View image | gettyimages.com The individual and collective psyche of NFL officials may be shaken after several rough games in the 2015 season. There are a few techniques that officials can use to help break out of real or perceived slump. One of the best techniques is getting back to the basics. The basics. Basic…
Officials try to prepare for everything Former baseball umpire Jim Evans used to run an umpire’s school. One of his biggest lessons to his students was “an umpire’s biggest enemy is surprise.” That mantra can be adopted for all officials in all sports. As tongues were wagging at the end of the Seattle-Detroit game on…
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Officials, especially the line judge and head linesman, always work to get the forward progress spot. In order to do so, they are taught to trail the play by a few yards and then square up once the ball is dead. But, when a big progress spot is important, the NFL prefers officials to get…
Believe it or not, there is a science to making, throwing penalty flags Last week, back judge Todd Prukop became a mini-celebrity by throwing his penalty flag a whopping 31-yards, impressing announcers and social media all across the country (video). Besides having a great arm, how can officials make their penalty flags fly such a…
Packers say officials told them to not snap ball before winding the clock (video) The Steelers-Packers Week 16 game had its fill of controversial plays, but the last play didn’t seem controversial — until today. To set things up, the Packers were knocking on the door of a tying touchdown when the officials called a Packers’ lineman for…
How NFL officials stay out of the way to preserve life and limb We’ve all seen it. For the fans it is a funny sight but for anyone who has been knocked down by a football player always cringes when a football official gets knocked down. The officials do not wear any padding and when…
Officials double check with each other on tight and routine calls NFL officials each have a specific area and specific player or players to watch during each play. But do you know that officials also watch each other during a play? The glance may be a few hundredths of a second, but that glance helps…
Since the umpire is in the backfield, I wondered if the umpire is now permitted make calls that historically fall within the referee’s purview.
Week 1: Packers at 49ers There were many controversies between the Packers and 49ers, but one of the more minor disagreements in the game could have erupted into a major fracas partly due to a lack of observation and game sense from the back judge, Peter Shafer, number 94. With 4:47 remaining in the second…