Carl Cheffers heads Hall of Fame game crew

View image | gettyimages.com The fiftieth season of the Super Bowl era and the ninety-sixth in league history begins Sunday from the place where the seed was first planted -- Canton, Ohio. Culminating the enshrinement festivities of the 2015 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday will be the

5 observations from Wild Card weekend

After wild card weekend, it always strikes me -- only seven more meaningful football games this year.  In an attempt not to get too maudlin, here are five things that stuck out to me in regard to the officiating this past Wild Card weekend. Jeff Triplette's crew called an awesome game Triplette,

Wild Card quick calls: Chargers at Bengals

AFC Wild Card PlayoffFollow us here for rolling coverage of the calls and rules interpretations of the Chargers-Bengals Wild Card Playoff game from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. (If you see continue reading below, click it to see the entire feed.)If you have any questions or comments, use the comments

Referee assignments for Wild Card games: Anderson, Vinovich, Triplette, Hochuli

Football Zebras has confirmed the officiating crews for the Wild Card weekend. Officials are listed with their uniform number, years experience (including this season), the crew each official worked with in the regular season (by the referee’s name), college, and outside occupation. All times are Eastern. Three alternates are assigned to each

The eyes have it

Officials double check with each other on tight and routine calls NFL officials each have a specific area and specific player or players to watch during each play.  But do you know that officials also watch each other during a play?  The glance may be a few hundredths of a second,

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

Officials for Hall of Fame Game

The officials (and their uniform numbers) for the Hall of Fame Game between the Bengals and the Cowboys: R Ron Winter (14) U Butch Hannah (40) HL John McGrath (5) LJ Darryll Lewis (130) SJ Steve Zimmer (33) BJ Rick Patterson (15) FJ Perry Paganelli (46) In the replay booth are the replay assistant Ken Baker and video