Tag: referee

NFL assigns one of the most penalty-happy referees to Saints vs. Browns

The NFL has assigned one of the most penalty-happy refereeing crews to officiate Sunday’s matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Cleveland Browns:

The NFL has assigned Alex Kemp and his crew to officiate for the upcoming matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Cleveland Browns.

Kemp is one of the most penalty-happy referees in the NFL, behind only Ron Torbert, Clete Blakeman and Adrian Hill. Over nine games so far this season, Kemp has thrown 162 total flags, 25 of which were dismissed. That’s an average of 15.22 penalty flags thrown per game, for an average of 126.89 yards.

Among those, 60 of them were on the home team, with 77 of those coming against the away team.

The last time the Browns played a game under Kemp and company was on Dec. 28, 2023, when Cleveland recorded a 30-27 victory over the visiting New York Jets. In that game, Kemp’s crew threw 12 flags on the Jets for 74 yards.

Four flags were thrown on the Browns for 26 yards.

The Saints last saw Kemp when they shut out the New England Patriots on the road with a 34-0 victory in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 8, 2023.

12 penalties were thrown on the Saints for 86 yards, with five penalties thrown on the Patriots for 30 yards.

Overall, the Saints have had decent success under Kemp with a 4-2 record when he is the referee. The Browns haven’t exactly been lucky or unlucky with a 2-2 record under Kemp in the same position.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out this time around with New Orleans and Cleveland set to kick off at Noon CT/1 p.m. ET on Sunday from the Caesars Superdome.

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Twitter can’t believe yet another missed call from Broncos-Chiefs game

The Chiefs got away with blatant penalties against the Broncos on Sunday. The NFL has to do something about the officiating.

The Kansas City Chiefs benefited from some questionable officiating in their 16-14 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

The most egregious case was a phantom illegal contact foul called against Broncos safety Brandon Jones in the second quarter. That penalty kept a Chiefs drive alive and was at least a four-point swing.

That certainly wasn’t the only questionable decision from the officiating crew.

NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger took to Twitter/X on Monday to show Kansas City’s offensive line getting away with an obvious hold.

“I don’t know, it’s getting like a little ridiculous right here,” Baldinger says as he shows Broncos defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers blatantly held by Chiefs offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor. “I’ll just leave the commentary to you. All right, they got the sack … but, I mean, I guess they’re just not gonna throw the flags.”

Fans, pundits and even former players have weighed in on the missed calls (and bad calls) from Sunday’s game.

Sayre Bedinger of Predominantly Orange summed it up well — it’s not that we believe there’s a grand conspiracy. Fans are simply tired of inconsistent officiating and Kansas City seemingly getting preferential treatment and the benefit of the doubt every week. It’s a recurring issue, and NFL fans are sick of it.

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What we know about NFL ref meeting with Taylor Swift before Broncos-Chiefs game

A referee “briefly met with Taylor Swift” before the Broncos-Chiefs game on Sunday, according to KSNT 27 Sports.

During the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, NFL aggregation accounts on Twitter/X started sharing a story that essentially said, “NFL referee Sarah Thomas met with Taylor Swift before the game and FaceTimed her family during the meeting.”

If true, that’s not a good look because Swift, of course, is dating Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, and Thomas was working the Broncos-Chiefs game on Sunday. The story might have been a bit exaggerated, though.

First, note that NFL officials are commonly all lumped into the “referee” category even though there’s technically only one “referee” on the crew, the lead official. Technically, Thomas is a “down judge,” but colloquially, fans dub them all referees.

Second, the accounts all linked back to KSNT 27 News. That’s a legitimate news station in Northeast Kansas, but they did not write a story on Swift’s exchange with Thomas. All the hoopla linked back to one tweet from Landon Reinhardt, who works for the station.

“Sarah Thomas, the down judge (ref) for today’s Chiefs/Broncos game, briefly met with Taylor Swift before the game,” Reinhardt tweeted on Sunday. “She was on FaceTime with family and I heard her say, ‘Did you get that screenshot?'”

While perhaps not the best look (especially when the Chiefs continue to get questionable calls), that exchange seems pretty innocent. It could have been as simple as Thomas being on the phone with her family in the stadium before the game and Swift happening to walk by. It’s not unusual to say hello to a celebrity, even when you’re an NFL official.

The ordeal seems to be overblown, but Broncos Wire has asked the NFL if they have a comment on the meeting. We are waiting for a response.

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Even Pat Surtain’s dad (a former Chief) thinks the refs favor KC

Even Pat Surtain’s dad (a former Chief) was not happy with questionable officiating during Sunday’s game in Kansas City.

NFL fans have been suspicious in recent seasons that officials favor quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs with their calls. Sunday’s 16-14 win over the Denver Broncos certainly added fuel to the fire.

The Chiefs benefited from several questionable calls against the Broncos in Week 10, including a safety Brandon Jones being penalized for illegal contact, which negated a Nik Bonitto sack on third down.

After Kansas City was gifted a first down, they went on to score a touchdown, so that penalty was arguably a four-point swing. Fans and pundits quickly lashed out against the call on Twitter/X.

Among those who objected to the call was the father of Denver cornerback Pat Surtain II — Patrick Surtain Sr. tweeted: “These refs…smh.”

The elder Surtain played cornerback in the NFL from 1998-2008, spending his final four years in the NFL with the Chiefs. He obviously has more loyalty to his son than to his former team.

The Broncos had plenty of chances to win Sunday’s game, and they acknowledged that after the loss. Fans will cope with conspiracy theories, but Denver can’t blame the officials. The Broncos need to play better going forward, even if it feels like the officiating is one-sided.

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NFL assigns Carl Cheffers as referee for Falcons vs. Saints

Carl Cheffers and his crew will be responsible for the officiating in Sunday’s matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons:

Carl Cheffers and his crew will be responsible for the officiating in Sunday’s matchup between the Falcons and the Saints. Cheffers has thrown 97 total flags this season, 28 of which were on the home team and 45 of which were on the away team.

That’s an average of roughly 12 total flags per game for a total of 589 yards, good for roughly middle of the pack in the league.

The last time the Saints played a game with Cheffers officiating was on Dec. 17, 2023 against the New York Giants. He called six penalties against the Saints for a total of 58 yards. New Orleans recorded a dominant victory in that one, 24-6. The Saints are 15-4 in games which Cheffers has refereed.

The Falcons last saw Cheffers officiating when they played the Detroit Lions on Sept. 24, 2023, wielding four penalties for 24 yards. Atlanta did not get the outcome it wanted in that game, losing 20-6. The Falcons are 7-8 in games with Cheffers at head referee.

It will be interesting to see what happens, with the Falcons highly favored, as both teams are set to kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 10.

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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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WATCH: Ref makes hilarious mistake during Bills-Texans

WATCH: Ref makes hilarious mistake during Bills-Texans:

Clay Martin, head referee for the Week 5 clash between the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans, added to the NFL referee blooper reel on Sunday.

While trying to tell the audience that quarterback Josh Allen had stepped out of bounds before fumbling late in the first quarter, Martin fumbled himself:

“After crew discussion, the runner was out of bounds before he fumbled the basketball,” Martin said.

Basketball season is right around the corner, and with Martin currently serving as head coach for a high school varsity basketball program, the mistake is justified. But, the blooper will live on forever.

Watch the full call from Martin here:

NFL assigns Brad Rogers to referee Week 5’s Saints-Chiefs game

Brad Rogers will referee the Saints’ Monday night game with the Chiefs. New Orleans has gone 3-6 with him before, but Kansas City is 4-0:

The New Orleans Saints referee assignment for their road matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs has been set, with Brad Rogers as the head referee according to Football Zebras. The Saints are 3-6 in games Rogers has refereed, while the Chiefs are 4-0. That isn’t very encouraging, but it’s a good reminder that New Orleans needs to play disciplined and not hurt themselves with penalties.

Rogers has been the referee for multiple recent Saints games, including their matchups with the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers last season, both of which the Saints did end up losing however. In the Rams game, his crew threw six penalty flags for only 45 yards, three flags against each team, and 20 yards against the Saints. However, in the game against the Packers, his crew threw a whopping 18 penalty flags for 192 yards, 102 of which came against the Saints.

Over the years Rogers has been the head referee for nine Saints games, and they are 3-6 through that time span. He was the field judge for an additional Saints game in 2017, which they won against the Atlanta Falcons, so a 4-6 overall record (and the Chiefs are 5-1 with him on the field). So far this season he has been relatively even, calling 28 penalties against the home team and 27 against the away team, 55 total through 4 games (13.75 per game). We will see how his crew handles this matchup, and whether or not they go penalty heavy or let things play out.

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NFL assigns John Hussey to referee Week 4’s Saints-Falcons game

Referee John Hussey and his crew have been assigned the Saints’ Week 4 matchup with the Falcons. New Orleans is 20-5 with him on the field, and 9-2 as head referee:

The New Orleans Saints referee assignment for Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons has been set, and this time it will be John Hussey, per Football Zebras. Hussey most recently refereed a game for the Saints late in the 2023 season with their Week 18 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. In that game, his crew threw eleven penalty flags for 90 yards, eight of which came against the Saints for 75 yards.

It is worth noting that Hussey has a slight favor for away teams through three weeks, calling 17 penalties against the home teams and 12 against the visiting teams. This season he has called 29 total for 288 yards, three of which were declined and two of which were offsetting. His 29 penalties are the third-fewest of any referee crew this season, and his 288 yards are the ninth-fewest of any crew this season as well.

As for his history with the Saints all-time, Hussey has helped 25 games for the team, and in those matchups the Saints have a whopping 20-5 record. For the games he has refereed between the Saints and Falcons, the Saints are 3-0. Hussey was promoted from line judge to referee in 2015 and the Saints are 9-2 since then (and 2-0 against Atlanta). Overall, it is a good sign that the Saints have had a shot with him leading this week’s officiating crew, so we will see if that translates in Week 4 or has any implications.

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NFL assigns Scott Novak to referee Week 3’s Saints-Eagles game

Week 3’s Saints-Eagles matchup has their referee assignment. New Orleans is 3-2 with Scott Novak’s crew on the field:

The New Orleans Saints’ Week 3 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles has been assigned its head referee, which will be Scott Novak per Football Zebras. The Saints did see Novak last season as well, when they went up against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2, where he called only three penalties on them for 32 total yards.

Throughout the past few seasons the Saints have seen Novak a couple times, and they are now 3-2 all-time with him as the referee. His crew is tied for the 7th-fewest penalty flags thrown this season (28 flags, 4 of which were dismissed) with 17 on the home teams and only 7 on visiting teams. Additionally, his crews rank 4th-lowest in total penalty yards per game (77) this season as well. They’ve been vigilant for false starts which have accounted for 10 of those infractions.

Philadelphia has been fouled 16 times across two games, losing 53 yards to penalty in Week 1 and 57 yards in Week 2. Strangely, their biggest issue has been ineligible men downfield. The Eagles have been penalized three times for that while the rest of the NFL has combined for six fouls.

Penalties were not much of a concern for the Saints in Week 2 under Shawn Smith, as they only received five penalties for 40 yards. However, their Week 1 counts were significantly worse, as they took 10 penalties for 95 yards. Hopefully that improvement continues and Novak will lean more towards the more recent total and let the teams play, as he has been doing so far this season.

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