New book shows officiating is ‘A Tough Job Made Harder’

Review by Mark Schultz If you've followed Football Zebras for any length of time, you know that we break down football officiating and (hopefully) show you how difficult calling a football game is. Between interpreting complicated rules, avoiding getting run over by people twice their size, tuning out 50,000 people chanting

Riveron explains Bears’ TD overturn, predecessors skeptical

NFL vice president for officiating, Alberto Riveron, explained why he overturned Zach Miller's touchdown catch on replay, but that explanation did not convince former officiating boss Mike Pereira. Riveron explained (see Week 8 video) that as Miller's first leg landed (the one horribly injured), the ball was moving. "Now we know

NFL creates new officiating post: VP of replay and administration

In an active offseason with the NFL voting to centralize replay and senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino resigning to take a TV job, there is a new layer added. The NFL has announced that it is hiring a brand new position: vice president for instant replay and administration.  The

VP of officiating: who WANTS this job?!

Embed from Getty Images   Former vice president of officiating, Mike Pereira (pictured above), knew every Monday during the football season would be busy. In his book, After Further Review, Pereira wrote that he could predict what coaches would be calling and what they wanted to talk about. He had to field calls,

Active offseason for NFL officiating

Embed from Getty Images   We hope you were able to survive the first weekend without football. While there won't be any games until August, there will be a lot of activity as Dean Blandino, senior vice president of officiating, prepares the zebras for 2017. The Dark Period The officials are now in the

NFL experimenting with ‘smart footballs’ in preseason

Embed from Getty Images The NFL has always sought to make nearly every play both competitive for the players and exciting for the fans. When it comes to the kicking game, extra point kicks have been moved back to reduce the accuracy percentage from the high 99s. Embracing new technology in

Blandino at officiating clinic: catch is the same rule, same outcome

https://twitter.com/benmurphytv/status/754045604603408384 As officials settled into their annual clinic in Dallas, senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino addressed the topic we're both sick of and engrossed with: the process of the catch. The goal for fans and officials alike remains simply clarification and education, not an adjustment of the rule itself."The biggest thing is we