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
Tag: forward progress
When officials’ jobs are on the (goal) line
Media tape: 10-sec runoffs, holding by hair, no touchback on ‘force-out’
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
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
Week 9 “Official Review”: Follow the bouncing ball, spiking out of bounds
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
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 Redskins–Panthers game. Basically, the Panthers, while
How is forward progress not stopped when player lands 3 yards back?
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