Former NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino joined the Detroit Lions Podcast, of which I am a regular co-host, and went over a lot of the crazy calls in the Lions’ Monday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers.
“All of the controversial calls went against one team,” Blandino declared right from the top. “And we had a ton of them, and they all went against one team.”
Blandino now is the on-air officiating consultant and analyst for FOX, and he also hosts an officiating-related podcast called “Good Calls”. And he wondered aloud how some of the calls got made…and upheld.
Among Blandino’s points:
- Pace and flow of the game must not get impacted more than it already is by more reviews
- Confirmed that the league office already can talk to the referee during the game
- Top officials leaving for broadcast gigs with no well-heeled replacements is a huge problem
- Penalties are up over two fouls per game and have overcorrected on holding and offensive pass interference calls
- How the official review missed the Allen Lazard knee being down prior to crossing the goal line
- Unintended consequences are bound to pop up with any change
- David Bakhtiari’s set-up for the Trey Flowers penalties
It’s a good listen that includes some callers, which Blandino handles respectfully.
