NFL Refs

NCAA and NFL Referee news

Playoffs/Super Bowl

Wild Card Weekend

NY Jets at Cincinnati – Bill Leavy
Philadelphia at Dallas – Ed Hochuli
Baltimore at New England – Gene Steratore
Green Bay at Arizona – Scott Green

Divisional Playoffs

Arizona at New Orleans – Ron Winter
Baltimore at Indianapolis – Carl Cheffers
Dallas at Minnesota – Walt Anderson
NY Jets at San Diego – Jerome Boger

Conference Championships

NY Jets at Indianapolis – Tony Corrente
Minnesota at New OrleansĀ – Pete Morelli

Pro Bowl

NFC at AFC – Jeff Triplette

Super Bowl

New Orleans at Indianapolis – Scott Green

Comments

  1. Well in the past, there have been 10 different refs in the first three rounds, with one of those 10 also getting the Super Bowl. If I had to choose the best 10, I’d go with Walt Anderson, Mike Carey, Carl Cheffers, Tony Corrente, Ed Hochuli, Bill Leavy, Terry McAulay, John Parry, Gene Steratore, and Jeff Triplette. I’d like to see Steratore do the SB, but he probably has not been a referee long enough yet.

  3. Figured I’d point this out before someone starts an argument over it… Cincinnati is spelled incorrectly.

  4. Guy’s we shall see if this is true or not but a buddy of mine who works for the Boston Globe found out that Jerome Boger has the Ravens/Patriots game on Sunday. It makes sense as he has not done a Ravens game all year and did one Patriots game in London England vs Tampa Bay. I will let you know when this is confirmed in writing.

  5. Playoff assignments come out officially on Wednesday. Spoke with an official about it today.

  6. I made the two corrections to the mistakes I made above. Sorry about that, was in a bit of a rush when I did it and first time making a new page on here since I started helping Mickey.

  7. Hopefully, Ron Winter and his crew will reflect on their abysmal season by watching better crews work the post season!

  8. I disagree with Lens rude comments about Winter and his crew. I thought they had a very good season and deserve a playoff game.

    • Candace, Winter did not have an overall good season. Regardless of fighting over his work, it can easily be concluded he is not one of the ten best officials.

    • Disgusted in Cleveland, You have to let that go. If that is honestly the only thing you have to say anout Walt then stop osting, we understand you are angry about it, but its not like it cost the Browns the game or anything. Give it a rest. Anderson is a great official who is due to the ref the super bowl and I hope he gets it this year.

          • Your welcome Joe,
            I hope to find as much information as I can and if all goes well, I should know next week’s assignments by Thursday or Friday.

          • You had it all right last week, so I’ll believe it =)

            I cannot believe that Parry and McAulay were alternates, while Boger, Green and Winter got assignments.

          • Also, if Mike Carey and Tony Corrente get the Conference Championship games, that means Triplette and Morelli were left out 2 years in a row…I am highly disappointed that the NFL but Winter, Boger and Green in…all in my opinion not top 10

          • the trend in previous years is that a referee from the divisional round weekend generally referees the Super Bowl, meaning that Anderson, Boger, Winter or Cheffers gets it, however, I think that Boger and Cheffers are still to new to being a crew leader, that means that its between Winter and Anderson…(this is all speculation)

          • Mike Carey was 2 years ago (Giants-Pats)

            Last year was either McAulay or Corrente, I cannot remember off the top of my head

          • Last year was McAulay, and he did an excellent job. Before that, XLII was Carey, XLI Corrente, XL Leavy, XXXIX McAulay, XXXVIII Hochuli, XXXVII Carollo, XXXVI Kukar… I cannot remember before that.

          • Definitely. I still do not know what a “personal fall” is, other than it costs a team 15 yards šŸ™‚

          • “Personal fall”?! It was Bernie Kukar who said that in his thick Minnesota accent. He pronounced “personal foul” as “personal fall”.

          • In posting the championship game assignments above I neglected to mention that Corrente’s crew is in Indianapolis.

          • All I feel free to say is that I have an absolutely reliable source. Frankly, I’m stunned at McAulay myself. I believe that he, Steratore, Corrente, Leavy, and Hochuli are the best R’s in the NFL. But with him and Parry being ALT’s, they’re done for anything more. Steratore won’t do the SB because an R has to have a championship before a SB and he doens’t. If I had to guess — I’ll know next week — I’d guess Carey and Corrente for the championship, mainly because none of their crew members have appeared in other crews or as ALT’s yet. You can rule out R’s who’ve had crew members show up so far.

          • Hayword from Carey’s crew worked with Hochuli this week and Howard Slavin, Corrente’s replay Official, worked in Dallas. However, I still agree that Corrente and M.Carey are probably CC Refs with the long shot being Pete Morelli.

          • Hey Vet, this isnt the secret service if you want to come on here and try and look like some hero because you know refs assignmnets then name your source. Im tired of people either naming fake assignmnets or have ther correct assignments but act like its so secretive. give me a break

          • Sorry you feel that way, but I understand. Not trying to be a “hero” — just happened on this site awhile back and do have a source but don’t want to jeopardize it by revealing it. It might not cause a problem, but it might.

          • he could work for the leaguewhich would jeopardize a lot…he was 100% last week, so just go with it…if he happens to be wrong (which i highly doubt) then the website can be changed…no big deal.

  10. Triplette and Morelli will get playoff assignments this year. Veteren refs unless they really mess up dont miss back to back playoffs. Both refs were solid this year. I really hate how everyone busts on Triplette.

    • Triplette takes a beating, true, but so does Morelli. You’re right, both are fine officials. People who are ref bashers make me sick. I wish more people would realize that the standard for correctness for officials in the NFL is 97.5%. I’d like to see whether all those critics of NFL officiating meet that standard in their own jobs.

    • I do too, I think Morelli is top tier, and Triplette is pretty good too, I also agree that Walt Anderson should get the SuperBowl he is due for one.

  12. As long as Walt Anderson does not officiate any Ravens games.

    Not because of Walt, but because of his head linesmen, phil mckinnely.

  13. Its safe to say that there will be a new crew for Ravens-Patriots this time around. That first game they treated Tom Brady like a queen in a skirt rather than a quarterback. Baltimore outplayed the Pats in week 4 but cheap roughing the passer calls decided the game. Tom Brady should not get special treatment.

      • We know. And it would be a shame to have them officiate a game between the same two teams in the playoffs. This game actually has the potential to be very entertaining/competitive. I, personally, don’t want to see it decided by the officials.

        I’m pulling for Hochuli to get this game. He’s not perfect(no official is), but he certainly doesn’t have a vendetta against the Ravens like quite a lot of other officials.

  14. FYI guys, when I type something in as an administator of the site, it will come up in a blue/tan box.

    I have replaced the comment in question with ***s.

    Mickey asked me to assist him with posting information and writing some stories on here, not in policing what people have for comments. I am going to speak with him and see what his thoughts are in regards to this.

    If we removed every comment that had anything negative in it, we would be eliminating alot of them. So where would the line be drawn? People have different opinions of what is vulgar and what is not as you can obviously see.

    Yes the NFL Officials work at a very high rate of correctness, but no one notices the correct calls, only the bad ones or the ones they think are bad. This is where discussion comes from. If everyone thought that the officials all did a great job there would be nothing to talk about.

    If we want all the negativity and poor choice of words removed, 10 of the above comments would get the axe. I agree that people should try to act like adults, but I don’t know if we want to become the language police. I will speak to Mickey and see what he recommends.

    Thanks again for everyone’s interest in the site. Looking forward to the playoffs.

  15. Just spoke with Mickey, foul/abusive language will be edited out and removed, along with all corresponding comments regarding said language.

    As you’ll notice most of the above comments have been removed regarding the inappropriate word.

  16. Wow. I like to use this site for referee knowledge and some good laughs. I have never even posted till now. I have read nothing offensive in any of these comments. Never seen people make a big deal over nothing. I am done using this site and will go by real websites for official assignments.

  19. NY Jets at Cincinnati – Green
    Philadelphia at Dallas – M. Carey
    Baltimore at New England – Winter
    Green Bay at Arizona – Boger

  20. NY Jets at Cincinnati ā€“ Corrente
    Philadelphia at Dallas ā€“ Steratore
    Baltimore at New England ā€“ Boger
    Green Bay at Arizona ā€“ Riveron

  25. I believe the NFL under Goodell has changed its pattern for choosing the Super Bowl ref. Before, it used to be one of the Wild Card Weekend refs. The past few years, it appears to have been one of the Divisional (second) rounders.
    If I’m wrong, someone set me straight, but I believe that’s what has happened.
    — Joey P

    • not true…they try to mix them up between first and second round in hopes of avoiding having officials work one of the Super Bowl teams twice in the post season.

  26. That appears to be the pattern from the last couple of years. McAuley had a divisional round game last year and MCarey had one the year previous.

  27. I have been trying to get the Packers dope sheet downloaded, but it keeps saying file has been damaged.

  28. The NFL picks its Super Bowl crews by a year-long rating system. Every official is analyzed on every play during the course of 15 games (each ref has two weeks off during the season). The highest rated Referee at the end of the regular season gets the super bowl. Same with each of the highest rated position officials. The NFL’s VP of Officiating, Mike Pereira, has confirmed this process on NFL Network’s “Official Review” segment many times.

    This rating system is also used to determine the playoff crews. But for the wild card, and I think divisional rounds too, the entire crew is selected, not just position officials. So while one Referee may be the highest ranked, and will get the super bowl, his crew may not have been ranked as high and could be in either the wild card or divisional round.

    I believe the above is accurate, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

    • Sounds pretty accurate, but some of the refs only get 1 week of per season. (3 i think, maybe 2?)

    • not quite. the highest rated official at each position may not qualify for post season or the Super Bowl. Also, highest rated two years in a row does not get two straight Super Bowls. So, you could have highest rated crew members doing Conference Championships.

  29. Great Plains,
    There was one comment on here in regards to Walt Anderson, it did not involve vulgarity or innappropriate language. Would the posters on this board like to see me remove any negative comments towards all the officials? I will certainly do so if that’s what the people that visit the site would prefer.
    If you have an opinion on this, please send it to my email, mlevbb23@yahoo.com. I will remove responses that are posted on the board here in regards to this.
    Thanks,
    Mike

  31. Complaints about officials has a whole lot more to do with this site’s purpose than all of these posts complaining about other posts.

    The ONLY reason you would care about which officials are officiating certain games is because you feel a certain way about certain officials and their crews.

    Otherwise, you wouldn’t have any reason to search for who is officiating the games.

  32. It seems clear to me that most posters are in favor of removing blatant bashing of the officials and keeping this site to discuss the officials, assignments, calls, etc. in a mature manner.

    I started helping Mickey just a month or two ago, so I’m learning as I go here in terms of what everyone wants to get out of this site. I will try to police the comments more in the future.

    Thanks for your input.
    Mike

  34. the selection of ed hochuli 4 the iggels-cowboys game does not bid well 4 the cowboys. hochuli crew’s last year officiated the pre-season game of the cowboys-broncos game-cowboys, loss. After p.t. bartum (jerry jones), made a big noise about hochuli’s crew screw ups in the first chargers game @ mile high at Investco Field, hochuli’s crew got payback, when they was assignment to the ravens-cowboys game. hopefully, ed and p.t bartum (jerry jones) made peace, if not, i expect the cowboys 2 b heavily penalize or flags being throw at the most unsupected time of the game (when the cowboys are moving to score or behind and heading for the go ahead score), and probably lose this game, because of ed being shown up by jones, last season. what do you all think?

  36. The only reason I’m surprised about Steratore and Parry is because I thought an official had to be in their position for a certain number of years before being eligible in that role for the postseason, though apparently I’m wrong. On merit, they totally deserve playoff assignments. Am I right in assuming that officials are paid more for working playoff games? Does the pay increase for working a championship game versus a wild card game?

    • hey. I believe that they have to wait a certain number of years before reffing the SB, but playoffs is not restricted…apart from rookie refs (making don carey the only ineligible)

      both parry and steratore had assignments last year too

      • So they did! I stand corrected. But, is it only the officials who work the division championships (not conference championships) who are eligible for the Superbowl?

        • I believe that is the trend now, however, back in the 05-06 season, Leavy reffed WC weekend, and then he had the Hawks-Steelers SuperBowl.

          Also, McAulay hasn’t missed playoffs since 03-04 season as a head referee. (He became a ref at the beginning on 01-02 season)

  37. Vet, how did you get this info? No where online have I seen refs listed this weekend. Only Dallas Morning News has Hochuli.

  38. NO surprise here on the wild-card choices for officials..ALL of them deserve it…Well qualified

      • Scott Green had his best season since being promoted to referee. The NFL is rewarding him on a solid season.

        • his best season still doesnt make him one of the top 10 though, and we still have yet to see confirmation on anyone other than hochuli in dallas. steratore, green and leavy haven’t been confirmed

      • All you crybabies who think refs don’t deserve a playoff game b/c they blow a call that you happened to catch on tv 1 time can shut up and stop making yourself look like morons b/c you’re prob just disappointed your team didn’t make the playoffs and it wouldn’t have mattered who was reffing at the time b/c your team wasn’t tough enough in the first place. Refs make mistakes, as you do too. So realize what exactly your talking about and know you have nothing to back it up with b/c you couldn’t have done any better.

  39. Crews for Saturday:

    Jets@Bengals
    Referee- Bill Leavy
    Umpire- Darrell Jenkins (Leavy)
    HL- Mark Baltz (Leavy)
    LJ- Mark Peralman (Leavy)
    SJ- Joe Larrew (Boger)
    BJ- Kieth Ferguson (leavy)
    FJ- Clete Blakeman (Leavy)
    ALT HL- Dana McKenzie (D.Carey)
    ALT FJ- Doug Rosenbaum (Boger)

    Eagles@Cowboys
    Referee- Ed Hochuli
    Umpire- Jeff Rice (Coleman)
    HL- George Hayward (M.Carey)
    LJ- Tim Podraza (Hochuli)
    SJ- Barry Anderson (Hochuli)
    BJ- Kirk Dornan (Hochuli)
    FJ- Craig Wrolstad (Hochuli)
    ALT LJ- Mike Spanier (Triplette)
    ALT FJ- Mike Weir (D.Carey)

  40. Crews for Sunday:

    Ravens@ Patriots
    Referee- Gene Steratore
    Umpire- Tony Michalek (Steratore)
    HL- Jerry Bergman (Steratore)
    LJ- Jeff Seeman (Steratore)
    SJ- Mike Weatherford (Steratore)
    BJ- Bob Waggoner (Steratore)
    FJ- Greg Gautreaux (Steratore)
    ALT Referee- John Parry
    ALT BJ- Tony Steratore (Boger)

    Packers@Cardinals
    Referee- Scott Green
    Umpire- Butch Hannah (Green)
    HL- Tom Stabile (Green)
    LJ- Tom Symonette (Green)
    SJ- Larry Rose (Green)
    BJ- Lee Dyer (Green)
    FJ- Boris Cheek (Green)
    ALT Umpire- Richard Hall (Morelli)
    ALT BJ- Terrence Miles (D.Carey)

      • If you’re an alternate for this round, does that mean this is your only playoff assignment?

        • The only possibility of you working on the field is in the Super Bowl and that is very unlikely. I am surprised Parry did not qualify for the playoffs.

          • He’s an alternate, does that not count as a playoff assignment?
            Also I thought Tony Steratore was one of the NFL’s top back judges, I guess he didn’t have a great season this year?

  41. just looking at the alternates for this weekend, I would assume that Boger will not get an assignments, unless he gets conference where its an all-star crew, because a lot of his crew seems to be in use this weekend. Also, I would think Parry won’t get an assignment since he is alternate, which sucks cuz he is pretty good.

  43. Why do they mix the crews for the playoffs? Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the full crew that has been working together all year?

  44. Replay Officials:

    Jets@Bengals-Jim Lapetina (Morelli)
    Eagles@Cowboys- Howard Slavin (Corrente)
    Ravens@Patriots- Bob Boylston (Triplette)

    –Believe it or not, the Replay officials count as a part of the crew, so this eliminates Corrente for next week also.

      • if that is true, then this is whats possible for Superbowl:
        Generally, but not always, one of the 4 divisional weekend refs, is the SuperBowl ref also, SO:
        that means that most likely, Anderson, Winter or McAulay gets SB, seeing as Cheffers is too new. McAulay had it last year, leaving WInter or Anderson. God help us all if its Winter, but I’ve been wanting Anderson all year, he deserves it

    • This indicates to me that Corrente will get one of the Conference Championship games. He very well could be one of the top 3 rated at the Referee position which is the normal criteria for the Conference Championship game officials.

      This also means to me that Anderson is without a doubt the favorite to the Super Bowl.

  45. Replay Official for Packers@Cardianls was Dick Creed (Green). Green was the only Referee who had his regular season replay official this round

  46. I have to agree that Ron Winter has not had a good year! My top 10 refs are in the order below!

    ED HOCHULI
    MIKE CAREY
    WALT COLEMAN
    TERRY McAUALY
    AL RIVERON
    JEFF TRIPLETTE
    JOHN PARRY
    SCOTT GREEN
    PETE MORELLI
    TONY CORRENTE

    GENE STERATORE

    • Not in any order, but I think that the top 8 overall (not just this year) are:

      Steratore
      Corrente
      McAulay
      Parry
      Leavy
      Hochuli
      Morelli
      Cheffers

  47. Yeah Russ, where did you manage to find all that information?

    Best ref this week by far was Steratore, worst — well, its obvious i think…Scott Green had a terrible TERRIBLE game.

    • I agree, Green did not have a good game tonight. But I thought the officiating in all of the other games this weekend was good, for the most part.

  48. next week predictions:

    Arizona at New Orleans: Carl Cheffers or Jeff Triplette
    Baltimore at Indianapolis: Tony Corrente
    Dallas at Minnesota: Pete Morelli
    Jets at San Diego: Walt Anderson

    Mike Carey and Terry McAulay with the championship games and Ed Hochuli with Superbowl
    Ron Winter or Walt Coleman with Pro Bowl

    • Members of Triplette’s, Corrente’s and Morelli’s crew all worked this week, so they’ll all be off most likely.
      I like Cheffers and Anderson to work this week…

      I think you are right with McAulay and Carey for Champs, and I think Anderson takes the SB….usually, a divisional round ref works the SB…

      I give the Pro Bowl to Triplette

  49. These are my predictions on who will be the referee for the following NFL Divisional Playoff games:

    ARZ @ NO – Mike Carey
    DAL @ MIN – Walt Anderson
    BAL @ IND – Pete Morelli
    NYJ @ SD – John Parry

    • Parry was an alternate this week, and members of Morelli’s crew reffed this week, most likely eliminating both of them

  50. This site is great!

    I think next week we will see:
    Anderson Cheffers McAulay and Morelli

    Morelli had crew working this week, but they can replace those with others…

    for CC Week, I think Mike Carey and Corrente…and the SB should be Walt Anderson like everyone else is saying.

    Pro Bowl — either Winter or triplette….

    any ideas?

  51. I just finished watching the Cardinals-Packers game. I now remember why I stopped watch all sports but football most of alll. The refereeing is SOOOOOO BAAAAAAD it is almost comical. At first I was mad because the Cards won, then I realized the Cards were only the beneficiary of some really bad calls. When can a receiver run threough a defender and knock him down and not get called for illegal contact and then score a touchdown? And it was right out in the open. Even the announcers were asking how they missed it. Then on the last play of the game there should have been a facemask call on the Cards but no, It’s a touchdown! I NOW remember why I stop watching all sports. It just isn’t any fun to watch BAD refereeing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  52. Steratore’s great. I was in attendance at the SD/DAL Week 13 matchup, and I thought he did a great job. You all seem to think that this won’t be his year for the SB because he’s only been in the League a couple years, but I think a SB is definitely in his near future if he keeps it up.

    Also, a little bit on that officiating collapse in GB/ARI. Not sure why they didn’t call a Helmet-to-Helmet on the play Rogers got hit…wouldn’t have been roughing the passer because, well, he wasn’t a passer on that play, but it still shoulda been called. Also, Peter King explained why the facemask wasn’t called on the last play:

    “The referee, Scott Green, stands behind the pocket and has to watch first for the loose ball. Once the ball is out, Green’s job is to watch ball for possession. He can’t watch the QB then. If he saw the facemask, it’d mean he wasn’t watching ball. It’s a quirky rule, but it’s the referee’s call — and the ref is charged with possession once the ball is loose.”

    So, the circumstances called for Green to NOT be looking at the facemask of the QB, which meant according to league protocol, Green did the right thing. Dumb rule, but what would we have said if Green flubbed the possession call in some way? (Assuming it could have been flubbed) He did what he was supposed to do, unfortunately enough. Can’t explain any of the other stuff though (Fitz rolling over a DB like a speed bump, for instance)

    • OK he is watching the ball, on the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal you can see the ball is coming out and you CAN ALSO SEE THE DEFENDERS HAND ON THE FACE MASK of Arron ROdgers. So again I ask why wasn’t AZ called for face masking?

  53. Baltimore at New England. See what happened when a quality officiating crew works a game!!!

    Steratore’s crew did an excellent job, and had the camera angle been a bit higher, he would have had conclusive visual evidence of the successful two point conversion.

    Hopefully, Ron Winter and his crew were watching!

      • Actually i have to admit the officiating was pretty poor in the week 4 game. They called cheap roughing the passer flags on Brady. Plus Clayton dropped a open pass late. The Ravens should have won in week 4. They were the better team as they proved again yesterday. Too many cheap penalties went the Pats way in week 4. The refs were fair yesterday, hence the better team won. Steratore and his crew are excellent.

        • I agree, Celtics_gurl. Steratore and company were fantastic. Only eight total penalties in the game and — this is key for any officiating crew — you barely knew they were there… except for replays, of course.
          By the way, folks, we can eliminate Parry for BAL/IND. He did their game on Nov. 22… but I think Parry is another good young ref, like Steratore.
          – Joey P

      • Let’s see how he does in New Orleans this week. Maybe there will be so much scoring he won’t have a chance to mess up. Besides, which of the QB’s will he protect?

        And by the way, I was at the Pat’s vs Ravens game, then watched it again. The questionable penalty and crucial poor spots by his crew were dreadful. How they managed a playoff game is likely due to poor scores by other crews rather than their own merit.

    • The replay did show that the ball broke the plain and it should have been a succesful 2 point conversion. But Baltimore was so dominant over NE it really didnt matter. They came out and really hammered the Patriots.

      • I really hope you are wrong about Winter. New Orleans and Arizona should be a great matchup and I don’t want Winter to ruin it. Cheffers and Anderson definitely deserve it. I am surprised by Boger, but not as surprised as Green this week or the possibility of Winter. With that said, I’d say that the championship games must be Mike Carey and Tony Corrente as I cannot see either of them being left out of the playoffs.

        • I’d rather Winter than Anderson. I feel sorry for the Vikes & Cowboys. Anderson’s crew leads the league in accepeted penalties per game and is 2nd in yards per penalty. And for Vikes fans has by far the lowest winning % for home teams.

          • I have to disagree with Steven. Walt Anderson does an excellent job and is one of the best in the league.

      • I’ve been reading your posts, seems as if you have an inside track on officials being named to certain games. I’m wondering if you know about certain referees and coaches past experiences. Because….if Ron Winter is the head official for the saints game, then we’re (saints fan) screwed! I did a little research and Sean Payton was fined only a year ago for criticizing Ron Winter’s crew. Now, I know we are all professionals and those things SHOULD just blow over, but I know that there must be a bit of bad blood between the two (Payton and Winter). I’m HOPING that you are either wrong about the assignment OR that the commissioner will look into this and reassign another referee to the game. Maybe the ALT that you disclosed-McAulay (who isn’t much better). Just to give my two sense….best referee is Mike Carey followed closely by Jeff Triplette

        • One thing that I think the average fan doesn’t appreciate is that the NFL officials’ evaluation process is so rigorous that if an official shaded calls one way or the other, for whatever reason, it would be easily discovered. There is such a razor-thin difference in the season’s grades between the first- and last-ranked official at each position that one or two missed calls (fouls called that shouldn’t have been, or not called that should have been, with the former hurting grade-wise more than the latter) can put an official in the top- or bottom-tier. The bottom line is that no official can afford to let biases interfere with performance, even assuming he was inclined to do so, because it could kill his chances of a playoff and, ultimately, put him out of the league.

        • Terry McAulay is the best referee in the NFL. He got a Conference Championship game in his first year of eligibility and has worked seceral since and two Super Bowls. that puts him in Ed Hochuli and Jerry Markbreit/Bob McElway territory.

      • Thanks for the info Vet. Those are some good assignments in the Divisional round. Here are my Conference Championship/Super Bowl guesses:

        NFC- McCauley
        AFC- Corrente
        Super Bowl- Boger

        • Coates, McAulay is an alternate this weekend, so he won’t be working anymore. I’d say Mike Carey in McAulay’s place, and Walt Anderson with the SuperBowl…
          Boger has only be reffing for like 4 years (maybe 5?) so I think he is still too new at the white hat spot…He became a head ref the same year Steratore did…

          • Okay thank you, I didn’t realize being an alternate eliminated an official from working next weekend. Can someone please tell me why McCauley is not working the playoffs? I think he is one of the best in the league.

            I don’t care how many years Boger has been working. He is very good and deserves the Super Bowl.

          • I can’t quite figure out why McAulay did not get an assignment…I think he is definitely one of , if not the best refs. Rumor has it that he is replacing Pereira, so maybe that is why, so as not to show favoritism or something…I disagree about Boger though…He is maybe 8th at best.

            (McAulay, Corrente, Cheffers, Anderson, Leavy, Hochuli and Steratore are definitely all better)

        • Boger does not qualify for Super Bowl. He needs to have five years at referee position plus at least one Conference Chamionship game. He has neither.

  56. As a Patriots fan and having been at the game yesterday – I’m of the opinion that maybe we shouldn’t be quite so quick to consider Steratore so HOF worthy just yet.

    I made it a point to watch the Ravens Offensive Line play (with my binoculars in tow). There was blatant holding many times, and I wouldn’t even call their first run from scrimmage above reproach. Not one Holding Call on 52 Ravens running plays. I was appalled.

    Now, I’m not saying it would have made a difference in the outcome — but come on. I’m also beside myself over the lack of a call on the pass play to Ben Watson later in the game when he was mugged in the secondary. He was Grabbed with two hands by the defender well before the ball arrived right in front of the whole world to see. The Pat’s had an outside chance of making it an interesting finish should the proper call have been made right there. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for that not to have been called correctly!!!

    Now I’m paying good money, freezing my arse off at this game and as a Pat’s season ticket holder would expect a fair shake on the calls. Especially with home field advantage for the game…..Please don’t give Steratore more credit than he deserves….

    • New England got away with some holds as well Tom. I cannot believe you are blaming the refs for the Patriots loss. Baltimore outplayed them all afternoon. If you watch really closely, you could interpret holding on about every play on both sides, but this is football let them play. The bottom line is Baltimore dominated New England yesterday and won rather easily. Gene Steratore’s crew was terrific and let the 2 teams play. The first game in week 4 was marred by bad calls that favored New England. The Patriots didn’t look like a playoff team yesterday. They were pummeled big time.

    • Tom,
      The only blown call favored the Patriots. On the muffed punt, the Pats player never had possession in bounds. The ball should have stayed with the Ravens. The only way the Pats could score a first half TD was because of a blown call.

    • Folks, please don’t let Toms sour grapes comments make you think all Patriot fans are sore losers. We definately lost to the better team yesterday and the referees were very good. In fact, Baltimore had more reason to complain. I saw multiple instances where number 92 on Baltimore got held blatantly and there was no call. There also was illegal contact on Baltimore receivers not called on the Patriot Db’s. I was shocked how many times the Patriot’s O line was allowed to hold the Baltimore D Line. It was dissappointing way to end the season, but I want to congratulate the Ravens on a great win. They really dominated us from start to finish.

      • I agree with Coates_87–The Pats got outplayed in every aspect of the game. The one call I agree was incorrect was the muffed punt return by Baltimore, as the Patriot who recovered the ball never clearly had possession prior to going out of bounds. I was surprised that the Baltimore coach didn’t challenge. Otherwise, I think Steratore’s crew did a great job; perhaps it helped that his entire regular season crew was working the game together.

    • Tom B.
      Home field advantage should play no factor in the officiating. Steratores crew was outstanding and fair to both teams. If you wanted the Pats to get special treatment, go watch the tape of the week 4 contest in which the Pats got all the calls their way including those phantom roughing the passer calls. Or go watch the AFC title game, when New England got away with mugging the Colts receivers.

    • Thank you Kelly G, Go Pats, Coates_87, Alan and Eric B for weighing in after my rant.

      Let me set the record straight — I am not and did not blame the Refs for the Patriots’ loss last weekend. The Ravens outplayed the Pat’s and deserved to win. Consider one of my quotes, “Now, Iā€™m not saying it would have made a difference in the outcome”. That should have made that point.

      That said, I still don’t have answers as to:

      1.) How does a team run 52 running plays on the road and not get flagged for 1 holding call (especially when it did occur at times)?
      2.) How does Ben Watson get outright mugged later in the game as the center piece of the play and no flag is thrown?

      My points were not to challenge who was the better team, or to offer up sour grapes. But instead, to point out that Steratore and his crew are not as infallible as some on this board seem to think…..

      I’m rooting for the Ravens the rest of the way. Hopefully, they get the same kind of treatment from the officials as they did this past Sunday. And, as importantly, hopefully Indy doesn’t benefit from a boatload of home town calls (which they’ve almost come to expect)….

      • Tom B: The same reason why they didn’t call the holds on the Patriots O Line for holding the Ravens defenders. The officials wanted to let the players decide the game on the field.
        Tom B, The Patriots got a huge break when they were rewarded the ball on the muffed punt when the Pats player never possessed it. The blown call led to the Pats first touchdown. Baltimore was the better team and deserved the win. New England played very poorly.

    • Most of the Ravens penalties this year have been of the stupid variety, holding away from the play, unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct; etc. The Umpire was consistent in letting the teams play, the Patriots had several instances where holding could have been called. IF THEY FOLLOWED THE RULES TO THE LETTER, there would be holding called on every single play.

      Steratore and Boger are excellent refs as are MacCauley, Triplette, Corrente and Mike Carey. However, none of them are as good as Jerry Markbreit, Red Cashion, or Jim Tunney were.

      • The Patriots got away with several holds in the Wild Card game. Patriots fans have nothing to complain about. The Ravens outplayed them big time and deserved the win. It is ludicrous for Tom to blame the officials for the Patriots losing.

        • Adam and ncref — Agreed….

          Lee Corso’s Twin — You’re Wrong!!!! I DID NOT AND DO NOT BLAME THE OFFICIALS FOR THE PATRIOTS LOSS…..In fact, these were my very words “Let me set the record straight ā€” I am not and did not blame the Refs for the Patriotsā€™ loss last weekend. The Ravens outplayed the Patā€™s and deserved to win.” I JUST DON”T KNOW HOW MORE PLAINLY I CAN SAY THAT.

          At the same time, why can’t I seperate that and still challenge the officials on some things without people on this board divining judgement as to my motivations……WOW…..

          THE PATRIOTS LOST AND DESERVED TO LOSE. THE RAVENS WON AND VERY MUCH DESERVED TO WIN!!!!!!! And, I’ll add that the Refs made favorable calls (and let things go) that were favorable towards the Patriot’s.

          But, seperate and apart from that, my questions stand. As well, my opinion of the Steratore crew seems to differ from everyone else on this board. I understand that, but I’ll also retain my opinion…..

  57. my predictions:

    DAL@MIN Walt Anderson
    NYJ@SD Al Riveron
    ARZ@NO Terry McAualy
    BLT@IND Jeff Triplette

  58. As far as the refs are concerned, remember it’s not necessarily the entire crew. Three of Boger’s crew were assigned to work Wild Card Weekend as officials or alternates. So, if Boger is indeed working a game this weekend. I think he’s replacing Corrente, who looks like he’ll have a CC game.

  59. McCauly getting left out?? wow…that could mean anything could happen…like Carey or Corrente get hosed in favor of a Morreli or Triplette or Riveron…interesting how they do it

    • if Riveron get a CC game it might be time to give up on the NFL. The worst refereed game I saw this year was the week 5 Monday night game between the Jets and Dolphins. There were phanton PI calls all over the place.

  61. Updated, thanks Vet. Please keep the info coming, he was 100% correct last week so let’s not reveal the source and risk jeopardizing it.

  62. To Tom B:

    I agree the Ben Watson interference over the middle in the red zone, should have been called. But lets just say that was the make up call for the muffed punt call which you scored 7 points on a 16 yard drive.

    I certainly hope, you as a Pats fan, were unbiased and complaining for the lack of defensive pass interference calls from the muggings the Pats DBs gave the Colts WRs in the playoffs earlier in the decade. Otherwise that would make you a hypocrite.

    BTW you complain lack of holding calls on the Ravens O-Line? Come on. Where was the flag on Suggs strip of Brady? Classic offensive holding.

    • Rav: If you think the Watson play should have been called. Then what about the Pats OL holding Ngata several times without a holding call? It goes both ways.

      • Rav, you’ve given me the best explanation yet on that Watson play/non-call. And yes, the Patriot’s did benefit from a bad call on that muffed punt earlier in the game. So, making up for that bad call was in order. Hence, the non-call on the Watson play is more understandable. Bottom line then, final score should have been 40-7 Ravens….

        The rules for Defensive Pass Interference were tightened up (aka the Polian Rules) after that NE/Indy playoff game you refer to. It’s now called/enforced differently (more strictly).

        In make up fashion you’d appreciate, Indy benefited in the AFC Championship game against NE several years ago. A key pass interference call (bad call, league admitted to later) was made in the 2nd half which assisted greatly in Indy’s comeback. In that same game, a bogus Offensive Pass Interference call on Troy Brown late in the first half was vital/instrumental in shifting the momentum/score of that game from what truly should have been going into the half. Indy went on to “win” the game and their SB that year…..

  63. Great….Ron Winter. Saints are screwed. I just hope the saints are ahead enough so that winter and his crew don’t botch it in the final minutes of the game. Good grief, do the Saints always have to play against more than allowed number of players on the field, 11? I guess they will have to, yet again, defy the odds and win this one with one arm tied behind their back. WHO DAT?!?!?!?!

  64. Do Boger, Winter, Cheffers, and Anderson all have their regular crews intact for their playoff game?

    Also, does anyone know if officials get paid more per game for working playoff games, or is it the equivalent of a regular game check? Does it vary by the level of the game officiated (i.e. wild card vs. championship vs. Superbowl)?

  65. Boger surprised and even Cheffers who had a good year. But, I would honestly not be surprised to see Morelli in there and Carey left out all together. The lead referee in the game is ranked on how he himself performed and I know Morelli himself had a good yr

  66. Super Bowl ref will be either Anderson, Leavy or Hochuli since none of the others who worked last week or this are Super Bowl eligible. They need five years at current position and need to have worked at least one Conference Championship game. So, the likely Conferece Championship assignments this year would go to : McAulay, Mike Carey

  67. If the NFL shuts out Terry McAulay and rewards Winter and Anderson, that would signal a dangerous trend toward more activist refs. The Dallas/New Orleans game stood out to me as the best officiated game of the year because the players played and there weren’t a bunch of flags for ticky-tack nonsense that other refs would have called.

    • Walt Anderson is likely Super Bowl ref. Winter has not worked a Conference Championship game as referee so he is not eligible.

    • The ideal crew would be one that finds the right balance between controlling the game and letting the players play.

      That said, that it is a mystery to me why McAulay is an alternate.

      • I agree, the fact that Green, Boger, Winter have all gotten assignments, while Triplette has been left out, and McAulay and Parry were both alternates shocked me.

        • Triplette could be assigned to the AFC or NFC championship game. Triplette/Morelli and Corrente are the most likely choices. Ed Hochuli is going to officiate the super bowl.

          • I dunno. I am like 99% sure Mike Carey gets CC…I cannot see he being left out: also going for him is that only 1 of his crew has gotten an assignment. 4 of Corrente’s 6 other crew are all working this weekend, which makes him less likely. I think it’ll be him or Morelli and Mike Carey. Triplette gets the Pro Bowl, and Walt Anderson the SB.

            I don’t see Hochuli getting the SB for two reasons.
            1. Generally, the SB goes to a Div weekend ref, but not always…
            2. If SD makes it to the SB, which is a high chance of that happening, I definitely don’t see him getting it since last season there was an issue, ha.

  68. I have a question for Vet or Russ. Are the conference championship pairings already set or do the results of the divisional round games and which matchups they set up impact which officials will be selected? thank you

      • Russ, Has the super bowl lead referee been selected yet. A lot of folks on this board have already handed the assignment to Anderson. But what if he has a bad game tomorrow? Don’t playoff performance count towards the gradings that determine who calls the Super Bowl? I still think Ron Winter has a shot to govern the super bowl.

        • no, it is not announced until after the conference championships. If it is not Anderson (which I think it will be), look for it to be Bill Leavy who had a great year or Ed Hochuli. I do not see it being Ron Winter as he has sucked today and I think Boger, Cheffers, and Seratore are too young.

          • Russ – you are right that Boger Cheffers and Steratore are all to young.

            and Lee Corso’s twin – Winter is horrible

          • He didn’t really suck Lee. I was overreacted a little at his awful RTP call. Other than that he was fine, I defineately would not be surprised to sim him in the super bowl.

  69. This was on DMN – interesting about Anderson…

    Yellow flags: Anderson gets Cowboys-Vikings game
    Rick Gosselin/Columnist

    The Cowboys haven’t even boarded the plane yet for their NFC semifinal game with the Minnesota Vikings this weekend but already have caught a huge break. A league source said the NFL has assigned the officiating crew of Walt Anderson to work the game between the Cowboys and Vikings.

    The Anderson crew was the only one of the league’s 17 officiating crews to assess 200 penalties this season. It also led the league with its 1,794 penalty yards, 172 more than the No. 2 crew. That should alarm the Cowboys, one of the league’s most penalized teams this season.

    But it’s even more alarming to the Vikings. Anderson’s crew was harder on home teams than any officiating crew this season. It assessed 113 penalties for a staggering 1,029 yards on home teams.

    As a means of comparison, the Cowboys drew the Ed Hochuli crew for its opening-round playoff game last weekend. Working the same number of games (15) during the regular season, the Hochuli crew called 22 fewer penalties for 317 fewer yards against home teams than Anderson.
    Anderson’s crew assessed 10 or more penalties against six teams this season. Five of them were home teams. He also assessed 100 or more yards in penalties against five teams. Four of them were home teams.

    Anderson worked one game apiece involving the Cowboys and Vikings this the season. In the Minnesota-Detroit game at Minneapolis, Anderson assessed 13 penalties for 91 yards against the Vikings. His crew penalized Detroit only four times for 40 yards. In the Cowboys-Broncos game at Denver, Anderson penalized the Broncos 10 times for 81 yards. He penalized the Cowboys seven times for 70 yards.

    In the Baltimore-Green Bay game in December, Anderson walked off an NFL season-high 310 yards in penalties. He was hard on the road Ravens, assessing 12 penalties for 135 yards. But he was even harder on the home Packers, assessing 11 penalties for 175 yards.

  70. I wonder if Al Riveron will get the pro bowl with it being in miami and Riveron who now resides in Miami

  72. Why is a guy from Texas doing the Dallas game? Seems like the NFL would do better to alleviate even the hint of bias.

        • Yeah, Sugarland is on the south side of Houston. And in general, Houstonites hate the Cowboys. I really don’t think there’s any more chance of bias based on that then if the guy were from anywhere else.

  73. Does anyone know if Mike Carey will be referree-ing during the playoffs?

    I like him as my favorite referee. however it seams like this season he did not get many prime time games or crucial 4pm games.

    is there a reason for this.

    he is great!

  74. Can anybody tell me what has become of “OLD HOOK NOSE” himself Phil Luckett ? That guy had to be the shadiest referee of all time in the NFL.

  75. Will you post the full crews for these? It looks like they are mixing up crew members from the regular season.

    • Saturdayā€™s Crews:

      Cardinals@Saints
      Referee- Ron Winter
      Umpire- Bill Schuster (Winter)
      HL- John Schleyer (Boger)
      LJ- Tom Stephan (Winter)
      SJ- Michael Banks (McAulay)
      BJ- Richard Reels (Winter)
      FJ- Jim Howey (Winter)
      ALT HL- Ed Camp (Riveron)
      ALT LJ- Mark Steinkerchner (McAulay)

      Ravens @ Colts
      Referee- Carl Cheffers
      Umpire- Undrey Wash (Cheffers)
      HL- Kent Payne (Cheffers)
      LJ- Chuck Stewart (Cheffers)
      SJ- Rick Patterson (Coleman)
      BJ- Dino Pagnelli (Cheffers)
      FJ- Steve Zimmer (Riveron)
      ALT Umpire- Bruce Stritesky (Triplette)
      ALT SJ- Kieth Washington (Parry)

      Sundayā€™s Crews:

      Cowboys @ Vikings
      Referee- Walt Anderson
      Umpire- Scott Dawson (Anderson)
      HL- Steve Stelljes (Triplette)
      LJ- Carl Johnson (D. Carey)
      SJ- James Coleman (Anderson)
      BJ- Billy Smith (Anderson)
      FJ- Scott Edwards (Parry)
      ALT LJ- Jeff Bergman (Coleman)
      ALT BJ- Steve Freeman (Triplete)

      Jets @ Chargers
      Referee- Jerome Boger
      Umpire- Garth DeFelice (D. Carey)
      HL- John McGrath (Corrente)
      LJ- John Hussey (Corrente)
      SJ- Allen Baynes (Corrente)
      BJ- Greg Wilson (Corrente)
      FJ- Terry Brown (McAulay)
      ALT Referee- Terry McAulay
      ALT FJ- Rob Vernatchi (Morelli)

      • Boger has NO ONE from his regular season crew with him for the Jets-Chargers game–that’s pretty surprising. I wonder why that is?

      • Russ, thanks again for your accurate information. I’ll be waiting for the Championship games’ Crews. If possible, let me know who was in the Replay of the four Divisional Games. Thanks in
        advance.

        • Saturday’s Replay Officials:

          Cardinals@Saints- Earnie Frantz (McAulay)
          Ravens@Colts- Larry Nemmers (Cheffers)
          Cowboys@Vikings- Dale Hamer (Anderson)
          Jets@Chargers- Mark Burns (Boger)

  77. I am rooting for Ron Winter to do well but it looks I am losing my wish. Of course, Ron is involved in a TERRIBLE RTP CALL. In no way is that roughing the passer. I think the QB needs to at leat hit the ground for the foul to be called. also, someone should have been ejected for throwing a punch. Winter clearly had no clue who was actually fighting.

    • Just as he did at Ne and Pitt. He protects some QB’s and lets others get bashed. he is inconsistent in applying the rules and I still can’t believe the NFL rated him high enough for a psot season assignment.

    • We agree on virtually everything. i was just about to post the same thing. He’ll be eligible for the 2014 SB i believe, provided there is not a shut out season in 2011

          • If you are talking to me, then NO. I am a 49er fan. It’s common knowledge that Winter and Green suck. I don’t like or dislike a referee because a call they made effected my team (Winter reffed the 49er-Giant playoff game that cost the Giants the game, his fault. We probably should’ve lost)

    • at least three more seasons provoded he gets a conference championship assignment in the meantime. pretty certain he will. He’s a good rules guy.

  79. Respect the Vet opinion. It appears he is spot on. The SB officials probably know who they are by now. Based on their scores and qualifications. And yes, I agree he should not reveal his source.

  80. Bernie is from minne-soooooooooooooooooooota where they tal;k like that! Check out the classic movie “Fargo” for a primner on Minnesota-ese!

  81. How did Carl Cheffers get a big playoff game last night. Never seen a crew clearly favor a team like last night. How did they not call passing interference on Indi when they blocked out Ray Rice. Safety never even looked at ball clearly face guarding. I usually never bash nfl referees. I usually am the one sticking up for them but I have never liked Carl Cheffers since his promotion.

  82. I’ve seen four plays on which Ray Edwards was blatantly held and nothing called… it’s getting ridiculous!

  83. Flozell Adams had illegal use of hands to the face on jared allen, 2nd play of 2nd Q I believe that wasn’t called, however the U was seen in the backround doing the symbol in Anderson’s direction, probably saying…we screwed up! haha

  84. False start on Harvin?! Give me a BREAK! Ignore the defensive holding on the next play? This has been horrible! If this is the Super Bowl crew, I am very worried.

  85. someone please get rid of the dentist worse referee i have seen yet, better off with the good old winters crew damn.

  86. Got, I am very issapointed in Anderson and his crew. I thought he would be super bowl worthy and shook off the dumb comments saying Anderson is from Dallas, he should not be calling this game. But all those comments were correct, Anderson is clearly favoring the Cowboys but to no avail. My new super bowl pick is Bill Leavy. He has heavily improved since his last Super Bowl. He just goes around quietly becoming one of the top 5 refs in the league. There is never any controversy and calls most penalties correctly. I am rooting for Leavy to get the nod.

    • Leavy is one of the best… I’d be okay with him. I still would love to see Steratore, but I don’t think he’s been a referee long enough.

  87. Now that all 8 games are over with for WC and DIV, and one of the referees we’ve seen will referee the SB:

    Green – bysmal GB-AZ should eliminate him, and I believe he has not reffed a CC game
    Steratore – no CC game, too new
    Winter – bysmal AZ-NO game, but is eligible
    Boger – no CC game, too new
    Cheffers – too new, no CC
    Hochuli – eligible
    Anderson – eligible, but DAL-MINN game was suspect
    Leavy – eligible, best performance of all 8 refs.

  88. Gang:

    A few things:

    – Yes, I loved Kukar, too. Remember the messy ending to an ’01 MNF game between BAL-TEN with the goal-line stand at the end? Kukar got it right!
    – Anderson is one of the most experienced active refs who has never done an SB, at least not as a lead hat. He was the SJ at XXXV (BAL-NYG).
    – Not sure of the eligibility rules myself, but I do like Steratore and Boger. Cheffers’ first postseason game was BAL-IND, and I thought he was a bit shaky.
    – It would very appropriate for Riveron to do the Pro Bowl. He’s the only hometown guy there! šŸ™‚
    – The team I cover is now out of the postseason, but finding this site and taking in all your input was one of the highlights of my year. Thanks a bunch for the ride! See ya this fall!
    Joe Platania,
    PressBox Newspaper, Baltimore
    pressboxonline.com

  89. PREDICTIONS:

    JETS AT INDI. Mike Carey

    VIKINGS AT SAINTS Pete Morelli

    PRO BOWL Al Riveron (Hometown guy)

    SUPERBOWL Ron Winter finally gets his first ever superbowl if not him Ed Hoculi

    • guesses
      Jets-Colts- Triplette
      Vikings-Saints- Corrente
      Pro Bowl- M. Caray
      Super Bowl- Steratore or possibly Hochuli

      • Guesses for CC, SB and PB

        Jets at Colts – Mike Carey
        Vikings at Saints – Tony Corrente
        Super Bowl – Gene Steratore
        Pro Bowl – Jeff Triplette

        • Guesses
          Jets @ Colts: Pete Morelli
          Vikings @ Saints: Mike Carey
          Super Bowl: Bill Leavy
          Pro Bowl: Al Riveron

  90. Len –

    I have two pieces of evidence where you are wrong AND I LOOKED IT UP.

    Bill Leavy
    -2004 Worked a Divisional Playoff
    -2005 Worked a Wild Card Game, then Super Bowl XL

    Mike Carey
    -1997 Worked a Wild Card
    -1998 Worked a Wild Card
    -2000 Worked a Wild Card
    -2001 Worked a Wild Card
    -2002 Worked a Divisional Playoff
    -2003 Worked a Divisional Playoff
    -2004 Worked a Wild Card
    -2005 Worked a Wild Card
    -2006 Worked a Divisional Playoff
    -2007 Worked a Divsional Playoff, THEN Super Bowl XLII

    • nowhere in your “proof” does it say that experience must be as a referee… Carey did NOT work a conference championship as a referee, but may have in another position.

      • Here’s how it works. Len is right in a sense. You have to have either worked a CC as a head referee or worked a CC at another position. Mike Carey worked the AFC championship in 1994 which made him eligible for the super bowl. Leavy worked as BJ in the 2000 super bowl. Winter and Steratore are eligible for the super bowl this year because Winter worked the 1997 AFC championship as a LJ and Steratore worked the 2005 AFC championship as FJ. However, Boger is ineligible because he has not worked a CC as a LJ or Referee.

        • Apparently, that’s where I misunderstood it. I was under the impression that one had to be a conference championship REFEREE to be eligible for the Super Bowl. I used Wikipedia as my information by the way. However, that still means Leavy still has not worked a CC at any position. Unless someone has info to the contrary.

          Nonetheless, my mistake. I apologize Len.

          And russ, I don’t think Steratore is eligible for the Super Bowl until next year. I think this is only his fourth year as a white hat.

        • No, he is eligible. It is only his 4th year as a white hat, but 7th year as an NFL official. McAualy worked a super bowl in his 4th year as a white hat, but it was his 6th year as an on field official.

  94. My predictions:

    New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts – Pete Morelli
    Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints – Tony Corrente

    Pro Bowl – Mike Carey

  95. Oh he is. Thanks russ for that.

    Then Steratore is my pick for this year’s Super Bowl.

    Starting next year, can mike/mickey post who is eligible for post-season and Super Bowl.

    Never claimed to be an expert. Just wanted to learn about the process. Learning something new this year.

  96. Championship:

    New Orleans

    Morelli
    Ellison
    Hittner
    Boston
    Prioleau
    Hill
    Schmitz
    Alt: Ferrell/Meyer

    Corrente
    Fowler
    Mello
    Arthur
    Cavaletti
    Lamberth
    Helverson
    Alt: M. Carey/Steed

    • WOW! Can’t believe that MCarey gets nothing (I don’t count ALT cuz you will rarely work)
      This leaves Coleman, Riveron, DCarey and Triplette for Pro Bowl, although I am not sure if rookie status affects Don Carey at all? Anyone know?

      Also there is an ALT SB referee, will that be a previously assigned referee or one of the above? If so, I’d say Triplette is the ALT for the SB and Coleman gets PB.

      • HA!!!!!!!!!!! I knew it. I said it many times that Carey would get nothing. He…let me say again…he did not have the best season

      • Nobody should be surprised that Carey is not getting the call. He had a very average year took a lot of criticism for his work of Eagles-Broncos in week 16.

  97. Vet, Thank you for info. As expected, Mike Carey did not get a playoff assignment. He had a tough year but I think he will come back and do better next fall. I am a little surprised Walt Coleman is not on the NFC game but maybe he will get the Super Bowl. Steratore and Coleman are probaly the favorites for the Super Bowl.

    • If Coleman was going to work the SB, he would have had either a wild card or divisional. And, as much as I like Steratore, I don’t think he’s been an R long enough to get it. I don’t have any info yet, but my bets for the SB are Anderson, Hochuli, or Leavy.

      • I really hope it is not Anderson–he did a horrible job in the Vikings-Cowboys game! Especially if Minnesota beats NO, I don’t see how the NFL could justify putting him in another Minnesota game when it seemed like his crew had it out for them in the divisional game.

          • Scott Green gets the call according to someone with inside info. And russ posted this on another thread here.

            Apologies russ if I stepped on your toes.

  98. Pete Morelli, I advise all to fly to Vegas and hammer the Saints. I quickly recall Morelli called the Vikes -9 at Panthers this season and the Vikes +8 vs Eagles 2005 divisional playoff game. I attended the Panther game, it was horrible. His crew called nothing on the Panthers. And as for that Philly game, Vikes 108 yds in penalties to 20. The bottom line, when the cash is on the Vikes (and if you check Sportsbook.com >80% is on the Vikes ML) combined with Peter Morelli, the outcome is inverse to the money side

  99. Good job, Vet on keeping us posted..I personally believe that either Hochuli or Leavy get the Super Bowl..Mike Carey did a good job this year but not a GREAT job. AND, McCauley ref’d the Super Bowl last year which reduces his chances of a repeat. Watch for Steratore to get it soon, maybe in 2 years..

      • Source? And if its true then this follows the pattern of this year’s post season. Putting lesser known names on bigger games and giving the big boys who do all the big games like McAuley, M Carey, Leavy, Steratore etc, a break.

      • It will indeed be Scott Green as the referee of Super Bowl XLIV; it’s his third Super Bowl as an official and first as a referee. He also officiated Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII as back judge.

    • Vet probably has the best info still. The SB crew now has their official assignments. At least as of today.

      • OK, that was random. I am not trying to compete with Vet. His info is probably better than mine. What’s your point though?

        • Sorry russ,
          Was not a slight at your info. And yes, after reading, that was random. I had verification of one of the crew members yesterday as well so I was betting your info was accurate based on the timing of your comment.

  101. Scott Green? What a surprise..He’s only been a ref for about 10 years, right? Hey Vet, did he ever ref the CC game? BTW, the change in the “push-out” rules really suck.I personally think that one should have been left the way it was..

  102. I think it like this:

    Morelli – Referee
    Ellison – Umpire – Ron Winter
    Hittner – Head Linesman – Ed Hochuli
    Boston – Field Judge – Walt Anderson
    Prioleau – Side Judge – Corrente
    Hill – Side Judge – Ron Winter
    Schmitz – Back Judge – Mike Carey
    Alt: Ferrell/Meyer

  103. I think it’s like this:

    Morelli – Referee
    Ellison – Umpire – Ron Winter
    Hittner – Head Linesman – Ed Hochuli
    Boston – Field Judge – Walt Anderson
    Prioleau – Side Judge – Corrente
    Hill – Side Judge – Ron Winter
    Schmitz – Back Judge – Mike Carey
    Alt: Ferrell/Meyer

    • Ellison is the swing umpire. He is not on one particular crew. Prioleau is from Green’s crew and Schmitz is from Morelli’s crew.

    • Mike Carey was weak this year and will not be in the Super Bowl…you guys need to figure out that just because a guy talks a lot and sounds smart doesn’t make him great….but i will say the Super Bowl Ref Scott Green is far, very far from great

      • The Greatest Ref is Gene Steratore!! I hear he is the alternate
        ref for the Super Bowl! He should be THE referee. He calls a fair game, and he is excellent with the mic. It will be great to see him n Miami, again. And we all hope to see his better half, his HOT WIFE!

        • I agree with all of the above. I saw Gene Steratore and his wife in the elevator in Miami. I wanted his autograph, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of his wife! But, he IS the best referee.

    • he is the alternate in the Colts-Jets game.

      and in the NFl, its an All-Star crew, not one crew.

      • I am aware of that Ken but im saying Mike Carey himself didn’t do very good this year…and seeing that it is an all star crew how the hell did Scott Green manage that

        • oh I was replying to Deb, and I do agree. he wasn’t great, but I think he still was top 10, and should’ve gotten a WC at least. I definitely agree that Green shouldn’t have SB.

  106. I just wanted to let you know that your white hats are correct, but your crews are way off. I didnt know if you were using last years crew lists. If you want the names of the people on the games today, I can give them to you.

  108. What a great job Tony Corrente and his crew did today. Was very please with them. On the other hand what a joke Pete Morelli and his crew was. His back judge and and side judge plain suck.

  109. Russ, can you tell us who were the replay officials in Championship Games? I try to don’t critizice any Official but I think there were some mistakes in NFC CH.G. I know that Jim Lapentina is the RO of Morelli’s Crew. Was he in this game?. Thanks.

        • O yeah, forgot to poste this. LOL

          Referee- Scott Green
          Umpire- Undrey Wash (Cheffers)
          HL- John McGrath (Corrente)
          LJ- Jeff Seeman (Steratore)
          SJ- Greg Meyer (D.Carey)
          BJ- Greg Steed (McAulay)
          FJ- Rob Vernatchi (Morelli)
          ALT Referee- Gene Steratore

          *I think the super bowl is in good hands. Besdies Green, who I hope will do well and get every ref basher on this site to SHUT UP, I love the Wash, McGrath, and Meyer picks and also think steed is good. Just not sure about Seeman or Vernatchi. Even though I hope Green does well, Steratore probably should be the super bowl ref.

          • Thanks Russ. Please let us know who will be the R.O. in the Pro Bowl and the same for the Super Bowl. Good information once again. Thanks.

          • Thank you for the information Russ. I think Scott Green and the crew will do an excellent job. NFL officials get bashed a lot but overall they do an outstanding job.

  110. This is the Super Bowl crew;

    R- Scott Green 19
    U-Undrey Wash 96
    HL- John McGrath 5
    FJ- Jeff Seeman 15
    LJ- Ron Vernatchi 75
    SJ- Greg Meyer 78
    BJ- Greg Steed 12

  111. I am shocked that Terry McAulay did not get a playoff game. I can remember rating him when he did high school JV games and I knew from the start that he was destined to be one of the greatest referees ever. He has a great work etic, and a most pleasant personality, and a strict command of the rules. For a guy almost 50, he is in fabulous shape, and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see him do the Super Bowl EVERY year.

  112. Super Bowl Crew:

    R – Green
    U – Wash
    HL – McGrath
    LJ – Seeman
    FJ – Vernatchi
    SJ – Meyer
    BJ – Steed

        • Hemay have some inside info which is good because we all would like to know who it is, but because of security reason, the league for some time won’t publicly announce the assignments until less than a week away from the game. Seven officials plus two alt. Good luck to all of them. they deserve it.

    • Thanks for the info, now is complete the Crew. Or anyone knows if there is another alternate Official?

      • alternates were:
        Referee-Gene Steratore
        Umpire-Ruben Fowler (Riveron)
        HL-Jim Mello (Winter)
        SJ-Jeff Lamberth (Cheffers)
        BJ-Kirk Dornan (Hochuli)

        • Russ: thanks for your complete information and hope next season could give all you some accurate info of my friend Laird Hayes SJ 125 Crew

  120. In many ways people forget about history. Back in the 70s & 80s there were very few “elite”” NFL crews. In the 70s: Jim Tunney, Norm Schachter, BenDreith, Pat Haggerty, and Dick Jorgensen (the 1st ref ever to annouce penalties during the game). In the 80s, Pat Haggerty, Jim Tunney, Dick Jorgensen, Jerry Markbreit, and Bob McElwee. These few officials handled every big game the NFL had for the week with no weeks off.

    Instead of bashing the officials, be glad that there are now more crews than ever to handle the games they are assigned.

  122. For all the hating that I did on Scott Green getting the game, I thought he did great. He let them play, while calling what should’ve been. The review of the two point conv was a great call.

  124. Can anyone let me know when the 2010 crews will be availables or when this page will be updated. Thanks in advance. Joe83