets in deciding to retire, Carlsen does say that there are many things he’ll miss about being an official.  “The biggest thing I will miss will be the ‘roar of the crowd’ on a Sunday afternoon.  Now instead of ‘kicking it off’, I’ll be ‘teeing it up!’  And as you might have guessed, I will miss the rules study and being around so many great officials, from which many lasting friendships have developed.”

As a major part of his life comes to an end, Carlsen has many warm feelings and happy memories to take with him.  He says,

Probably one of the greatest things I am most proud of is my 19 post-season assignments.  Those thoughts will remain on the front burner for a long time.  And I want to say a heartfelt thanks to Art McNally for giving me the opportunity to be a NFL official and making a ‘dream come true.’  If you don’t feel blessed and honored for that opportunity, then you are taking something for granted.

Congratulations to Don Carlsen on an outstanding NFL officiating career and best wishes in your retirement!

Photo: San Francisco 49ers

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