"All-star" officiating crew for Rams-Chiefs game

[Eleazar]

NFL ups intensity with all-star officials for Rams-Chiefs game

Kevin Seifert
ESPN.com NFL Nation



The NFL took the unusual step this week of assigning an "all-star" officiating crew to the most highly anticipated game of the season, adding to the playofflike frenzy for Monday night's matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams.

Referee Clete Blakeman will work the game with only two members of his regular crew, umpire Ramon George and down judge Dana McKenzie. The other five officials -- including Jim Lapetina, who will handle replay -- were plucked from four other crews.

The approach is similar to how the NFL assigns officials to playoff games, a process that is based on performance and seniority rather than crew. But it is rarely, if ever, employed before the postseason. Officials typically work on the same eight-person crews throughout the regular season to maximize continuity and familiarity among members.

Individual crew members are occasionally juggled for health or scheduling reasons. But a series of actions this season have indicated the league is moving away from the consistent crew concept, in favor of a more aggressive administration of officiating. Earlier this season, the league bounced down judge Hugo Cruz among four crews before ultimately making him its first-ever official to be fired for performance during the season.

NFL spokesman Michael Signora confirmed Sunday that "there is a rotation amongst the crews throughout the season." Signora did not provide details on the decision to overhaul Blakeman's crew for Monday night's game.

An officiating source said Sunday that the five officials added to Monday night's crew are all highly respected and have performed well this season.

The Chiefs-Rams game, originally scheduled to be played in Mexico City before it was relocated to Los Angeles, is a rare matchup. Since 1970, there have been only four other games pitting teams with one or fewer losses this late in the season. And according to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the latest matchup ever between two teams averaging at least 33 points per game.

The following is the full crew for Monday night's game, as listed on the official flip card published by the NFL, with the officials' permanent referee in parentheses:


Referee: Clete Blakeman

Umpire: Ramon George (Blakeman)

Down judge: Dana McKenzie (Blakeman)

Line judge: Rusty Baynes (John Hussey)

Field judge: Dale Shaw (Jerome Boger)

Side judge: Brad Freeman (Clay Martin)

Back judge: Tony Steratore (Boger)

Replay: Jim Lapetina (Brad Allen)



http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...ff-rams-chiefs

[DrunkBassGuitar]

We will curbstomp the Rams and the Refs

[ChiliConCarnage]

Originally Posted by Maine

The fix is in

This! They're all aboard the Mahomes Express. How many times can the refs blatantly trip Todd Gurley though? Holding calls, that's the ticket

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by ChiliConCarnage

This! They're all aboard the Mahomes Express. How many times can the refs blatantly trip Todd Gurley though? Holding calls, that's the ticket

Honestly, I hope the refs stay the **** out of this one and let the best team win tonight.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

I bet the refs would have loved to have been stopped by some reerun throwing a red flag on the field, so they could run over to the Microsoft Surface that is surrounded by a box that is plastered with Microsoft Surface advertising. I mean I don't blame Microsoft for advertising any chance they get, since they thought it was a good idea to drop 80 million a year for 5 years to become the exclusive provider of technology to the NFL.

Best advertising $'s even spent in the NFL.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

An optimist would say "they want this called with ultimate professionalism"

A pessimist would say "they're not leaving the fix to chance"

Guess we'll see which camp is right soon enough...

My initial take was optimism, but now I am a bit skeptical after reading this thread.

Goodell probably isn't happy about the LOS Angeles Chargers losing yesterday

[bowener]

Originally Posted by Maine

The fix is in

I would bet on the over for this game. I'm thinking the NFL has told these guys to keep the QBs clean and the points high. We will see a lot of no calls on OL holding.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

Saints won and the Chargers lost...looks like the NFL double-downed on tomorrow's night game. The officials blatantly tried in the Donks game...phantom OPI with 37 seconds left and called a 2 point conversion short.

They've assembled their top "dive crew" ...it's LA or bust.

Those two calls were the ones late in the game that were so damn obvious.

The announcers even made a big point of how bad those calls were.

I don't think it is just coincidence, they both could have easily decided the game in LOS Angeles' favor.

[DrunkBassGuitar]

the NFL needs to quit trying to make the LA market happen.

The rams aren't going to compete with the Lakers and USC football.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by DrunkBassGuitar

the NFL needs to quit trying to make the LA market happen.

The rams aren't going to compete with the Lakers and USC football.

That's why we need to punk them out hard tonight.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by kysirsoze

Wait, Blakeman replaced Boger??? Boger is the worst ****ing ref in football. If we dodged a ****ing Boger game this is all win.

Exactly. It sounds to me like the NFL knows this will be a highly watched game and they don't want boger throwing a flag every 2 minutes. Think people need to relax. At the very least, we got saved from having a really bad official.

[Mecca]

Yea I think this is about the NFL realizing this is going to be a highly watched game and not wanting the refs to be a talking point.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Yea I think this is about the NFL realizing this is going to be a highly watched game and not wanting the refs to be a talking point.

I hope so. Sadly, I fear it is all about steering the game toward the desired outcome.

And those generally don't bode well for small market midwestern teams.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Frazod

I hope so. Sadly, I fear it is all about steering the game toward the desired outcome.

And those generally don't bode well for small market midwestern teams.

Possibly. But the more flags, the more likely a ref will steer an outcome. And Boger is usually in the top 3 for most flags. Boger called 18 penalties a game last year which is 3rd most (Blakeman 16.3)

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by bowener

I would bet on the over for this game. I'm thinking the NFL has told these guys to keep the QBs clean and the points high. We will see a lot of no calls on OL holding.

This is a good point. Even if the refs don't try to steer it one way or the other, they're going to have orders to steer the points upward. Roger wants high-scoring games to excite the non-football fans, and this is his chance to let the modern NBAFL shine.

[bevischief]

KY the jerseys.