They may be good calls, questionable calls, or controversial calls. There are unusual rules interpretations or circumstances. There are moments where officials were tested, where judgements had to be made, where the fortune of an entire season hangs in the balance. We are more than halfway to number 1. Here is Part 4.
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…
McAulay crew handles first dud Super Bowl in 10 years Well, this year’s Super Bowl will not go down as a classic in terms of excitement, but the Seahawks’ defensive performance will be talked about for a long time. Peyton Manning’s future and legacy (rightly or wrongly) will be hot topics for the next few…
Football Zebras Roundtable We had a few calls this week that were borderline judgement calls. How close were they? Former NFL officiating supervisors Jim Daopoulos and Larry Upson helped us unpack three controversial calls from Week 5. Both Larry and Jim did extensive game video while working in the league office. Their analysis determined the…
Dean Blandino, the NFL vice president of officiating, has the breakdown of a few calls in his “Official Review” segment on NFL Network: The Seahawks recovery of a blocked punt on the end line, ruled a safety and not a touchdown. The rule on blocked kicks that allowed the Chargers to get a first down…
Image: Dallas Cowboys photo First, our quick calls [Football Zebras] The pink penalty flags did cause some confusion with the players’ pink towels, all symbolic for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. However, a clock operator briefly stopped the clock because one of the pink towels looked like a penalty flag. I wouldn’t be surprised if this…
Football is one of the most team-oriented games in the world. It is a joy to watch a team function on the field as a well-oiled machine as they work to win the game. The seven-person third team on the field must also function as a well-oiled machine to give the teams, fans and…
Did you see a call in the kickoff weekend that needs our attention? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @footballzebras. We have the week 1 assignments and the crew lists available for your review.
Week 13: 49ers at Rams On a pass from his end zone, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw an incomplete pass toward the line of scrimmage, but out of bounds. Referee Carl Cheffers, after consulting with head linesman Kent Payne, ruled it intentional grounding. Since the foul occurred in the end zone, it was a safety,…
Some of the big calls from Week 7 were unusual ones. We break them down in our weekly column at the National Football Post. This week’s topics include disconcerting acts and the ending to the Saints-Buccaneers game. Also, we took a look at the fate-sealing play in the Seahawks-49ers game where a safety was called…
