Football Zebras

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

Outside the Stripes

by Mark Schultz - September 6, 2021September 6, 2021 0

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

New Year’s Eve throwback: Future NFL officials working college bowl games

by Mark Schultz - December 31, 2020December 31, 2020 0

Our bowl season is rationed this year due to covid-19, instead of the usual glut. But, over the years, we have found footage of future NFL officials working college bowl games, prior to working in the pros. To gear you up for a great college and pro football holiday weekend, here are

Raiders and Chargers know all about the special fumble rule

by Mark Schultz - December 18, 2020December 18, 2020 0

Somewhere in the chill of a north surburban Chicago night, retired NFL referee Jerry Markbreit had to be smiling - or wincing - in the frantic moments of the Raiders-Chargers Week 15 Thursday Night Football game. Referee John Hussey had to apply a rule that Markbreit wishes would have been on

Throwback to the finest officiating sequence I’ve ever seen

History

by Mark Schultz - June 30, 2020 2

I remember several post-season classic games and the officiating that goes with such games. It is hard after a year or two for me to remember a classic regular-season game where the officiating actually enhanced the quality of the contest. But, there is one regular-season game that I remember almost 26-years

Throwback to 1986 – Jerry Markbreit’s only NFL ejection

History

by Mark Schultz - April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 0

While many television networks are continuing to re-air feature games with memorable performances, Football Zebras is going behind the stripes to highlight some throwback moments from NFL officials. Let's go back to November of 1986. Jerry Markbreit's crew was assigned a Bears-Packers game at Soldier Field in Chicago. The season before, the

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

NFL100: In 1979, the NFL renumbered its officials. After 3 years, they scrapped the failed plan

by Mark Schultz - June 20, 2019September 11, 2019 2

Forty years ago this fall, NFL officials had a radical new appearance. In 1979 the NFL put the referee in a different color cap, a new uniform design, and changed the way it issued officials' shirt numbers. But, by the end of the 1981 season, that numbering system was gone. What

NFL takes a hit after four referee retirements

by Mark Schultz - July 13, 2018July 28, 2018 2

Embed from Getty Images Every generation of NFL officiating gives way to the next. This past offseason, we saw, very quickly and dramatically, one generation give way to the next. Referees Ed Hochuli, Gene Steratore, Terry McAulay and Jeff Triplette represent 88-years of experience at the referee position. That is 88-years

NCAA referee with the announcement of the year

by Mark Schultz - September 9, 2017September 10, 2017 0

Big 10 referee and Officiating Development Program official Don Willard made a mistake Saturday. He faced the wrong way when announcing a foul. It can happen. It has happened to the best, many times. But, the way he handled himself with a live microphone places him into nomination for referee announcement of

Should NFL officials be allowed to make commercials?

Commentary

by Mark Schultz - July 21, 2017July 20, 2017 5

Commentary by Mark Schultz This past season, line judge Sarah Thomas, the first permanent female official in the NFL, was a spokesperson for Activia yogurt. The commercials told the inspiring story of her journey to the NFL and how she broke the glass ceiling for women to officiate in the pros. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLcrFzI0vlw Thomas