NFL changing procedure for evaluating officials

Jarrett Bell | USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — There is a new man in charge of overseeing NFL game officials, and Dean Blandino is bringing with him some tweaks that could affect how the so-called zebras are selected for coveted postseason assignments.

Blandino, now the league's director of officiating, has implemented a new evaluation process that goes beyond merely ranking officials based on the numeric grading system of previous years. Instead, it will group them in one of three tiers based on their performance. The top tier will be eligible to work playoff games.

Within each tier, the system is designed to allow Blandino and his eight supervisors to have more input in weighing intangibles — such as how they aid other crew members.

"We've tried to get the word 'grading' out of our vocabulary," Blandino told USA TODAY Sports during an interview this week at league headquarters in New York City. "We felt that officials historically — not just in the NFL, but in any evaluation or grading system — sometimes tend to get so caught up in the grades, they lose sight of what we want them to say: 'This is an incorrect call, and here's what you can do better,' rather than, 'I got a downgrade. Now I'm just worried about fighting that downgrade.'

"That's what we want to move away from and concentrate on teaching and training."

The shift in methodology comes months after controversy flared before Super Bowl XLVII, when reports quoting anonymous officials questioned the selection of referee Jerome Boger, who finished last season as the top-ranked ref.

As in the past, officials will have an opportunity to dispute any downgrades they receive in their weekly evaluations. That's a typical part of the process, providing them a forum to explain how they made a call (or non-call) based on various circumstances.

Blandino says the appeals will be considered quickly, and that grades will be adjusted by the end of each week in cases that warrant such.

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In the past, officials were ranked 1-17, and Blandino said each official knew his ranking. Now they will only have knowledge which tier they are ranked in.

Subjective factors have long been a part of the grading. But Blandino, who succeeded Carl Johnson, suggests that will be more structured in the new process.

"We just feel there are some things that go into officiating that aren't necessarily reflected in the numerical number, or your percentage for accuracy," he said. "There are some things that I, as a supervisor, need to have the ability to look at for the overall picture of what makes a good official."

Behind the scenes, there is typically grumbling within the officiating community when postseason opportunities are doled out. It remains to be seen whether the new evaluation process will reduce such feedback.

Blandino also addressed:

— The almost non-existent penalties for the new rule banning hits in the open field leading with the crown of the helmet. Through the entire preseason and the first two weekends of the regular season, there has been just one penalty league-wide. "It's a new rule that everyone's still adjusting to," Blandino said. "As we move on, I think the officials will become more comfortable with what we've been directing them to do. ... The bigger point is that what we've seen is that the players are adjusting, because we haven't seen as many lowering of the head. You still see it, but you don't see it as much. Players are becoming aware that this is a technique that we want to try to get out of the game."

— The emphasis for officials to penalize players who use obscenities. Players can draw a personal foul for taunting an opponent or for unsportsmanlike conduct for directing venom at an official. "Profanity by itself is not a foul," Blandino said. "The point of emphasis (is to eliminate) some of this verbal, in-your-face stuff. If we get that early in the game, we can head off some of the stuff that happens later in the game. If you don't call it early, it kind of build into a bigger altercation that we don't want."

— The possibility that the NFL might consider adding an eighth official. The Big 12 is using an eighth official in the umpire spot behind the quarterback, where the NFL moved its umpire a few years ago. In the past, the NFL contemplated a deep judge, near the back judge, as another set of eyes to contend with increased passing. Blandino says it might make more sense to add an extra official on the side, between the head linesman and side judge, who could monitor situations for running and passing plays. "We're still looking at it," he said. "The head linesman and side judge are 25 yards apart. Maybe another official would go in the middle and takes the five-yard belt area, which would allow the official on the line of scrimmage to focus on the tackle."

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Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell