Rookie officials get their trial by fire at some point of their first season. Rookie back judge Dale Shaw faced his trial in a frigid Week 14 in Baltimore between the Ravens and Vikings. In a game where the lead and momentum switched back and forth several times in the fourth quarter, the outcome finally…
Tag Archive for Vikings
Calls, Roundtable, Week 14
Roundtable: ‘Communication breakdown’ drives Colts insane on Bengals drive to ruin
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Snowy conditions make one grade inconclusive Football Zebras Roundtable As the snow blew through four games this weekend, there were a flurry of close, questionable, and controversial calls. To help us understand the Week 14 calls, former officiating supervisors Larry Upson and Jim Daopoulos took a look at a few plays. It does not look…
News
Don’t fix inadvertent whistle by pretending it never happened
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Week 7: Vikings at Giants (video) The Arkansas Association of High School Officials gets it. The NFL does not. If you are an official at any level, may I suggest you print this tweet, cut it out, and laminate it: 1. Clock status 2. Downs 3. Penalty enforcement 4. Whistle control 5. Counting players. All…
Calls, Week 3
Pereira: Officials botch two penalty enforcements in Week 3
by Mark Schultz •
Last year it was a rash of inadvertent whistles. This year the officials are having trouble enforcing penalties. Former NFL vice president for officiating and current Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira says the officials missed two penalty enforcements in two different games on Sunday. Pereira broke down the play in Minneapolis where Bill Leavy’s crew…
Calls, Week 3
Rule rewrite on coach’s challenge misapplied
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Week 3: Browns at Vikings (video) Update: Bill Leavy interview with pool reporter is below, video link from Deadspin is above. Bill Leavy’s crew is now two down on very costly, very visible downgrades. In both cases, it wasn’t judgment calls that proved to be wrong, but it was a misapplication of the rules. The…
After Further Review, News, Week 2
After Further Review: Bolts halt 2 games
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Referee John Parry awaits with an NFL official in the CenturyLink Field tunnel during a lightning delay in the first quarter of the 49ers-Seahawks game. Here are some of the items making news this week: Quick calls from Week 2 [Football Zebras] Parry really had no rule to evoke for a fan’s whistle causing the…
Calls, Grades, News, Week 1
Pereira: No recourse if helmet speaker fails
by Mark Schultz •
Fox Sports rules analyst on what went right, wrong in Week 1 Fox Sports made an inspired move when they hired former NFL vice president for officiating Mike Pereira. For four years, Pereira has explained difficult rulings and calls to the media. Pereira was full of knowledge and expertise this past weekend. Pereira was…
Calls, Week 1
Differences between Cruz, Megatron catches not blurred lines in rulebook
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The process of the catch seems to be one of those Week 1 staples, as we reported in Week 1 of 2009 and 2010. And this week, we have Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, just like in 2010, involved in a process call for a touchdown. Then, a different catch in the Sunday night game added…
Calls, Week 1
Quick calls: Week 1
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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.
News
Kickoff 2013: The officials by the numbers
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Click the image to enlarge. It is time to kick off the new football season! Here are some numbers for all of the zebra watchers out there. Enjoy! Designed and researched by Ben Austro. Sources: NFL Record and Fact Book (2013, 2008, 2000); Pro-Football-Reference.com (Coleman, Freeman, McKinnely); Football Zebras, “Officiating crews for the 2013 season“;…