2012

Referee assignments, preseason week 2

by Football Zebras staff - August 13, 2014August 14, 2014 4

Carl Cheffers leads his crew in a Thursday night ESPN game. Three officials will audition for a potential future promotion to the referee position. (Originally, we had this listed for last week, but we are receiving further information that it will occur this week.) All times Eastern. Live games on

3 officials audition for referee position

by Mark Schultz and Ben Austro - August 7, 2014August 13, 2014 1

Football Zebras exclusive Updated Aug. 13, 2014 The NFL will audition three officials at the referee position this week in the second preseason week.Â Three current NFL officials will don the white hat for at least one preseason game where the NFL will scout them as potential future referees.Â Last year, the

Images of Super Bowl XLVII

XLVII

by Ben Austro - February 6, 2013February 5, 2013 1

Here is a photo gallery from Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. All photos are courtesy of the teams' and league's photographers. Click on any image to enlarge and view the slideshow.

To flag or not to flag? Pereira and Daopoulos try to answer the question

by Mark Schultz - February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 3

Pereira and Daopoulos break down Super Bowl XLVII Did the Baltimore Ravens Jimmy Smith hold the San Francisco 49ers Michael Crabtree on that last gasp fourth and goal?Â Did Crabtree push-off of Smith?Â Were the officials correct in not throwing a flag on either player?Â Two former NFL officials and officiating

Super Bowl live blog: Ravens vs. 49ers

Calls
XLVII

by Ben Austro - February 3, 2013November 30, 2016 21

Super Bowl XLVII We will be live blogging the calls and rules interpretations from Super Bowl XLVII. (If you see continue reading below, click it to see the entire feed.) If you have any questions or comments, use the comments section of this post, or tweet us @footballzebras. Todayâ€™s crew is headed by

It never was about black or white, but whether stripes were earned fairly

by Ben Austro - February 1, 2013September 20, 2013 5

Controversy not about Jerome Boger, but about broken system Special report: Super Bowl XLVII assignment controversy The NFL is defending its referee assignment system that many of its referees find is broken. "Jerome Boger was the number one rated official in 2012, and is here because he deserves to be here and for

Playoff assignment criteria a moving target

by Ben Austro - January 28, 2013January 29, 2013 1

So what, exactly, is the criteria for an official to qualify for the Super Bowl? The NFL asserts, "that criteria has not changed since at least 2007," but based on our prior reporting and confirmation with two officials, the criteria is now a moving target. We have always known the Super

Rule modifications for Pro Bowl

by Ben Austro - January 27, 2013January 27, 2013 1

AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, Sunday 7 p.m. (ET), NBC Ed Hochuli is the referee today for the annual all-star game from Honolulu. Packers coach Mike McCarthy (NFC) and Broncos coach John Fox (AFC) will be on the sidelines. The NFC will call the coin toss as the designated visiting team. In order to

Images of the Conference Championships

by Ben Austro - January 23, 2013June 22, 2013 2

Pictures of the officials from the Conference Championship games as captured by team photographers. Click on any photo for an larger version and the slide show.

Pereira: Officials ‘nailed’ NFC championship

by Mark Schultz - January 23, 2013January 23, 2013 2

Former officiating boss says officials got two critical calls correct Former NFL vice president for officiating and current Fox Sports officiating consultant Mike Pereira says Terry McAulay's crew called a superb game on Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons to advance to Super Bowl XLVII.Â Pereira broke down