Blandino: ‘nothing really new, we’ll strive for consistency’

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Ben Austro
Carl Johnson

Carl Johnson will return to the wings as a line judge for the 2013 season (image from NFL promotional video)

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network interviewed Dean Blandino, the new vice-president of officiating, on his plans for his first season in charge of the officiating department (video). Blandino is in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine, which includes activities for the NFL Officiating Academy.

He emphasized the importance that his entire officiating staff strives for consistency.

Blandino confirmed that his predecessor, Carl Johnson, will be a line judge as a full-time official. The plan is to add six other full-time officials, one for each of the positions.

Blandino also discussed the new college-official mentoring program for potential NFL recruits and promised increased transparency as one of his initiatives for the upcoming season. But otherwise, Blandino did not see any major changes in officiating this year.

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NFL finalizes new procedures as it ‘pads’ the rulebook

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Ben Austro

One rule change for 2013 has already been approved: owners voted last year to make knee and thigh pads mandatory equipment for all players. The Competition Committee recommendation had the new rule take effect in 2013 to prepare for the change.

Merton Hanks, vice president of football operations, met in Indianapolis, where the league is holding its annual Scouting Combine, to discuss the implementation of the new rule. League uniform inspectors, who are normally assigned to games to patrol players’ equipment before and during games, will briefed on procedures regarding the mandatory equipment to ensure compliance.

“We are going to treat this issue much like a player playing without his helmet,” Hanks said.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network covered the meeting with league officials (video).

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Riveron promoted to senior director of officiating

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Ben Austro

The first hire under the leadership of the new vice president of officiating, Dean Blandino, has brought Alberto Riveron into the league office as senior director of officiating. Adam Schefter reported the hire Tuesday morning.

Alberto Riveron will become the NFL’s Senior Director of Officiating.

Riveron was in New York City in January to, presumably, interview for the vice-president position, when Carl Johnson announced that he was stepping down after the Super Bowl. The job eventually went to Blandino, who previously served as one of the directors of officiating and served as the head of replay operations.

Riveron’s last game was the wild card playoff between the Bengals and the Texans at the end of his ninth NFL season and fifth at the referee position. Riveron, born in Havana, Cuba, became the first Hispanic referee in the league when he was promoted from side judge by then-vice president Mike Pereira in 2008. Before the NFL, Riveron officiated in Conference USA and the Big East.

It is most likely that Bill Vinovich will be assigned to his own crew for the 2013 season. Vinovich returned to the NFL this past season after missing five years due to health problems. He was a “swing” official this past year, meaning he worked as a referee on different crews each week. Carl Johnson will return to the field as the NFL’s first full-time official; Johnson was previously a line judge, but no decision on Johnson’s field position has been announced.  (Update: Blandino confirmed Johnson will be a line judge for 2013.)

The senior director of officiating is not a position that existed before, according to the NFL Record and Fact Book. This might be due to the union’s insistence that officials are only graded by people who have on-field NFL experience. Because Blandino has only worked in the replay operation, and has never officiated on the field, he could not make decisions on grading without a change to common practices. With this promotion, the league could place Riveron in charge of grading — a process which came under scrutiny this season.

Riveron will report to Blandino who reports to the executive vice president of football operations, Ray Anderson.

Mark Schultz contributed to this report.

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Is a wider field coming to NFL stadiums?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Mark Schultz

The NFL’s Competition Committee last year briefly considered widening the field of play and some people think the NFL should consider the proposal again.

If the NFL ever decides to widen the playing field, several NFL stadiums, like Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, would have to undergo big changes.

According to Dan Pompei of the National Football Post, the NFL briefly considered widening the field similar to the dimensions of the Canadian Football League.  The CFL field is 35-feet wider and proponents of the change say it will make the game safer.  Former NFL executive Bill Polian, who worked with teams in the CFL before becoming an executive in the NFL, says the wider field might cut the amount of violent collisions that cause head injuries.  Some feel that NFL players have “outgrown” the field they currently play on, leading to violent collisions and head injuries.  The idea is that the wider field will spread out the players,  reduce the big hits in the middle of the field, and may encourage faster, more athletic players who can cover a larger field.

Opponents of the idea say that the wider field would actually allow defenders to “get a full head of steam” and deliver harder impacts on ball carriers.  Polian counters, “We know the most ferocious hits come from guys who are 10-yards apart and they lay each other out.  You have fewer higher power collisions in the Canadian League than here.”  Everyone in the National Football Post article conceded that the change would favor the offense and scoring would go up.

This proposal has many hurdles to clear, and possibly the biggest hurdle being the NFL stadiums.  Many of the modern NFL arenas are built specifically for football.  If the rules call for a wider field, franchises would have to retrofit the field into their current stadium possibly impacting sight lines or seating capacity. 

How would the change impact officiating?  The wing officials would have a longer way to look across the line of scrimmage in order to determine proper formations, and the wider field would make it harder for the officials to decide forward progress up the middle.  It would be especially difficult for the wings in goal-line situations.  If the field is widened, I would expect the NFL to place the umpire back in his traditional place behind the defensive line.  And, I would predict that the NFL would add an eighth official to cover the defensive secondary.

So, how close is the NFL to widening the field?  I think this proposal is a long way from becoming a reality.  First of all, the proposal would radically change the NFL game.  It would be harder for the defense to chase down the offense and possibly lead to scores resembling an Arena Football League game.  Secondly, NFL owners would have to retrofit their stadiums which would cost a lot of money.  And finally, some fear the wider field could increase the speed of the game and cause even more violent collisions. 

The Competition Committee meets in a few weeks to discuss rule changes.  There are many other pressing matters for the committee to talk about and I doubt widening the field will get much consideration this year.  But, with the growing number of people worried about the long-term viability of the game due to head injuries, the committee may be forced to seriously consider a wide field in the future.

Photo:  Turner Construction Company

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NFL announces Blandino new VP of refs

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Ben Austro
johnson_blandino

Outgoing vice president of officiating Carl Johnson (left) and his successor, Dean Blandino, conduct an “Official Review” segment on NFL Network (source:NFL.com)

Dean Blandino, the director of officiating in charge of instant replay, is succeeding Carl Johnson as NFL vice president of officiating, as announced by NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello. We reported the inevitable appointment on Sunday through an officiating source and a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Blandino has no on-field officiating experience in the NFL, but has worked in the officiating department for 15 years; his experience is anchored in the replay review system. He was part of the implementation of the current generation of replay in 1999. In 2007, he founded Under the Hood, a company that develops replay-officiating solutions for various sports.

He worked as a co-replay official for several playoff games and was a game supervisor during the NFL’s labor lockout with the union officials. During the 2012 season, Blandino shared duties with Johnson on “Official Review,” a segment airing on several network programs to discuss the officials’ calls. Blandino and Johnson both appeared in the segment this season, either individually or together, which returned after it was originally shelved in 2010.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Blandino graduated from Hofstra University.

Former NFL supervisor Larry Upson told us the job is not just a figurehead position. He said, “the primary prerequisites that an individual has to possess in this position are the ability to interact with the media, coaches and NFL management.  He or she must possess excellent rules knowledge and have very good people skills.  The position demands a lot of your time and is very stressful.”

“Dean Blandino would make a good replacement for Carl,” said Upson.

One current official told us, “Dean has grown up in officiating. He has earned the respect of most of the officials. He is a fair guy, and I am optimistic he will do a great job in the position.”

Carl Johnson will return to the field as the league’s first full-time official. The duties of Johnson’s new position have not been finalized. Blandino’s role as vice president would likely have to be evaluated with the union. Under a prior collective bargaining agreement, grading of officials could not be done by a person who does not have NFL officiating experience. In case of a disputed call, the current system has the vice president making the final determination. We are unsure if the current collective bargaining agreement contains that clause.

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