R 52 Bill Vinovich U 20 Barry Anderson DJ 79 Kent Payne LJ 45 Jeff Seeman FJ 36 Anthony Jeffries SJ 103 Eugene Hall BJ 12 Greg Steed ALT 122 Brad Allen ALT 54 Steve Woods ALT 65 Walt Coleman IV ALT 96 Matt Edwards
Jeffries with an assignment with his first assignment in his first season of eligibility.
Woods and Edwards with this first playoff assignments of any kind. Edwards in his first season of eligibility.
Enjoy the game and post observations here.
Last Edit: Jan 11, 2020 20:09:11 GMT -5 by FredFan7
Ian Eagle twice said that Bill Vinovich's crew called the fewest penalties during the season. As a veteran announcer, he should know that officiating crews in the postseason are not the same.
Alternate Brad Allen gets involved on this Titans interception. It is allways a tense situation when the play ends out of bounds on the intercepting team's sideline. The bench is exciting and starts jumping around in celebration. In the meantime, there are opponents in the vicinity who are mad at giving up a turnover. That jumping around could lead to incidential bumps which could lead to a confrontation.
Brad Allen (in black jacket and white cap) works to keep players separated. Alternates cannot call fouls, but they can assist in keeping order.
On another note, Gene Steratore disagreed with the foul on the Ravens' quarterback for grasping the helmet opening on the tackle.
Ravens punt returner De'Anthony Thomas calls for a fair catch on a Titans punt, but does not intend to field the punt, and instead allows the ball to land in the end zone for a touchback. However, Thomas cannot engage in a block after signaling for a fair-catch, which he does at the 10-yard line. It is a 15-yard penalty from the foul spot, so this was enforced half-distance from the 10 to the 5. (An illegal block by the kicking team after a fair-catch signal is from the dead-ball spot.)
A sweep out of bounds knocks down the pylon. Normally an offcial simply sets the pylon back up, makes sure it is flush with the goal line, and then it's on the with game.
But, NFL games now use pylon cam to help goal line plays during replay reviews.
Either a wire or transponder came loose on pylon cam. The person in the blue hat in the clip a CBS Sports technician. Line judge Jeff seeman helped oversee the repair to make sure the pylon was placed properly and the technician made sure the camera was properly plumbed looking down the line.
Vinovich: 3.65 - I think he should have flagged the hit on Jackson but just as many say no. Anderson: 3.8 - Now a playoff regular after I wondered several years. Great game and kept things moving Payne: 3.7 - Good spots and calls Seeman: 3.75 - Good spots and calls and good hustle. Jeffries: 3.8 - Excellent maiden game. Nailed the illegal touching foul Hall: 3.9 - Call of the game with the one foot, one cheek TD call. Steed: 3.8 - Not a playoff regular so it was good to see him make good calls.
Crew: 3.77
Well, both Saturday games will never be instant classics, but the result in Baltimore stunned just about everyone outside The Volunteer State.
On the officiating front, Bill Vinovich's crew called a good game.
About the only call to quibble with was a hit to Lamar Jackson's head. I say that action needs to be flagged, but there are others who say this should be a no-call.
Vinovich and company had some weird calls to make: illegal touching of a kick, blocking after a free kick signal, official time out to repair pylon cam and a kickoff before the ready for play signal by Vinovich. Dan Fouts blamed the officials for the premature kickoff, but that was totally on the kicker. I hope Gene Steratore had a rubber chicken and smacked Fouts at the next commercial break.
Good job by the crew to call a good game and sort out the weird moments.
Well-officiated game, nothing special and a few potential controversies.
Vinovich: 3.6 B. Anderson: 3.8 Payne: 3.4 - questionable horse tackle call Seeman: 3.6 Jeffries: 3.7 E. Hall: 3.6 - good conviction on TD call, but not convinced it was TD Steed: 3.6
Post by exhockeyref on Jan 12, 2020 11:32:31 GMT -5
Agree with both of the above. Some potentially controversial/unusual calls were handled with confidence and the game kept running smoothly. The refs were, in the most positive sense, unremarkable.
I also think the hit on Jackson probably should have been flagged, but in the big picture it was not significant in terms of the outcome of the game.
Two middle-of-the-road games on Saturday, both handled well by the officials. Just the shot in the arm the NFL officiating corps needed. Hopefully the Sunday crews will keep the "winning streak" alive!
Last Edit: Jan 12, 2020 11:33:54 GMT -5 by exhockeyref