Football Zebras

Throwback to the finest officiating sequence I’ve ever seen

History

by Mark Schultz - June 30, 2020 2

I remember several post-season classic games and the officiating that goes with such games. It is hard after a year or two for me to remember a classic regular-season game where the officiating actually enhanced the quality of the contest. But, there is one regular-season game that I remember almost 26-years

Throwback to one of the most annoying rules to officiate: the crowd noise rule

History

by Mark Schultz - June 17, 2020June 17, 2020 0

No doubt about it. A noisy home crowd gives the home team an amazing advantage. Crowd noise is celebrated in Seattle, and many other NFL stadia. I'm sure there's many an official who has had to take a headache powder after a three-hour roar has left them with ringing ears. Loud

Throwback to 2007 – Warren Sapp melts down and is ejected by Jerome Boger’s crew

History

by Mark Schultz - May 27, 2020May 27, 2020 0

On December 23, 2007, Jerome Boger's crew allowed Warren Sapp to beat the traffic to the mall and get his Christmas shopping done early. In a bizarre sequence of events, Sapp totally lost his composure, the Oakland Raiders were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct four times, with three of the fouls assigned

Throwback to 1986 – Pat Haggerty oversees a preseason brawl

History

by Mark Schultz - May 18, 2020 0

Preseason games are a time to knock the rust off, work on the upcoming season's offensive and defensive schemes, and evaluate potential new talent. For the officials, it is a time to work on new mechanics, new rule interpretations, and get ready for the regular season. Most of these preseason games

Throwback to officials and coaches mic’d up

History

by Mark Schultz - April 30, 2020 3

Some of the most popular NFL Films videos are when coaches, players or officials are mic'd up for game action. Dan Volsky from YouTube put together a great clip. How many NFL officials can you name? Tell us the names in the comments below! https://streamable.com/0oald

Throwback to 1986 – Jerry Markbreit’s only NFL ejection

History

by Mark Schultz - April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 0

While many television networks are continuing to re-air feature games with memorable performances, Football Zebras is going behind the stripes to highlight some throwback moments from NFL officials. Let's go back to November of 1986. Jerry Markbreit's crew was assigned a Bears-Packers game at Soldier Field in Chicago. The season before, the

This year, the NFL will have the first majority minority officiating crew in Super Bowl history

by Cameron Filipe - January 20, 2020February 16, 2020 8

Embed from Getty Images Last week, Football Zebras broke the news of the seven men selected to officiate Super Bowl LIV to conclude the centennial season of the NFL. This crew will be making history on Feb. 2 in Miami, as the Super Bowl crew will be the first majority African-American

Officiating moments of the 2010s, part 3

by Ben Austro - December 31, 2019January 2, 2020 4

From the highlights to the lowlights, the past decade has been full of news, advancements, and controversies in the world of NFL officiating. We live in a very different world we lived in just ten years ago. Without further ado, from the game-changing calls to the broken glass-ceilings, and from

Officiating moments of the 2010s, part 2

by Mark Schultz - December 31, 2019January 1, 2020 0

Embed from Getty Images From the highlights to the lowlights, the past decade has been full of news, advancements, and controversies in the world of NFL officiating. We live in a very different world we lived in just ten years ago. Without further ado, from the game-changing calls to the broken

Officiating moments of the 2010s, part 1

by Cameron Filipe - December 31, 2019January 1, 2020 0