Tag: Clete Blakeman

Former NFL head coach says Saints got away with foul on game-winning FG block

Former NFL head coach Jay Gruden says the Saints got away with a foul on their game-winning field goal block. Check the tape for yourself:


There’s no love lost between Jay Gruden and the New York Giants — he coached against them with Washington from 2014 to 2019, going 4-7. The second-to-last game he coached was a 24-3 loss to Big Blue. But the former NFL head coach put the Giants’ close loss to the New Orleans Saints under a microscope when studying this week’s games, and he says the Saints may have gotten away with a penalty on their game-winning blocked field goal.

Gruden highlighted two Saints defensive linemen on the field goal try, Payton Turner and Nathan Shepherd, who pulled and pushed down the left guard and center, creating a gap for Bryan Bresee to leap through, arms extended for the block. That could count as a block in the back or defensive holding, but obviously no penalty was called this time.

“This referee is saying ‘Oh yeah that’s a flag, I got it,'” Gruden said, noticing the umpire’s hand dive into his pocket to grab a penalty marker. But the official decided to keep the flag where it was, and the play stood as a game-winner for New Orleans.

It’s not like referee Clete Blakeman and his crew hadn’t thrown many flags that day. They had fouled the Saints six times for a loss of 40 yards. But they did hit the Giants a dozen times for a staggering 112 penalty yards. They lived up to their reputation as one of the NFL’s most flag-happy officiating crews. So maybe the Saints did get away with one here. Either way, they got a win, and that’s what will be remembered.

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NFL’s flag-happiest referee assigned to Saints-Giants game

The New Orleans Saints and New York Giants are going to have to deal with the NFL’s flag-happiest referee in Sunday’s Week 14 matchup:

The New Orleans Saints and New York Giants might be seeing a lot of yellow on Sunday as their matchup got assigned the most flag-happy referee in the NFL.

Clete Blakeman was assigned the Week 14 matchup of Saints-Giants per Football Zebras. Blakeman’s crews lead the league in both penalties per game (15.3) and penalty yards per game (128.5).

Neither team will be excited to see him on the sidelines, but New York especially. In the games of theirs that they have played in with him as the referee, they are just 3-6. New Orleans doesn’t have a spectacular record, but at least it is a balanced 7-7.

Blakeman was the referee for the Saints’ 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this season. New Orleans was penalized seven times for 70 yards. The Buccaneers, however, were hit 12 times for 86 yards. At worst, he and his crew don’t seem to have a negative lean towards the Saints. Let’s hope for a clean game on Sunday.

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Titans’ Mike Brown ‘even Vikings players knew it was a bad call’

Tennessee Titans safety Mike Brown shares his thoughts on the penalty that could have changed the game.

The Tennessee Titans are recovering from their 23-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday while many fans across the league continue to figure out how Clete Blakeman’s officiating crew could be so bad.

Many on and off the field were upset with the egregious call, but for safety Mike Brown, it was business as usual and he moved to make an impact. After the game, Brown talked about the play. 

“I tried to make a play, but the referees thought different,” Brown said about the hit and the subsequent penalty. “No, I did hear any explanation. My teammates on the sideline said good play. They didn’t think it was a flag, but the referees think it’s a flag. Not much you can do once the referees do a flag.”

From the comments, the fact that Brown did not receive any explanation is troubling. Especially considering that Blakeman has doubled-down on the legitimacy of the call after the game. If it was truly unnecessary roughness or a players’ safety measure, why no explanation? 

“Some of the players from Minnesota that I know came up to me and thought it was a bad call,” Brown pointed out later in that media availability.

The fact that coaches, fans, and even opposing players in Nissan Stadium knew it was a bad call, and Blakeman could not own up to the mistake even after the game is a problem. Sure the league office will likely apologize later in the week, but real time accountability is needed and in this case would be justified. 

The Titans will take on the Houston Texans in Week 12 action and there is likely hope that Clete Blakeman and his crew are nowhere near the stadium. 

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NFL officials double down on incompetence after Titans game

Referee Clint Blakeman doubled-down on the penalty that sent shockwaves throughout Nissan Stadium and the Tennessee Titans’ fanbase.

The Tennessee Titans took on more than the Minnesota Vikings during Week 11, as they took on the officials as well. 

The Titans did not pay attention to detail and played a sloppy game overall, but some of the 13 penalties and 93 penalty yards were questionable at best. In fact, every Vikings touchdown drive was influenced mightily by the officials and their objectively incorrect calls. 

No call was more egregious than the fourth-down unnecessary roughness call on Mike Brown in the end zone. Not only did it allow the Vikings to get a new set of downs and eventually a touchdown, but it caused outrage throughout the fan base and again brought the officiating debacle into the spotlight, 

As the replay showed, Brown made a tremendous and legal play to separate the ball from Jordan Addison. He did not launch himself into the receiver. He made a clean defensive play. It is understandable that the officials approach the game with caution, but in a play of this magnitude, one has to ask if the officials have a complete understanding of the rules of the game. 

For head referee Clete Blakeman, who clearly does not understand the rule, here it is.

Article 9, Section b, Subsection 3 of the 2024 NFL Rulebook defines the term: “It is an illegal launch if a player (i) leaves one or both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent, and (ii) uses any part of his helmet to initiate forcible contact against any part of his opponent’s body.”

Brown did not launch himself at Addison or initiate contact with his helmet. It was a terrible call, and to make things worse for fans, Blakeman doubled down on his interpretation of the rule during a post-game press availability. 


The NFL is a multi-billion dollar entity and should have better officials across the league or a transparent grading system that holds officials accountable for making improper game-changing calls. Today, Titans fans are upset, but this is not just a Titans problem; it is a huge blunder for the league because these signs of incompetence occur every week. 

The Titans were sloppy and could have played better, but their fate was in the hands of an officiating crew that clearly needed extra training and a better understanding of the rulebook.

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Detroit Lions Podcast: Trade options, Titans recap, referee foibles and more

Detroit Lions Podcast: Breaking down trade options, Titans recap, referee foibles, Jamo’s latest saga and celebrating Dave Fipp

The latest episode of the Detroit Lions Podcast is now available to watch or stream. Recorded live on Wednesday night, this edition covers the first-place Lions as the team approaches the trade deadline in need of pass rushing help–but no help needed on special teams.

Going through the Lions oddly competitive (at least early) blowout win over Tennessee, it’s a testament to the coaching strength and cohesion fostered by GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp sometimes gets overlooked, but not this time! His units are doing fantastic and surged even higher in Week 8.

Jameson Williams is once again in the news for non-football reasons, and his latest saga has to be talked about. So too does Clete Blakeman being the referee for this Sunday’s NFC North showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

 

It’s also NFL trade deadline week. We discuss the latest rumors and concepts of trading–what is possible and what is pure fantasy. The show concludes by answering a simply complex question: can the Lions win in Green Bay?

As always, the audio-only version of the show is available from your favorite podcast provider.

Lions vs Packers draws controversial officiating crew for Week 9

The referee for the Lions vs. Packers in Week 9 is Clete Blakeman, who has an infamous history with this matchup

Let’s go back in time to a previous meeting between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers…

It was October 14th, 2019, as the Lions descended into the deep darkness of the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia era. At this time, there was still some light at the end of the tunnel. The Lions opened the season 2-1-1, but were coming off a very promising loss to the rising sun that was Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Green Bay was 4-1 and the class of the NFC North, but the Lions appeared poised to challenge them.

And then came the Monday night game in Green Bay, with Clete Blakeman as the referee. Blakeman’s crew called not one but two completely bogus illegal hands to the face calls in crunch time on Lions EDGE Trey Flowers, effectively giving away a very competitive game to the Packers. Green Bay won 23-22 with the gifted penalty augmentation.

Patricia’s Lions would win one more game that year. The early promise of the hopeful start trampled asunder by terrible officiating. Clete Blakeman’s crew was the freight train coming their way for all the world to see.

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So it comes as no surprise that Lions fans are aghast that Blakeman will call the critical Week 9 game in Green Bay on Sunday. While the official who threw the erroneous flags at Flowers is no longer on his crew, Blakeman’s spotty history of overruling calls from his crew at a rate astronomically above other referees doesn’t help the perception that he’s easily influenced by partiality.

Here’s hoping for a cleanly officiated game with no controversies. Insert cynically sarcastic remarks and eye-roll emojis here…

Referee Clete Blakeman assigned to Week 6 Saints-Bucs game

The New Orleans Saints will kick off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Clete Blakeman officiating. The Saints are 3-0 against the Bucs with him at referee:

The New Orleans Saints will play their next game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under referee Clete Blakeman. It’s the first time this season for both teams in the matchup that he’ll be the one officiating, though he’s worked as a head referee since 2010. The Buccaneers are 7-7 in games with Blakeman as the referee, while the Saints are 7-6. Ironically he’s officiated three past matchups between these two teams, and New Orleans is 3-0 in them.

So far this season, 51.4% of the penalties he has called have been on the home team, and that team has won just 25% of the time. Blakeman averages 18.5 penalties per game for 176 yards.

For comparison’s purpose, the league average is just over 13 penalties per game for roughly 107 yards.

The last time Tampa Bay played with him making the calls was on Jan. 7, 2024 when the Bucs won a low-scoring affair over the Carolina Panthers, 9-0. Three penalties were called on the Bucs for 15 yards, while three penalties were called on the Panthers for 20 yards.

The Saints saw Blakeman last much longer ago than the Bucs did, with him serving as a part of the officiating crew during the contest against the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 18, 2022. Six penalties were called on the Saints for 46 yards, while three flags were thrown on the Falcons for 30 yards. New Orleans won that close game, 21-18.

How things shake out this time under Blakeman will be interesting to see.

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Lions draw controversial referee for NFC Championship against the 49ers

Detroit Lions play against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, where they will have a ref who they bad history with in the past

The Detroit Lions secured a decisive victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, earning their ticket to the NFC Championship where they are set to face the perennial powerhouse San Francisco 49ers. As the stage is set for this crucial matchup, the referee assignments have been announced, and unfortunately for the Lions, they find themselves under the oversight of Clete Blakeman, a referee with a troubled history in Detroit.

Clete Blakeman has been entrusted with refereeing duties for the NFC Championship, prompting disappointment among Lions fans. The mere mention of Blakeman brings back memories of the 2019 debacle when the Lions appeared on the verge of defeating the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night, only to be thwarted by a series of controversial calls, resulting in a heartbreaking 23-22 loss and almost ensuring the NFC North title for the Packers.

While the Lions had Blakeman as a referee earlier in the season during their matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, there were no significant issues reported. However, an incident where he waved off a holding call from an umpire raised concerns about his attentiveness to his officiating responsibilities.

Despite Blakeman having one of the lowest totals for flags thrown (220), he has dismissed 45 of those calls, tying for the highest dismissal rate among officiating crews. Recent history includes the memorable flag-heavy game between the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys, where flags seemed to fly every 30 seconds, with many being picked up later.

In the playoffs, officiating crews vary from the regular season, introducing an element of unpredictability. However, convincing Lions fans to overlook Blakeman’s contentious history with the team may prove challenging. As the NFC Championship game approaches, all eyes will be on how officiating unfolds, with the shadow of past grievances lingering in the background.

Worst of the Week: Clete Blakeman, Jamal Adams, Ron Rivera, Broncos in the red zone

Jamal Adams, Ron Rivera, Broncos in the red zone, Joe Flacco’s last two plays, and more bad officiating! It’s 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 it’s important to point out the dumb plays, boneheaded decisions, and officiating errors that make football all too human.

Folks, it’s time for the Worst of the Week for Week 13 of the 2023 NFL season.

Twitter reacts to overzealous officiating in Seahawks-Cowboys game

Naturally, fans who were watching were extremely put off by all the flags.

The NFL had a real shot at their first entertaining Thursday Night Football game in history last night. The Seahawks and the Cowboys got into a thrilling shootout, with Geno Smith and Dak Prescott exchanging big plays from the first whistle to the last.

Unfortunately, referee Clete Blakeman and his crew were in rare form, throwing a total of 19 flags against both teams and totaling 257 yards in penalties. That ruined the flow of the game, which devolved into a totally defense-less affair. DBs on both sides got the worst of it, as they were not allowed to so much as touch an opposing receiver without getting called for pass interference.

Naturally, fans who were watching were extremely put off by all the flags. Here’s what they had to say about it on Twitter.