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

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

The fix is in

prepare uranus

Yup only to get a new moron to call forward progress on a sack fumble.

THIS

LMAO

Why the hell would you take a bunch of guys that haven't worked together all year and put them together for just this game? It's better to have guys that are used to working together. Never understood why they do this for playoffs/superbowls either.

Thank you pete

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...

Isn't this the chick ref that gets bullied into calls and called three penalties on one play against the Chiefs a couple of weeks ago? If so, we're screwed.

I equally don't understand why it matters if officials have worked together all year or not. They have a position with the duties of that position. It doesn't really matter who is at the other positions because they have their own duties. Duties overlap, but that doesn't mean you need the crew to have worked together.

****.

It makes for a convenient excuse when they blow the call that decides the game tomorrow....

That's her.

She's an all-star.

Ahh geez, here come the nutty conspiracy theories...