Tag: brad allen

Tre Brown, Bruce Irvin questioning officials after Lions get screwed again

The NFL has no tradition they hold more sacred than screwing over the Detroit Lions.

The NFL has no tradition they hold more sacred than screwing over the Detroit Lions with poor officiating. The Seattle Seahawks benefitted from it earlier this season in their Week 2 win over Detroit, which was marred by horrific officiating from start to finish – much of it going against the Lions. Last night Detroit got the shaft yet again, this time from Brad Allen’s crew.

In case you missed it, it looked like the Lions had pulled off an upset over the Dallas Cowboys, becoming the first visiting team to win in Dallas this year. However, Taylor Decker’s touchdown was wiped out after officials claimed that Decker did not report as an eligible receiver.

The Lions got two more tries at their two-point conversion but couldn’t close the deal. We have since learned that Decker most definitely did report – but it appears that Allen simply ignored him and walked away while Decker was trying to inform him.

Even worse, Lions head coach Dan Campbell says he explained the entire play to officials before the game even started.

It’s an awful way for the Lions to lose such a critical game for playoff positioning. A lot of players are voicing their displeasure with the officiating, including current and former Seahawks. Here’s cornerback Tre Brown calling for refs to have to give press conferences after games.

And here’s Bruce Irvin (currently with the Lions) taking note of Detroit’s 0-6 record and lopsided penalty yardage in games that Brad Allen calls.

Unfortunately this is just the latest footnote in a long, sad history of Detroit suffering a disproportionate amount from NFL officials failing to do their jobs well.

If it’s not going to be the Seahawks, there’s no other team we’d rather see hoisting the Lombardi than the Lions.

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Referee Brad Allen’s crew blew two more crucial calls late in Lions-Cowboys game

Referee Brad Allen didn’t just blow the Lions’ two-point conversion — he got two more calls wrong late in the game. Why is Allen still in the NFL?

NFL Referee Brad Allen had already been at the center of more controversy this season than any NFL referee should want. Then, there was the illegal touch pass called on the Detroit Lions with 27 seconds left in Saturday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. The two-point conversion that wasn’t likely came about because Allen and his crew got the offensive tackle reporting eligible wrong between Taylor Decker and Dan Skipper. Had Decker’s catch been legal as it should have been, the Lions would have had a 21-20 lead instead of a 20-19 deficit.

But we’ve already gone full Zapruder on that one.

Referee Brad Allen may have cost the Detroit Lions a win against the Dallas Cowboys

Now, let’s get into two more crucial calls Allen’s crew blew late in the game.

With 2:05 left in the game, Cowboys running back Tony Pollard hit a seven-yard gain on first-and-10 from the Detroit 29-yard line. This was the play after Jared Goff’s interception to safety Donovan Wilson, and at this point, the Cowboys could run the clock down and seal a victory up 17-13.

But Allen called tight end Peyton Hendershot for tripping, which negated the run and put the ball 15 yards back at the Detroit 44-yard line. Mike McCarthy’s three-play passing sequence, which took just 11 seconds off the clock, followed, and that was its own disaster. But let’s focus on the tripping call.

Here’s the All-22.

Hendershot was facing Lions edge-rusher Aidan Hutchinson on the play, and there was an attempt at tripping. But the overhead and end zone angles show that it was Hutchinson who made the attempt. On the overhead view, you can dee down judge Sarah Thomas throw the flag from the lower sideline. How Allen managed to extrapolate tripping on Hendershot is a mystery. Could Hendershot been busted for a hold? Maybe… but had this been called correctly, the worst that would have happened for the Cowboys was offsetting penalties and replaying the down. Not a 15-yard deficit that changed the complexion of the Cowboys’ drive.

Then, with 48 seconds left in the game, the Lions had second-and-10 at the Dallas 26-yard line. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown ran a seam route from the left slot, and he was clearly impeded by cornerback Jourdan Lewis — that’s a nice way of saying that Lewis was all over St. Brown before the ball got there. There was no call for pass interference. The Lions converted on the next play with a Goff pass to tight end Sam LaPorta which took the ball to the Dallas 11-yard line, but this was about as obvious a pass interference as you’ll ever see.

Now, go back to Allen’s performance in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-19 Week 13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Allen’s crew clearly missed an obvious pass interference on Green Bay cornerback Carrington Valentine with 19 seconds left in the game, so we’ve seen these late-game issues before.

Referee Brad Allen embarrassed the NFL on Sunday night, and nothing will be done about it

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported in early December, Allen’s crew was already under scrutiny for a no-call the week before.

With 4:07 remaining in the second quarter, on second-and-9 at the Falcons’ 23-yard line, Saints quarterbackĀ Derek CarrĀ threw a pass to running backĀ Alvin Kamara, who was being defended by linebackerĀ Kaden Elliss. The pass fell incomplete on a play in which Elliss never turned around to defend the ball, but Allen’s crew did not call pass interference.

The Superdome and the Saints organization were furious at the lack of a pass interference call on the play, which prompted the Saints to kick a field goal and trim their deficit to 14-9 with 3:54 remaining in the first half. The Saints (5-7) ultimatelyĀ lost the game 24-15Ā and trail the first-place Falcons (6-6) in the NFC South.

Here’s that play, where you can see that Elliss was face-guarding Kamara and did not have his head turned to the ball. At the end of the overhead film, you can also see that this happened about five yards away from one of Allen’s officials.

Whatever this “increased scrutiny” was supposed to be, it certainly hasn’t helped matters.

So, we’re left with the larger discussion here. It’s time to focus out from which team Brad Allen may or may not have screwed in the Cowboys-Lions game. It’s time to ask whether Brad Allen is competent to officiate NFL games.

And the answer, clearly, is no.

Look: Referee Brad Allen’s explanation of his controversial 2-pt. conversion call

Look: Referee Brad Allen’s explanation of his controversial 2-pt. conversion call in Dallas after the Lions loss to the Cowboys

The Detroit Lions fell to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-19, in a game that ended with a major controversy over an officiating call by referee Brad Allen. The official called an ineligible touching foul on Lions tackle Taylor Decker despite Decker quite clearly reporting as an eligible receiver before the play.

After every game, the referee is obligated to have a short question-and-answer session with a member of the media.

Here is the full postgame interview session between the designated pool reporter and Allen. Calvin Watkins is the pool reporter, which always comes from the home team and it’s only ever one reporter allowed access to the referee after the game.

That’s his story and Allen is sticking to it.

Referee Brad Allen may have cost the Detroit Lions a win against the Dallas Cowboys

Brad Allen may have been the NFL’s worst referee this season, and right now, it looks as if he cost the Lions a win against the Cowboys

We at Touchdown Wire have had issues with referee Brad Allen before, and with good reason. And now, it’s entirely possible that Allen and his crew cost the Detroit Lions a win they should have had.

Here was the situation. The Lions went right down the field against the Dallas Cowboys down 20-19 starting with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter. The Lions had that much time because Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called three straight passes before a field goal that put Dallas up 20-13. Dallas then gave quarterback Jared Goff all the soft coverage he could ever dream of having, which allowed Goff to drive his team downfield and hit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for an 11-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left.

Then, head coach Dan Campbell called for a two-point conversion, as is his wont, and it looked for all the world that Goff hit offensive tackle Taylor Decker in the end zone for the successful try that would have given the Lions a 21-20 lead. But Allen called an illegal touch pass on the play, saying that Decker didn’t report as an eligible receiver.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the game,”70 [tackle Dan Skipper] reported, 68 [Decker] didn’t. That was the explanation.”

Well, here’s the problem with that. ESPN, who had the game, had clear video evidence of Goff telling Decker to report as eligible. And there is clear video evidence of Decker going over to do just that.

Longtime NFL offensive tackle and football analyst Mitchell Schwartz had an excellent blow-by-blow breakdown of what happened…. and what should have happened.

As Schwartz said, this would have been a legal formation had the eligibility not been in question. A nd you can see Allen running away from the tackles as they’re clearly trying to report as eligible.

“I’m guessing that Brad Allen, based on his mannerisms, and his eyes… where his hat is looking, he never recognized [Decker],” ESPN rules analyst and former NFL referee John Parry told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt after the fact. “It’s not reviewable. What you need to do in that situation when the game is on the line… remember that the clock is stopped. You just had six points. So now, we’re going to go for two, so there’s no rush here, Take your time. Make sure you know who’s participating. They’re going for two. Slow everything down, make sure you have it correct. Make sure the defense knows who is eligible, and who is not. I think in this case, when you watch Brad, and his movements, and him focusing on No. 70 [Skipper], I don’t think that 68 [Decker] and Brad Allen ever connected.”

You could argue that it’s Decker’s responsibility to get Allen’s attention, but as Allen was running over to Dallas’ defense to let them know who was eligible. Decker thought Allen heard him.

Or… it could be even worse.

If that’s the case, Allen got the reporting lineman wrong.

Here’s the pool report, in which Allen appears to have gotten confused because Skipper had reported eligible to him earlier in the game.

And we now have a situation where one official is lying, or several members if the Detroit Lions are lying. That’s what Allen set up.

Allen probably isn’t lying — he’s going on his own incorrect interpretation of the situation and the rule. But given every other grievous error he’s made this season, Brad Allen should never be allowed to have this position in the NFL ever again.

It’s as simple as that.

Referee Brad Allen embarrassed the NFL on Sunday night, and nothing will be done about it

Referee Brad Allen embarrassed the NFL on Sunday night’s Packers-Chiefs game, but what will be done about it? And how would we know?

Two things can be true.

The Green Bay Packers deserved to beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.

Referee Brad Allen and his crew made such a mess of things in that game, we’ll never know who really won.

The call (or no-call) everyone’s talking about in the Packers’ 27-19 win was the missed obvious pass interference call on Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine with 50 seconds left in the game, and it was BAD. Valentine so obviously impeded receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s ability to play the ball, there was no other call to make.

It absolutely should have been pass interference, the Chiefs should have had the ball inside the Green Bay 10-yard line, and from there? You never know what will happen.

And we will never know what would have happened. We also have the two-hand shove given to Travis Kelce by Packers safety Jonathan Owens on this Hail Mary pass at the end of the game. Yes, officials let a lot of contact go on those types of throws, but this was, again, obvious.

Not that the Chiefs were the only team hosed near the end of the game. It’s hard to top the unnecessary roughness penalty given to Owens on this hit of Patrick Mahomes with 1:05 left in the game. This really started the rodeo.

There was also Allen not letting the clock run when Valdes-Scantling was pushed out of bounds with 24 seconds left in the game. Because Valdes-Scantling was pushed backward, and his forward progress had stopped, the game clock should have kept running. But it didn’t.

After the game, Allen “explained” himself in a pool report.

The “covering officials” should be fined and suspended for missing such an obvious call (set of calls, really), but as far as we know, that will not happen. The NFL does not make discipline of officials public, nor does it make the reviews of officials public. If an official is downgraded for a game like this, we don’t know about it, and if a downgraded official somehow gets a postseason assignment, we don’t know that, either. Which really isn’t a good look for the NFL.

There is no one way to fix an officiating problem that has become the league’s top story without question this season, but some level of transparency would help. If the media wants to speak to an official after a game, that official should be made available, and the interview should be made available to the public. NFL senior V.P. of officiating Walt Anderson should have a weekly press conference — also made available to the public — in which he can explain any calls or no-calls media may have questions about.

And in the case of this particular debacle, the “covering officials” should not be able to slink away anonymously. They should also be made available to answer questions. That level of accountability might bring a fraction of change to a profession that is clearly in need of quite a bit more than that.

But, that will not happen. Certainly not before the Competition Committee meets at the league meetings next March. Until then, there will be more bad officiating, more games altered in ways they shouldn’t be, and more fan frustration because the fans are asked to lap the product up without question.

That’s hardly the American way, at least in theory, but it is certainly the NFL way.

Referee Brad Allen assigned to Saints-Falcons matchup in Week 12

Referee Brad Allen has been assigned to Week 12’s Saints-Falcons game. His crew averages the second-fewest penalty flags per game in 2023:

Here’s your Week 12 referee assignment: veteran referee Brad Allen and his crew will officiate the New Orleans Saints’ upcoming road game with the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The Saints are 5-3 in games with Allen at referee, while the Falcons are 5-6, dating back to his debut in 2014.

Allen’s crew is known for letting the teams play; they’re averaging the second-fewest penalty flags per game this season (10.6), with an emphasis on offensive holding fouls (16 in 9 games) and false start infractions (15), as well as defensive pass interference (9). But on the whole they’ve stayed off of cameras and let the two teams play ball.

And that’s good news for the Saints, who are averaging the fourth-most penalty yards per game (59.2) this season. The Falcons are averaging 49.3 penalty yards each week, which is close to the league average. The New Orleans defense is yielding more yards by penalty (33) than any other defense around the league, so they’ll need to watch their hands and play a clean game on Sunday.

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The NFL’s Worst of the Week: Bad officiating, Deshaun Watson’s issues, Derek Carr’s loud misses

More bad officiating! The Saints, Raiders, and Commanders are disasters! What happened to Detroit’s defense? It’s time for the NFL’s Worst of the Week.

Football is a wonderful, thrilling, inspiring game that can lift us to new heights in our lives.

But football is also a weird, inexplicable, at times downright stupid game that may force you to perform Keith Moon-level furniture destruction in your own living room.

So, as much as we at Touchdown Wire endeavor to write about what makes the game great, there are also times when itā€™s important to point out the dumb plays, boneheaded decisions, and officiating errors that make football all too human.

Folks, itā€™s time for the Worst of the Week for Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season.

Referee Brad Allen’s crew assigned to work Chiefs-Bills game

The #Chiefs pulled referee Brad Allen and his crew for Week 6’s game against the #Bills.

Ninth-year NFL referee Brad Allen and his crew are set to officiate the Kansas City Chiefsā€™ Week 6 game against the Buffalo Bills according to Football Zebras.

If you’re hoping for the officiating to be better after the clown show that was Carl Cheffers and his crew in Week 5, you’re likely going to be disappointed.Ā Allen and his crew officiated the Week 7 game against the Tennesse Titans and the Week 14 game against the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021. Those games ranked third (9 penalties) and fourth (8 penalties) respectively in terms of the Chiefs’ most penalized games of the 2021 NFL season.

So far this season, Allen’s crew has called a total of 52 penalties, good for the fifth-most in the NFL through five games. If there is one saving grace it’s that the home team has come out on top with 22 penalties compared to 30 called on the away teams.

False start penalties have far-and-away been those called most frequently called by this crew. They’ve called 17 false start penalties with the next closest in frequency being offensive holding, with six flags on the year. That’s something to consider if Von Miller starts getting after Orlando Brown Jr. because he has been known to get going a bit early against some of these speed rushers.

It’s probably a good week for this team to be coming off of Chris Jones’ controversial roughing penalty. Allen and his crew have called four of those penalties this season, but three of them have come against the home team compared to just one against the away team.

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6 things to know about Week 5’s Saints vs. Seahawks game

6 things to know about Week 5’s Saints vs. Seahawks game: Game broadcast information, referee assignment, opposing QB and players to watch

We’re on to Week 5 and a high-stakes home game at the Caesars Superdome between the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, and the Saints really can’t afford to drop their fourth loss in a row. That’s concerning against a red-hot Seahawks team that just scored more points in one game (48) than they had in three previous matchups put together (47). Here’s everything you need to know about the game, including broadcast information, referee assignment, opposing QB and players to watch:

Referee Brad Allen’s crew assigned to officiate Saints-Bills game

Referee Brad Allen’s crew assigned to officiate Thanksgiving Saints-Bills game:

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Eighth-year referee Brad Allen and his crew will work Thursday night’s game between the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills, NFL officiating announced Monday. The Saints are 4-2 in games Allen has officiated, most recently beating the Atlanta Falcons 24-9 in Week 11 last season. Buffalo is 4-4 in games he was worked.

Allen’s crew has averaged the third-fewest penalty flags per game this season (11.56) and the fifth-fewest penalty yards (102.67), with more penalties going against the visiting team (6.67) than the home team (4.89) on average each week. Most of their attention has focused on the offensive line, with 19 holding fouls and 16 false starts flagged this season. The Bills have drawn 75 fouls for 661 penalty yards in 10 games this season while the Saints have been flagged 61 times for 510 yards through 10 games.

It’s been a popular narrative that these trends will quickly reverse given the Saints’ ugly history with officiating, but the Bills have been so much sloppier this year that it could make a difference. New Orleans collected three flags for 25 penalty yards in last week’s game after drawing 19 fouls through the two previous weeks, so maybe they’ve turned a corner.

Whatever the case, at the end of the day they’ll have to be on top of their game against a good opponent. The Saints can’t afford more miscues, dropped passes, or botched blocking assignments. Sean Payton has to prove he can keep his offense competitive despite the injuries they’ve racked up.

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