Brad Allen works his first-ever NFL game as a referee Referee Brad Allen (number 122) made history this past Sunday as he worked his first-ever game in the NFL at the referee position. His first game was at Soldier Field in Chicago, as the Bears hosted the Buffalo Bills. He’s jokingly referred to as the “double rookie” by…
Brad Allen is the first official in almost 50 years to be placed in the referee position in his first NFL season.
Vital proving grounds for white hat candidates no longer exist Commentary by Mark Schultz The NFL could be having a white hat problem in the next few years. Several referees have put in 20 or more years of service, meaning that their retirement window is starting to open. There are at least four referees now…
I enjoy historic aspects of NFL officiating and as we get ready to zebra watch in Super Bowl XLVIII here are some interesting nuggets regarding officiating in the Super Bowl. Field judge Scott Steenson sets the record for most years between return trips. Steenson worked Super Bowl XXXI, and makes his return 17 years later.…
49ers at Seahawks (video/audio) Early in the game, the Seahawks fell victim to a fan who blew a whistle in the crowd — their own home crowd. Some of the Seahawks linemen looked genuinely confused, as they believed it was an official’s whistle. The center snapped the ball anyway, and the Seahawks line, still in…
Ken Stabler deliberately (his own admission) fumbled the ball forward, and carnival-like antics by the Raiders propelled the ball towards a game-winning touchdown at the end of the game.
The next offseason, such an advance was made illegal. Now, a player who fumbles the ball inside of two minutes is the only member of his team allowed to advance the ball after recovering the fumble.
The venerable Jerry Markbreit was the referee.
Play begins at 1:57:30 if it does not cue automatically. [NBC Sports/NFL]
Bob Beeks 1927–2012 Bob Beeks died on December 26, 2012, as reported by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He died on his 85th birthday. According to his family, he suffered an apparent heart attack. Beeks was a NFL line judge from 1968 to 1989. He wore uniform number 59 for most of his career. When he…
This season has seen three inadvertent whistles (IW) being blown by the officials, with the latest being this past week in the game between the Raiders and Bengals. NFL officials, and officials at all levels, have various tricks of the trade to avoid an IW, with some of the most basic being how they carry…
In 1975 the NFL decided to put a wireless microphone on the referee, so the fans at the game and on TV could better understand what was going on down on the field. What started as an experiment with bare-bones penalty announcements has turned into a vital communication and education tool for the officials. The…
We are already at Week 7 of the NFL season and many teams now know if they are contenders or pretenders for the Super Bowl crown. The pressure is also on the officials to contend for a prestigious playoff assignment and a the honor of officiating Super Bowl XLVII. When the NFL officials took to…