Turnover margin: 10 NFL officials not returning in 2014

There will be at least 10 officials who will will not return to the field in 2014.  At the end of the season, five officials were confirmed to be retiring.  A few weeks later, Football Zebras was first to report that Ron Winter had retired. We now know that head linesman

6 NFL officiating things to watch for in 2013

Commentary by Mark Schultz Here are the things I am pondering as I "zebra watch" this year. 1.  Will some high-profile officials make a playoff comeback?  Gene Steratore, Ed Hochuli, John Parry, Tom Stabile,  John McGrath, Rob Vernatchi, and Walt Anderson missed out on an on-field playoff assignment in 2012.  Will they

All in the family: NFL referee style

Sunday night was Hochuli ×2 ('Gun and Pistol' night?) Earlier this week, NFL back judge Steve Freeman officiated a game with his son, Brad.  Also this week, Ed Hochuli got to officiate a preseason game with his son, Shawn.  Both Brad Freeman and Shawn Hochuli are part of the developmental program

Pereira, Daopoulos grade refs for Week 15

The officiating experts have several pass plays to break down In this pass-happy league it seems like there are always several pass plays that shine the light on the officiating.  Former NFL vice president for officiating and current Fox Sports officiating analyst Mike Pereira and former NFL supervisor and NBC Sports

NFL names Carl Johnson new VP of refs

The NFL, after a long search plagued with false starts, has named line judge Carl Johnson as vice president of officiating. He officiated on Don Carey's crew and will take over for the retiring Mike Pereira after the Super Bowl. Outside of his appointment to Super Bowl XLII (as part of

Replay turns incompletion into Jags TD

Week 4: Titans at Jaguars Yikes! The catch-into-the-ground calls took a week off last week, but we are looking at the fourth controversial review of a touchdown (or non-touchdown) catch in as many weeks. The current controversial call came in the Titans–Jaguars game. Nearing halftime, a pass to Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker

Catch and stretch stretches catch call

Week 2: Panthers at Falcons I was convinced that the allusions to the Raiders touchdown reversal in the Week 1 Monday Night Football game were over. The fine folks over at Pro Football Talk have pointed us to another instance of a catch that is a borderline call. This one is

Cards’ final play, again, evades replay review

Week 1: 49ers at Cardinals It seems the Arizona Cardinals cannot finish a game without a controversial call on the last play of the game. In the first outing following the controversial game-ending fumble in Super Bowl XLIII, the Cardinals found themselves, again, in a last-second desperation call. With eight seconds left