forward progress

Look for quicker whistles this season

by Mark Schultz - September 9, 2018September 9, 2018 0

In trying to keep ball carriers from being blown up this year, the NFL has directed officials to blow an early whistle to help prevent injuries. The NFL wants officials to sound the whistle and shut down a play when the runner or quarterback is wrapped up. Usually the officials wait

When officials’ jobs are on the (goal) line

Mechanics

by Mark Schultz - October 2, 2015October 13, 2020 4

Officials, especially the line judge and head linesman, always work to get the forward progress spot. In order to do so, they are taught to trail the play by a few yards and then square up once the ball is dead. But, when a big progress spot is important, the

Media tape: 10-sec runoffs, holding by hair, no touchback on ‘force-out’

News

by Ben Austro - October 25, 2013September 12, 2016 0

Dean Blandino, vice president of officiating at the NFL, has released his weekly tape for the media on rules clarifications (140 MB download). Here are the items under discussion: During the final minute of the second quarter of the Seahawks-Cardinals game, the discussion of a 10-second runoff came up twice. The

Safety calls, roughness on QB: Roundtable reviews Week 5 calls

by Ben Austro - October 10, 2013March 1, 2014 3

Football Zebras Roundtable We had a few calls this week that were borderline judgement calls. How close were they? Former NFL officiating supervisors Jim Daopoulos and Larry Upson helped us unpack three controversial calls from Week 5. Both Larry and Jim did extensive game video while working in the league office.

Green crew should’ve shut down ugly play

by Ben Austro - November 29, 2012December 2, 2012 0

Saints at Falcons (video) This was a downright sloppy play by Scott Green's crew on Thursday night no matter how you look at it, even though the final ruling on the play was correct. Falcons running back Michael Turner seemed to be stopped and then lost the ball. (This part is correct,

Week 9 “Official Review”: Follow the bouncing ball, spiking out of bounds

Calls
Week 9

by Ben Austro - November 11, 2009November 11, 2009 1

The "Official Review" segment returns for week 9 action, with the league's vice-president of officiating, Mike Pereira, disecting some of the more complicated calls. This week, there were certainly some complex calls (video: part 1 and part 2), which we will leave the most complex one for last: In question was

Week 5 “Official Review”: Fair-catch interference, fumbled fumbles, ‘fishy’ call

by Ben Austro - October 16, 2009October 18, 2009 0

This week's "Official Review" by league vice-president of officiating, Mike Pereira, featured several interesting plays from Week 5, leading to a lot of discussion here (video, Part 1 and Part 2): As pointed out in our comments, there was a bizarre fair-catch play in the Redskinsâ€“Panthers game. Basically, the Panthers, while

How is forward progress not stopped when player lands 3 yards back?

by Ben Austro - October 5, 2009October 26, 2009 1

Week 4: Chargers at Steelers In the Sunday Night Football game, the Chargers special teams player Jacob Hester is credited with a heads-up, 41-yard fumble-return touchdown. However, it is confusing how the Steelers punt returner Steve Logan was driven back three yards in control of the ball without being ruled down