Playoffs

Remainders from Super Bowl XLIX

by Ben Austro - 14

Here are some leftover items from Super Bowl XLIX that have been submitted in the comments and via Twitter. All said, referee Bill Vinovich and his crew called a solid game while an epic battle played out before them.Did Bulter trip Lockette?7:55 | 4th qtr. NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth

Bill Vinovich confirmed as referee for Super Bowl XLIX

by Ben Austro - 53

Football Zebras exclusive Bill Vinovich will be the referee heading the Super Bowl officiating staff on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz. Multiple sources have confirmed the Vinovich assignment and most of the crew that Football Zebras determined last week after reviewing qualification criteria and playoff assignment patterns. The assignments were officially

Playoff assignment is more than just making the grade

by Ben Austro - 7

The methodology of determining playoff assignments changed slightly when Dean Blandino was named vice president of officiating in 2013. It largely resembles the system previously in place. Rather than a straight 1-to-17 grade ranking, Blandino places the officials at each position into one of three tiers. Tier 1 is, for

Divisional assignments: Leavy, McAulay, Steratore, Vinovich

by Ben Austro - 64

Football Zebras has confirmed the officiating crews for the Wild Card weekend. Officials are listed with their uniform number, years experience (including this season), the crew each official worked with in the regular season (by the referee’s name), college, and outside occupation. As reported earlier, the Super Bowl officials are

Beyond “Bottlegate”: How ugly incident didn’t define McAulay

by David Root - 2

Terry McAulay will lead a crew of excellent and distinguished officials in this year’s Super Bowl.  This will be his third Super Bowl (XXXIX, XLIII), umpire Carl Paganelli's fourth (XXXIX, XLI, XLVI), and field judge Scott Steenson’s second (XXXI).  Even though it will be the first Super Bowl for the

Green heads Pro Bowl crew in his final game

by Ben Austro - 13

Scott Green will head the Pro Bowl crew from Hawaii on Sunday. As the sun sets on paradise, so will also end Green's 23-year NFL career. Side judge Larry Rose is retiring after the game, also. The Pro Bowl assignment goes to officials that did not have a postseason game,

Sometimes a safety is just a safety

by David Root - 1

AFC Divisional Playoff: Colts at Patriots When the snap sails over the punter’s head and out the back of the end zone, all of us have the same first reaction:  safety.  However this season we saw many instances of bizarre rulings, rare rule applications, and rule misapplications, so now more than

Referee assignments for Divisional round: Blakeman, Cheffers, McAulay, Morelli

by Ben Austro - 25

Updated Friday, Jan. 10 to include full crews Football Zebras has confirmed the officiating crews for the Divisional Playoffs. Officials are listed with their uniform number, years experience (including this season), the crew each official worked with in the regular season (by the referee's name), college, and outside occupation. All times are Eastern. Three