Football Zebras

NFL100: A century of determining who gets the ball first

by Mark Schultz - November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 2

It is a simple procedure. The game can’t begin without it. Before any football game starts the referee has to decide who gets the ball first. That question has been decided by the coin toss for the past 100 years. The coin toss determines who gets the first choice of

50 Super Bowl calls, Part 3: XXX to XXI

50 Super Bowl calls

by Football Zebras staff - February 3, 2016March 15, 2019 0

The Football Zebras staff -- with the assistance of our affiliated forum, Behind the Football Stripes -- has examined the Super Bowls of years past for the work of the officials who, in a given year, achieve the honor of the best of the best. While every team competes for

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50 Super Bowl calls, Part 1: L to XLI

50 Super Bowl calls

by Football Zebras staff - February 1, 2016February 19, 2016 1

The Football Zebras staff -- with the assistance of our affiliated forum, Behind the Football Stripes -- has examined the Super Bowls of years past for the work of the officials who, in a given year, attain the honor of the best of the best. While every team competes for

Pages: 1 2

The coin toss: What could go wrong?

by Mark Schultz - January 21, 2016January 22, 2016 3

It is a simple procedure. The game can't begin without it. Before any football game starts the referee has to decide who gets the ball first. For generations, that question has been decided by the coin toss. The procedure is the same from pee-wee games to the NFL.First of all,

6 observations from Super Bowl XLVIII

News

by Mark Schultz - February 3, 2014February 16, 2014 8

McAulay crew handles first dud Super Bowl in 10 years Well, this year's Super Bowl will not go down as a classic in terms of excitement, but the Seahawks' defensive performance will be talked about for a long time. Peyton Manning's future and legacy (rightly or wrongly) will be hot topics

After Further Review: Safety is number 1 priority

by Ben Austro - November 4, 2013November 4, 2013 6

Some of the officiating news items from Sunday: A couple of puzzling replay reviews: Mike Carey allowed a catch to stand, despite clear evidence the pass was incomplete, according to our Roundtable experts [Ben Austro, Football Zebras]. Bill Vinovich ruled a player touched a loose ball with his foot while out

Microphone is ref’s friend for no-sense rules

by Ben Austro - November 25, 2012November 25, 2012 1

It elicits snickers from football fans when it happens, and it sometimes trends on Twitter. Referee Ed Hochuli turns on his microphone to explain a ruling, and some fans joke that it is NFL open mic night. An example from 2009: We reviewed whether the ball was fumbled down near the

Phil Luckett was right

by Mark Schultz - November 21, 2012November 24, 2021 0

Officiating boss said, 'What Phil did is correct' In the last 14 years, former NFL referee Phil Luckett was been mocked at best for the coin toss controversy on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. In the 1998 Thanksgiving Day game, the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers ended regulation in a tie, and

It’s a big game, but referees remember “it’s just 60 minutes of NFL football”

Profiles

by Ben Austro - February 5, 2012August 2, 2012 0

Michael Pointer of The Indianapolis Star talked to former referees Gerry Austin, Jerry Markbriet, and Bill Carollo about their Super Bowl experiences. Collectively, they represent nine of the Super Bowls, including seven which they were crew chief. Markbriet has the record with four assignments as the head referee. In Pointer's article,