Bobref

Matthew Stafford

REGION FOOTBALL NEWS: The Region Sports Network has learned that Lake Central will be naming Calumet coach Rick Good as the school's new varsity football coach at a school board meeting this evening. Good coached Calumet for four seasons, compiling a 23-14 record and a sectional championship in 2020, the first in program history. His .621 winning percentage is the best for a coach in the history of Calumet football and he guided the Warriors to three straight winning seasons, only the second time that has ever been done in the program. He is the only coach to have a winning record during his tenure at Calumet. Good takes over an LC program that has won eight games over the last four seasons and has not had a winning season since 2014. Join us later this evening at approximately 8:30 for a press conference from Lake Central as Good is introduced.

Carl Cheffers is our referee for the Super Bowl. But the big news is Sarah Thomas becomes the first female official assigned to a Super Bowl. With the current shortage of football officials in Indiana, there are real opportunities for younger officials — including women officials, to move up fast. As you can see by the article, the sky’s the limit. If you know a young woman who loves football, let her know these opportunities exist. http://www.footballzebras.com/2021/01/carl-cheffers-is-the-referee-for-super-bowl-lv-sarah-thomas-becomes-the-first-woman-to-officiate-a-super-bowl/ Carl Cheffers is the referee for Super Bowl LV. Sarah Thomas becomes the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl ASSIGNMENTS SUPER BOWL LV by Cameron Filipe - January 19, 20216 Editor’s note: An earlier version of this post that misidentified some members of the crew has been changed. Football Zebras has confirmed that Carl Cheffers will be the referee for Super Bowl LV in Tampa. Cheffers, 60, is in his 21st season and 13th as referee. This is Cheffers’ 15th postseason assignment, including 5 Wild Card Playoffs, 6 Divisional Playoffs, 2 Conference Championships. He previously officiated Super Bowl LI in the 2016 season. Cheffers was the referee for the Ravens-Bills Divisional Playoff last Saturday. Cheffers is a sales manager from Whittier, Calif., who joined the NFL in 2000 after working five years in the Pac-10 Conference, now the Pac-12. Also of note, down judge Sarah Thomas, hired in 2015 as the first woman official on the NFL’s full-time roster, will now make history again as the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl. A referee must have at least 5 years of seniority, worked 3 years at the referee position, and worked a playoff game as a referee in a previous postseason. The other members of the Super Bowl crew have traditionally had a Conference Championship game on their résumé (or received on-field assignments in 3 of the last 5 postseasons) in addition to being at least a 5-year veteran. This year, that criteria appears to have been relaxed. Entering this postseason, Thomas has worked two other postseason games; she earned the third this year, but that ordinarily means her Super Bowl eligibility would begin next year. Sources told Football Zebras in 2016 that she was slated to get a wild card assignment that year, but was sidelined with a broken wrist at the end of the regular season. Field judge James Coleman also has not had the requisite recent experience for a Super Bowl assignment, having a divisional assignment in 2018 and 2014, although he was injured in the 2015 season. He has picked up at least an alternate assignment and a Pro Bowl in those seasons he has not worked on the field, but that has not been a consideration previously. All other members of the crew As such, Thomas and Coleman are the two officials on the Super Bowl crew that will be working the Super Bowl for the first time in their careers. The remaining members of the crew will be working their second Super Bowl: Cheffers, umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, side judge Eugene Hall, and back judge Dino Paganelli.

Carl Cheffers is our referee for the Super Bowl. But the big news is Sarah Thomas becomes the first female official assigned to a Super Bowl. With the current shortage of football officials in Indiana, there are real opportunities for younger officials — including women officials, to move up fast. As you can see by the article, the sky’s the limit. If you know a young woman who loves football, let her know these opportunities exist. http://www.footballzebras.com/2021/01/carl-cheffers-is-the-referee-for-super-bowl-lv-sarah-thomas-becomes-the-first-woman-to-officiate-a-super-bowl/ Carl Cheffers is the referee for Super Bowl LV. Sarah Thomas becomes the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl ASSIGNMENTS SUPER BOWL LV by Cameron Filipe - January 19, 20216 Editor’s note: An earlier version of this post that misidentified some members of the crew has been changed. Football Zebras has confirmed that Carl Cheffers will be the referee for Super Bowl LV in Tampa. Cheffers, 60, is in his 21st season and 13th as referee. This is Cheffers’ 15th postseason assignment, including 5 Wild Card Playoffs, 6 Divisional Playoffs, 2 Conference Championships. He previously officiated Super Bowl LI in the 2016 season. Cheffers was the referee for the Ravens-Bills Divisional Playoff last Saturday. Cheffers is a sales manager from Whittier, Calif., who joined the NFL in 2000 after working five years in the Pac-10 Conference, now the Pac-12. Also of note, down judge Sarah Thomas, hired in 2015 as the first woman official on the NFL’s full-time roster, will now make history again as the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl. A referee must have at least 5 years of seniority, worked 3 years at the referee position, and worked a playoff game as a referee in a previous postseason. The other members of the Super Bowl crew have traditionally had a Conference Championship game on their résumé (or received on-field assignments in 3 of the last 5 postseasons) in addition to being at least a 5-year veteran. This year, that criteria appears to have been relaxed. Entering this postseason, Thomas has worked two other postseason games; she earned the third this year, but that ordinarily means her Super Bowl eligibility would begin next year. Sources told Football Zebras in 2016 that she was slated to get a wild card assignment that year, but was sidelined with a broken wrist at the end of the regular season. Field judge James Coleman also has not had the requisite recent experience for a Super Bowl assignment, having a divisional assignment in 2018 and 2014, although he was injured in the 2015 season. He has picked up at least an alternate assignment and a Pro Bowl in those seasons he has not worked on the field, but that has not been a consideration previously. All other members of the crew As such, Thomas and Coleman are the two officials on the Super Bowl crew that will be working the Super Bowl for the first time in their careers. The remaining members of the crew will be working their second Super Bowl: Cheffers, umpire Fred Bryan, line judge Rusty Baynes, side judge Eugene Hall, and back judge Dino Paganelli.

Me, too!

And therein lies your disconnect: you don’t realize that these are two distinct concepts. It was not my intention to turn this into a mini-clinic. But it is the Officiating Forum, after all. So, why not? Your approach is flawed because it treats the black and white letter of the rule like it was chiseled onto stone tablets and brought down from the mountain top. Rather, the rules are guidelines that attempt to strike a competitive balance and enhance player safety when interpreted and implemented in accordance with the purpose and intent behind the rule. The concepts are distinct because the first — whether the player was moving toward the opponent’s goal line at the start of the snap — is objectively ascertainable. We can use replay, slow motion, even frame-by-frame analysis if we need to. We can definitely answer the question, albeit often not at game speed. Calling a non-safety foul, however, is not a black and white process. It involves a set of factors that must enter into answering the question whether a foul should be called. In this particular instance, there are two basic reasons you do not call this a foul. The first is a basic principle of officiating: If it’s not a safety-related foul, you must be 100% certain before throwing the flag. The “preponderance of the evidence,” is not good enough. Nor is “beyond a reasonable doubt.” 99% doesn’t get it. Your initial post said “But, did Adams move forward before the snap? I think he did. Very close.” That was after the benefit of as many replays and reviews as you wanted. That does not sound like 100% certainty to me. The second reason is that the philosophy to be used in implementing the rule takes into account the limits of human perception. On this play, the wing official has multiple responsibilities, which include focusing on the snap, detecting false starts or encroachment on the line of scrimmage, and the legality of the player in motion 2-3 yards behind the line of scrimmage, and moving directly at him at speed. The player’s motion is legal unless he was moving forward at the start of the snap. The snap begins with the first tiny movement of the ball by the snapper, other than in adjustment. If you are telling me that you, as that wing official who may be 20-30 yds. from the ball, can detect that first tiny movement of the ball by the snapper, and simultaneously compare it to the vector of the player 2-3 yds. behind the line, I would say you have vastly overestimated your ability, or that of any official. That’s why the proper mechanic here is to look at the man in motion primarily. There are other officials looking for false starts and snap infractions, but only you are responsible for that motion man. When he turns up, then you look to the ball. If the snap is underway, then there’s no foul. Is it possible that the turn upfield actually precedes the snap by the time it takes you to turn your attention from the motion man to the snap? Yes, it is. But remember the basic philosophy that we must be 100% certain to justify calling a non-safety foul? That is why we don’t nitpick this foul in a situation like this. There are many other examples of similar situations in officiating. Incorporating this type of critical distinction between what “can” be called and what “should” be called into your approach is a difficult process for many officials. Some never get the distinction. Others understand, but deny that any distinction is proper. Those are called “rulebook officials.” The label is not generally intended as flattery.

I think we might be disagreeing because we’re answering two different questions. Your question is “did the receiver turn upfield to any extent before the snap?” The question I’m answering is “should that wing official have thrown the flag for illegal motion at the snap?” We might both be right.

I will gladly testify in support of your insanity defense. 🤣

Some free advice, so take it for what it’s worth: Don’t be “that guy.” The last thing you want is a reputation as a “rulebook official.”

Judge a man, like a QB, on his body of work.

Correct. It’s not a foul.

I am not in the habit of praising Purdue QBs — or Purdue anything, when you come right down to it. But if you are unmoved by the career of Drew Brees, then you don’t truly have a football heart. How many guys can play that long, achieve so much, overcome what he had to get past, and you’ve never heard anyone say a single bad word about them? I hope, for his sake, he does hang it up — he took a fearful beating this season — and gets ready to stroll into Canton on the first ballot in 5 years. The way he has conducted himself both on and off the field should serve as a template for the Deshaun Watsons, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jacksons, who aspire to leave a similar legacy. Not flashy, not controversial. Just a tremendous player, an inspiring leader, and a first class citizen. Well done!

Lord, I don’t like to involve you in something as superficially trivial as a football game. But next weekend represents a clash between the forces of good, led by your avenging angel, TB12, against the Evil that is the dog-a$$ Packers. I beseech you to arm your angel well, as he goes forth to do battle against the forces of darkness led by their evil sorcerer, ARog, and ventures into the den of iniquity that is Lambeau. Oh Lord, may TB12 use your mighty right arm to strike down the godless green and gold with their wicked wizard ARog, and send them away with their cheese curds dampened by bitter tears, while your glorious light shines through TB12 for about 350-4-0, and the Packers can go back to bullying your lesser creatures, like Bears, Vikings and Lions. Amen!

If you have to look at 10 replays, use slo-mo, or even say “I think he did Very close,” then it’s not a foul. We don’t call fouls because we “think” it was a foul. We fish for whales, not minnows. Go ahead and call it every time ... and every time your crew is observed, they will get downgraded for it.

I don’t think so. That’s not something to nitpick. The receiver’s advantage did not come from generating forward momentum prior to the snap. It was his lateral speed. Good no call.

For .... ? Do you think the man in motion turned upfield too soon?

Disagree. I’d call this every time at every level.

No doubt he flopped. But it’s still a good call. There’s a sort of sliding scale of roughness vs. timing in calling the foul. The more time passes after the ball is gone, the less rough the contact needs to be to call roughing. Conversely, much rougher conduct can pass muster if it’s very shortly after the passer releases the ball. This was waaaayyy too late. It wasn’t inadvertent. It was a gratuitous shove. But I doubt Josh Allen has spent any money on tacting lessons.

I know Lamar is the defending MVP and all, but I’ve never been sold on him for just this reason. He’s a fantastic athlete. But his athleticism cannot trump physics. The defensive players are too big and too fast. Eventually, he’s going to get hit and knocked out of the game. And here the Ravens sit, in the 2nd half of a close playoff game, and their star is on the bench with concussion protocol. It was inevitable. And as entertaining as he is, you can’t place your franchise in the hands of a guy who is going to get hurt, almost certainly. In the NFL, where everyone is good, the most important ability is “availability.”

You make the call. https://streamable.com/ezjn14?fbclid=IwAR0grie2DahiZKPO4ARNvFnnLtkufS3DFQleNqwX60wg2qh-dxosr555KJ8

The inventor of the West Coast Offense.

The fact is, coaches who go straight from college to head coach in the NFL fail at about the same rate as NFL assistants who are promoted to head coach. The reality is that there are a lot more Rich Kotites than there are Don Shulas.

There was this guy who went right from Stanford to head coach of the 49ers. He did OK.

The law school closed because, years ago, they decided to accept every applicant with a pulse in a grab for tuition $. The result was a lot of people who had no business in law school. They got put on probation by the accrediting agency, and that caused their admissions to plummet. If you’re not a graduate of an accredited law school, you can’t take the bar exam in most places. Once their enrollment plummeted, they couldn’t pay professors, and they circled the drain.

Yes ... until an accident could be arranged for Kamala. Perhaps the pressures of the Presidency would be too much to bear and she’d “Epstein.”