The New Orleans Saints will see referee Alan Eck for a third time on Sunday when they kick off their 2024 regular season with the Carolina Panthers; Football Zebras reports that the second-year referee and his crew have been assigned to Week 1’s game at the Caesars Superdome. Eck entered the league’s ranks as a side judge in 2016 before working as an umpire from 2017 to 2022. He was promoted to referee in 2023.
Eck refereed two games for the Saints last season: a road loss to the Houston Texans and a home win over the Carolina Panthers. The black and gold were fouled seven times for 83 yards in that first matchup (with two other fouls called and declined) but drew just three penalties for 30 yards in the follow-up. And the Panthers, this week’s opponent, were fouled four times for a loss of 27 yards in last year’s game at the Caesars Superdome.
The Saints’ costliest errors both came in the Texans game, with Paulson Adebo drawing a 29-yard pass interference foul on third down and Max Garcia getting flagged for a false start on fourth down. Garcia wasn’t re-signed this offseason, and it’s worth noting Adebo had just two more DPI penalties after that one last season.
How did Eck’s crew stack up around the league? They finished with the fourth-fewest total penalties per game (10.4), ranking seventh in average penalty yards per game (87.7). If you include dismissed fouls they had the fewest total flags thrown all year (179 in 15 games). They emphasized false starts (26 for 128 yards) and offensive holding fouls (24 for 227 yards), as well as unnecessary roughness (14 for 194 yards). For the most part they let guys get away with a lot of contact in coverage, with just a dozen DPI fouls, third-fewest. Hopefully Eck and his crew call another clean game on Sunday.
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