The NFL assigned its week 2 crews Tuesday afternoon. Here is every game, the referee, what he throws, and what the app’s call looks like once the crew is in it.
Category: Officiating
The NFL Never Published Its Crew Assignment Rules. The Schedule Did.
Seven seasons and 1,956 games of NFL crew assignments reveal rules the league never published: a season cap, mandatory spacing, and enough structure to put the right crew in a top three prediction 44 percent of the time.
Bias or Style? Why Some NFL Teams Get Flagged More
Some teams draw far more flags than others every season. Three explanations fit the same data, and only one of them is the referees.
What a Crew Report Should Tell You, and What Most Do Not
Most NFL crew reports are a penalty average and a hunch. The five things a crew report has to show you before the number means anything.
Do Referees Affect NFL Games? What the Evidence Says
Officiating changes NFL games less than fans think and more than the league lets on. What the penalty and crowd research establishes, and what it cannot.
How NFL Crews Get Assigned, and What the Name Tells You
The crew list drops midweek and most fans skip past it. How the NFL assigns crews, what each of the seven officials watches, and what a name really tells you.