Today, the Super Bowl coin toss is a media frenzy. While not as much of a crush since covid-19, the coin toss is a highly-scripted affair with celebrity visitors to toss the coin. The referee practices the coin toss the day before the big game! This celebri-toss started over 40 years
Tag: 49ers
20 years ago, referee Ron Winter and his crew tried to keep the lid on the wildest wild card game
Officiating in the rain is mind over matter
The Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers played in wet, sloppy conditions at Soldier Field during Week One. While it was fun to play in (especially for the winning Bears), the officials had to push it out of their minds. Water, water everywhere https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1570417595869794306 Officials can power through drizzle or mist, but when
5 officiating observations from Wild Card weekend
Six wild card games in three days, including a triple header one day! Whew! Six crews, 42 on field officials, and lots of calls. Here are a few thoughts about the weekend. 1. Mistakes happen no matter the experience The Raiders-Bengals game featured an erroneous whistle (formerly called an inadvertent whistle). While
A 4th & goal ruled short is the Call of the Week
Throwback to the 1986 playoffs: John Madden likes officials who sweat
4 officiating observations from Conference Championship Weekend
The crowds were excited and loud, but it was a pretty quiet weekend on the officiating front for Conference Championship weekend, thankfully. But there are always things to observe and learn from the officials. Here are a few things I saw. Even though the game is decided, it isn't over John Hussey's crew
Too many ejections in Week 1
The NFL officials had to issue too many ejections in Week 1. Of the three, two were for unsportsmanlike conduct and one was due to a flagrant helmet foul. One of the first games of the day features a disqualification The yellow laundry starting flying early in Jacksonville. Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack
Officials not afraid to use ejection in Week 9
NFL officials ejected five players in Week 9 for fighting. It should have been six. And the one who avoided the ejection ended up suspended. Ejection after several warnings It all started in the Bengals-Jaguars game. A.J. Green (pictured with umpire Fred Bryan above) and Jalen Ramsey had been going at it all
Rule change plugs the hole to drain the clock
At the 2017 NFL owners meeting this past spring, owners voted to approve a rule change proposed by the Competition Committee that disallows teams to intentionally commit multiple fouls during the same down designed to manipulate the clock. Officially, the new rule (12-3-3) reads: A team may not commit multiple fouls