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NFL referee Brad Allen gets another game with playoff implications this week as the Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. This, of course, comes a week after Allen was part of a controversial finish between the Lions and Cowboys.
Some have interpreted the assignment as a show of support from the NFL for Allen, who identified a different Lions offensive lineman reporting as eligible for a 2-point conversion play that was ultimately penalized last week. Instead, a source tells CBS Sports that Week 18 assignments for officials went out as early as the first week of December.
Though the NFL may not be making such a loud statement with the Allen assignment as some think, the league has essentially shown through other actions that it backs Allen.
The league sent out an officiating video to all coaches and general managers on Tuesday reminding them of rules pertaining to players reporting as eligible. The video, narrated by NFL SVP of officiating training and development Walt Coleman, uses clips solely from the Lions-Cowboys game to make the point that it was the Lions who were at fault for the penalty.
“… It is the responsibility of the player to be sure that change in status is clearly communicated to the referee by both a physical signal with his hands — up and down in front of his chest — and to report to the referee his intention to report as an eligible receiver,” says Coleman, who later adds that the “process has been in place for many years.”
If the league felt Allen was in the wrong or the call had been blown, this video would have never been created. And someone from the league office would have funneled word back to Detroit that they screwed it up, as is the case in the instances where huge officiating mistakes in crucial times cost teams games. That has not happened here.
NFL officiating has taken its lumps for as long as there have been stripes. But commissioner…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/referee-brad-allen-assigned-another-national-tv-game-how-it-happened-and-is-it-an-endorsement-by-league/
Author : Jonathan Jones
Publish date : 2024-01-03 15:40:19
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