Tag: referee

NFL assigns referee Shawn Smith to work Week 4 Saints-Lions game

The NFL assigned referee Shawn Smith to Week 4’s game between the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, who lead the league in penalties.

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Third-year NFL referee Shawn Smith and his crew have been assigned to Week 4’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions at Ford Field, per Football Zebras. Smith has worked two Saints games in this capacity, both wins, after spending his first three seasons as an umpire.

In 2017, Smith refereed a 20-0 Saints win at Wembley Stadium over the Miami Dolphins; New Orleans was fouled 8 times for 71 yards, while Miami drew 11 flags for 90 yards. He also officiated 2019’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Atlanta Falcons, which the Saints won 26-18 despite being flagged 9 times for 121 penalty yards (Atlanta was fouled just 4 times for 18 yards). Three of those Saints penalties were on cornerback Eli Apple, who gave up 62 yards on defensive pass interference fouls.

Unfortunately, DPI penalties have plagued the Saints secondary no matter who’s back there. Through three games, no team has drawn more flags for it than New Orleans (9) or for more yards (183). That’s more DPI yards surrendered than the next two teams combined.

In terms of all penalties across the league, the Saints are tied for the second-most fouls (24) but by far the most penalty yards (331). Most of that is on the defense, which has drawn more penalty yards by itself (261) than, again, the next two teams put together (the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars). The Saints offense, comparatively, is tied for 13th in penalty yards yielded.

This must be a point of emphasis in practice for the Saints coaching staff. Not addressing it would be a season-threatening failure. Whether defensive backs aren’t turning their head when competing for a catch or hooking opponents’ arms in scoring position, they must make more of an effort to play within the rules, because the NFL’s officials haven’t held them to the same standards as their opponents for quite some time.

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Saints lead NFL in penalty yards; referee Brad Rogers assigned Week 3 Packers game

The New Orleans Saints will kick off versus the Green Bay Packers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in front of second-year referee Brad Rogers

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It’s taken the New Orleans Saints just two weeks of NFL action to rack up the most penalty yards of any team (248, with the Arizona Cardinals a distant runner-up at 199), which isn’t great. If it’s any consolation, they’re tied with the Cleveland Browns for the second-most penalties by volume (16, trailing the Cardinals’ 20 fouls).

This is pretty much rock bottom, which means things can only get better from here. Surely. All sarcasm aside, at least these are problems the Saints can iron out through hard work in practice and keeping a cool head during games.

And the problem areas are easy to identify. Defensive backs Marshon Lattimore (three fouls), Marcus Williams and Janoris Jenkins (one each) have combined for 131 of the penalty yards the Saints have collected, more than 22 teams. It’s largely due to committing defensive pass interference. If they can just play a little more cleanly, this all looks very different.

So we’re on to Week 3, when the Green Bay Packers will visit the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on “Sunday Night Football.” The NFL has assigned second-year referee Brad Rogers and his crew to work the game, which will be his first blush with the Saints in this role. Rogers previously served as a field judge in 2017’s Christmas Eve game between New Orleans and the Atlanta Falcons, which the Saints won 23-13.

Last year, Rogers refereed a Packers-Broncos game at Lambeau Field which Green Bay won 27-16. Denver was flagged three times for 27 yards, while the Packers were fouled seven times for 53 yards.

Now in 2020, the Packers aren’t too far behind the Saints in total penalties (14), but their penalty yards yielded is much more pedestrian (123). Both teams have plenty to clean up, and this will be a great opportunity to make some progress in the right direction.

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Referee Shawn Hochuli assigned to work Week 2 Saints-Raiders game

The NFL assigned referee Shawn Hochuli to its Week 2 Monday Night Football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Las Vegas Raiders.

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One of the NFL’s fresher-faced referees will be on hand when the New Orleans Saints kick off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week. The league assigned Shawn Hochuli and his crew to its next Monday Night Football game, where all spotlights will be trained on Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Hochuli, the son of longtime referee and long-winded speaker Ed Hochuli (who retired in 2018), was promoted to the post after working as a side judge and back judge from 2014 to 2017. In Week 1, Hochuli’s crew threw a dozen penalty flags with six each on the Seattle Seahawks (drawing 46 penalty yards) and the Atlanta Falcons (72 yards) in a 38-25 Seahawks win on the road.

He has worked three Saints games in his career, but two of those matchups were 2015 games when he was a back judge. Hochuli did take the stage as a referee in last year’s Monday Night Football game with the Indianapolis Colts at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which the Saints won handily 34-7. The Saints and Colts drew similar penalty numbers in that matchup, with the Saints netting six flags for 52 yards while the Colts received seven fouls for 49 yards.

So far, Hochuli and his crew have done a great job calling games evenly. We’ll see if they keep it up under the spotlight on Sept. 21.

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Report: Jamie Collins won’t face further suspension after unnecessary contact with official

Tom Pelissero is reporting that Detroit Lions linebacker Jamie Collins won’t face further suspension after unnecessary contact with an official.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero is reporting that Detroit Lions linebacker Jamie Collins won’t face further suspension after “unnecessary contact” with an official in Week 1.

For a quick refresher of the incident: after Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery finished a run play, Collins objected to Montgomery “lowering his head” — an offensive penalty — and went to complain to the referee about it. Unfortunately, it looked like the referee’s attention was elsewhere and when Collins demonstrated Montgomery’s act, Collins made unnecessary contact with the official.

Here’s a quick clip of the contact:

NFL rules on contact with an official are clear: Don’t do it.

Collins did, and he deserved to be ejected.

Now the next step in the incident evaluation process is for the NFL is to decide if the contact was intentional and deserved a further suspension. According to Pelissero, the NFL will not pursue further action.

Common sense wins in this decision. Collins made an unnecessary action that resulted in an ejection but it’s clear from the video above, and the live coverage surrounding the incident, that there was no intent to be disrespectful.

NFL assigns referee Jerome Boger to Week 1 Saints-Bucs game

The New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have Jerome Boger at referee when Drew Brees and Tom Brady go toe to toe in Week 1.

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The first week of officiating assignments has been reported by Football Zebras, and the New Orleans Saints will have a familiar crew in place when they kick off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. Veteran referee Jerome Boger and his crew will be on hand for this first matchup between Drew Brees and Tom Brady.

Boger refereed two Saints games last year, both on the road: Week 6’s 13-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Week 16’s 38-28 rout of the Tennessee Titans. He last visited the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in 2016, officiating the Saints’ 31-24 win over Tampa Bay on Christmas Eve. Boger worked two seasons as a line judge before being promoted to referee in 2006, and has held the position ever since.

Last season, Boger’s crew averaged 14.4 penalties and 119.1 penalty yards per game, calling exactly 50.0% of fouls on the home team; 2.6% above league average. They also averaged 5.7 penalty yards more than the league average.

The Saints didn’t receive much help from Boger and Co. last year. In their first game with the Jaguars, the Saints were flagged three times (for 35 yards) while the Jaguars drew two fouls (for 15 yards). But in their second meeting against the Titans, New Orleans was hit with 11 penalties (for 70 yards) while Tennessee was penalized six times (for 56 yards). That’s a small sample size, but it’s worth remembering.

One underrated storyline this year is going to be the performance of NFL officials without their usual preseason warm-up. While they have toured team training camps for practice, they won’t have the usual time to prepare and work through early-season jitters. Any crews adding new members have had less time to gel, which may lead to more blown calls and mistakes.

So hopefully Saints fans won’t see much of Boger on this week’s broadcast. At least he’s not Bill Vinovich.

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WATCH: Brandon McManus serves as a ref at Broncos training camp

Broncos kicker Bradon McManus dressed up as a referee for part of Thursday’s practice session.

Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus served as a referee for part of Thursday’s practice session. His teammates got a kick out of it, as the above video shows.

McManus caused some controversy when tight end Albert Okwuegbunam catch a pass in the end zone and McManus ruled it a touchdown. The defense disagreed but McManus had a very prudent explanation for his decision.

“If I call it incomplete, it’s not reviewable,” McManus said. “I’d rather let the booth decide.”

McManus said in an interview with the team’s official website that only the team’s equipment staff knew he was planning to officiate practice.

“Once I had done my job [kicking to] the returners, I went in and got changed and came out in the ref outfit,” McManus said. “It was funny, a lot of people were like, ‘Wow, where did the ref come from all of a sudden?’ They had no idea initially it was me.”

McManus went 29-of-34 on field goals in 2019. Denver’s coaching staff is probably hoping McManus will keep his day job as the team’s kicker.

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Bill Vinovich’s family reflects on NFCCG no-call: ‘Those people in New Orleans are nuts’

Bill Vinovich is infamous for the 2018 NFC Championship Game no-call against the New Orleans Saints, and now he gets to work Super Bowl 54.

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Bill Vinovich is not well-liked by New Orleans Saints fans. He was the referee in charge of the 2018 NFC Championship Game between the Saints and the Los Angeles Rams, and was at fault for the infamous defensive pass interference no-call that helped cost the Saints a trip to Super Bowl LIII; the Rams advanced instead, and were beaten so badly they failed to reach the postseason at all the following season.

Vinovich is a third-generation referee who has worked NFL games for 15 years, while also officiating Division I college basketball games. While he’s barred from speaking to the media as an active official, his father discussed the measures taken to protect Vinovich and his crew after they botched the game of the year.

“It was a scary situation,” Billy Vinovich told USA Today’s Josh Peter, “They had them sneak him out of the hotel and put him in another hotel and change their flights and get them out of town by 6 in the morning. The cops stayed with them all night. Those people in New Orleans are nuts.”

Obviously it’s a shame that Vinovich and the other officials should have ever had to fear for their safety, but at the same time it’s important that actions (or conscious non-actions) deserve consequences. And so far, Vinovich hasn’t faced any. He’ll be officiating his third Super Bowl in five years when the Kansas City Chiefs kick off against the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday. The most he’s had to do in publicly addressing failure in the workplace was calling it “A tough situation,” during his induction speech at the Midland Sports Hall of Fame in July 2019.

That frustration — of Vinovich getting off scot-free from what could be a fireable offense in other industries, along with his superivisors at the NFL offices in New York — is something Saints fans aren’t able to do anything more to alleviate. They’ve thrown public parade protests and made blindfolded referee costumes a popular sight at gamedays and Jazz Fest, but Vinovich’s presence in Miami wearing a white cap sends one tone-deaf message: Get over it. And that’s going to resonate with Saints fans about as badly as you’d expect.

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Michael Thomas reacts to Bill Vinovich getting assigned to Super Bowl LIV

Saints WR Michael Thomas was amused when referee Bill Vinovich was assigned to Super Bowl LIV, just a year after the NFC title game no-call.

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A year ago, Bill Vinovich’s officiating crew was at fault for the worst no-call in NFL history, missing a blatant instance of defense pass interference during the NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams. The botched foul helped cost the Saints a Super Bowl berth, drew a private apology from the league office, and prompted offseason rules changes that have had mostly-disappointing effects.

Vinovich’s failure also dominated the news cycle, made worse by a pathetic showing by the Rams in the Super Bowl that caused many fans and observers to wonder if the wrong team made it that far. To add insult to injury, the Rams didn’t even qualify for the playoffs the following season.

Which is where we are now — in a postseason that’s seen Vinovich receive the honor of helping officiate Super Bowl LIV, his second title game assignment (he previously worked Super Bowl XLIX). His “all-star” crew will be made up of umpire Barry Anderson, down judge Kent Payne, line judge Carl Johnson, field judge Michael Banks, side judge Boris Cheek, back judge Greg Steed and replay official Mike Chase.

Saints coach Sean Payton has taken aim at the dangerous use of these randomly-shuffled officiating crews for playoff games before, but his warnings have fallen on deaf ears.

Choosing the most infamous referee in recent memory to take on a game of this importance sends a conflicting message, to say the least. And one recipient of that message was Saints wideout Michael Thomas, who brought the jokes, wondering if Vinovich is equipped to even signal fouls when needed.

“Oh no,” Thomas wrote from his official Twitter account, “he don’t even own any flags (to throw). Let me stop,” he laughed, pulling back before he could get himself into trouble. Vinovich’s pockets were empty when Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman interfered with Tommylee Lewis once before; it’s fair to ask if he’ll be willing to call a clean game again in such high-leverage situations.

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5 Bold predictions for the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving

Four bold predictions for the Detroit Lions as they host the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day.

The Detroit Lions are preparing for their second bout with the Chicago Bears this season, hoping for a much better outcome than last time.

Detroit has had quite the season so far, holding a lead in each of their 11 games but sitting at the bottom of their division at 3-7-1. With an injury-plagued roster and some recent struggles on defense, can the Lions turn it around in their prime time matchup?

Here are my bold predictions for this week’s game:

Quarterback change-up changes nothing

With rookie David Blough getting his first career start while both Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel deal with their injuries, don’t think that we’ll see anything new on offense.

Driskel’s tenure as the Lions’ starting quarterback wasn’t exactly noteworthy, with four touchdowns and just as many interceptions in three games. While he and Blough are very different passers, don’t think that this will change things up on offense.

Blough is an undrafted rookie who’s first regular-season action comes in a major prime time game. Though he has been with the team since the beginning of the season, don’t think his play will be any better than what we’ve seen in recent weeks.

While we’ll see a much different style of play from Blough than the other two Lions quarterbacks, don’t expect anything new.

Amani Oruwariye will make another interception

In his first game as a starter, filling in for the injured Rashaan Melvin, Oruwariye proved to be more capable than many expected. In the loss to Washington, the rookie pulled off an impressive interception on a pass from Dwayne Haskins.

Bears’ quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has thrown six interceptions so far this season and will be down three offensive weapons on Thanksgiving Day. I think the rookie will be able to keep the momentum going from last week and capitalize on this opportunity.

There will be a dearth of yellow flags

There were 20 flags thrown the last time these two teams faced each other, but that may not be the case this time around.

Jerome Boger and his crew will be officiating this game. This is a crew that hasn’t called more than 12 penalties in a game in 2019, so this could bode well for the Lions. Detroit only committed six penalties last week, so it appears that some of their discipline issues have been resolved.

Hockenson will re-emerge in the offense

After a fairly quiet season, Hockenson may be able to rediscover his place in the passing game. He had three receptions for 47 yards against Chicago earlier this year.

Can he put on a similar performance this week? I hope so.

The Detroit Lions will come out with a win

Usually, predicting a victory isn’t considered a bold prediction, but that’s not the case for this team.

Detroit is itching for a win amidst a four-game losing streak. The Bears aren’t in a much better situation at the moment, so this game could be an interesting one.

The Lions defense has shown some improvement since their last game against Chicago. Their run game has been revived with the emergence of Bo Scarborough. The only liability is the quarterback situation. If the defense and the offensive line can hold up, the Lions will be able to overcome and snap their losing streak.

Texans 100: Facts and Figures for Ravens, No. 51-75

As the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens take each other on in Week 11, we take a look at referee Alex Kemp and Ravens coach John Harbaugh.

The Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens take each other on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at M&T Bank Stadium. As we get ready for the matchup, we take a look at Ravens coach John Harbaugh as well as the referee, Alex Kemp.

Facts and Figures for Ravens, No. 1-25

Facts and Figures for Ravens, No. 26-50

JOHN HARBAUGH FACTS

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51. Harbaugh has the most 7-2 starts in Ravens history with two. The last start (2012) led to a Super Bowl win.

52. Harbaugh is 35-13 in November with a 23-4 record at home.

53. Brian Billick had a 2-0 record against the Texans while Harbaugh is 6-2, including playoffs.

54. Harbaugh is 48-43 against playoff-winning head coaches.

55. Harbaugh has started five different quarterbacks since taking the Ravens job in 2008, the second-most behind Billick’s 12 for most in team history.

56. Harbaugh is the only rookie head coach among the four hired in 2008 to still remain in the NFL, let alone at his original post.

57. Harbaugh is 46/103 on challenges for his career with an 0/4 record in 2019.

58. Harbaugh has not challenged anything related to pass interference since Week 2. He is 0/1 in 2019.

59. The Ravens are tied with the Jets for the seventh-most fourth down attempts with 12.

60. The Ravens have the ninth-fewest penalties in the league with 62.

61. Harbaugh is 1/7 active Super Bowl-winning coaches in the league and 1/6 to still be on the team he won the Super Bowl with.

62. Harbaugh is the only active coach whose immediate previous post was as a special teams coordinator.

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