This week’s officiating video for the media from officiating vice president Dean Blandino covers what appears to be this season’s most difficult calls (video download). As we broke down on Sunday, the fourth-quarter punt return by the Lions was negated by a replay of a Cardinals possession at the goal line. Blandino emphasized the two…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.