nfl zebras assignments today

Who is the ref? A breakdown of the officiating crew for NFC title game

Allen Park — If there's one thing that unifies football fans, it's frustrations with officiating. And while NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was recently in Detroit defending the job the NFL's crews do on a weekly basis, you're going to have a difficult time swaying public opinion.

Regardless, it remains part of the human element of the game, at least until we make a few more developmental leaps in robotics. With that in mind, here's the crew for this weekend's NFC Championship game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers. The assignments come courtesy of Football Zebras.

Note: The names in parentheses are the regular-season referee's crew to which that official was assigned.

▶ Referee: Clete Blakeman

Blakeman is an experienced official who has been with the NFL for 16 seasons, including the past 14 as a head referee. According to Football Zebras, he's previously worked 14 playoff games, including Super Bowl 50.

He's officiated 20 Lions games during his career, including the team's 26-14 victory over Las Vegas this season. But he's more than likely remembered for heading the crew that flagged Trey Flowers twice for hands to the face in a primetime loss to Green Bay.

On game days, the referee is responsible for monitoring the right side of the offensive line and the defenders they engage, while shifting their attention to the QB when threatened. They are responsible for roughing-the-passer and intentional-grounding infractions.

▶ Umpire: Barry Anderson (Ron Torbert)

Like the referee, the umpire lines up behind the offensive formation and is responsible for the left side of the offensive line, including false starts and holding infractions.

Anderson has been with the league since 2007 and has served as an umpire the past nine seasons. He last worked a Lions game in Dec. 2022, a 40-14 win over Jacksonville. He called one holding call in that game, against Lions guard Jonah Jackson.

▶ Down Judge: Dana McKenzie (Blakeman)

McKenzie has 16 years of experience as a head linesman, line judge and down judge. He's filled the current since 2018.

As part of Blakeman's crew this season, he also worked the Lions' game against the Raiders. Before that, it was the previous year's Thanksgiving loss to the Bills.

A down judge lines up on the sideline, parallel to the line of scrimmage. They watch for pre-snap penalties at the line and determine whether a player is in or out of bounds at their sideline. They are responsible for establishing forward progress, and also rule on pass interference and defensive holding on plays to their side of the field.

▶ Line Judge: Rusty Baynes (Alex Kemp)

The line judge is on the opposite sideline as the down judge and shares the same responsibilities to their side of the field.

A member of an officiating family, Baynes has close to three decades of experience between college and the NFL. He's been with the league since 2010, working almost exclusively as a line judge.

As part of Kemp's crew, he worked this year's game against Seattle. The Lions were penalized just four times for 24 yards in that overtime loss.

▶ Field Judge: Anthony Flemming (John Hussey)

Fleming is a relative newcomer, having been in the NFL just four seasons. This will be his third playoff game, after working the Bills/Chiefs matchup last weekend.

Despite his short time in the league, he's seen plenty of work officiating the Lions, working five games, including a pair this season. He was part of the crew for both the season-opening win over Kansas City and the home blowout of Denver.

The field judge is positioned on the sideline, 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball. They monitor the wide receiver to their side for blocking fouls or infractions against the defensive back in coverage.

▶ Side Judge: Chad Hill (Shawn Hochuli)

The side judge's responsibilities largely overlap with the field judge, only aligned on the opposite sideline. Hill has worked for the NFL since 2018, and exclusively as a side judge since 2019.

He worked at least one Lions game each of the previous six seasons and will keep his personal streak going with Sunday's playoff matchup against San Francisco.

His second NFL game was as the field judge for the Lions' 30-27 loss to the 49ers in San Francisco in 2018. There was a critical penalty called late in that game against Quandre Diggs that negated a Tracy Walker interception, but the flag wasn't thrown by Hill.

▶ Back Judge: Grantis Bell (Craig Wrolstad)

Bell is in his fourth season as an NFL back judge. The deepest-positioned official in the defensive secondary, he stands in the middle of the field, 30 yards from the line of scrimmage, to start a play.

A back judge is responsible for counting the defensive players on the field prior to the snap, as well as monitoring the game clock and play clock. Once the play begins, they watch for second-level holds on run plays and potential holding and interference infractions by or against the receivers on pass plays.

Bell didn't work a Lions game this season. He was part of the crew that officiated road matchups against the Jets and Patriots in 2022.

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NFC Championship

Lions at 49ers.

▶ Kickoff: 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California

▶ TV/radio: FOX/97.1

▶ Records: Detroit (12-5), San Francisco (12-5)

▶ Line: 49ers by 7

Zebra Technologies Extends Partnership with National Football League

Company continues to fuel Next Gen Stats as the Official Real Time Location Solutions Provider of the NFL LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. – Feb. 6, 2023 –   Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA), an innovator at the front line of business with solutions and partners that deliver a performance edge, today announced the renewal of its partnership with the National Football League, extending Zebra’s role as the Official Real Time Location Solutions Provider of the NFL through at least the 2025 football season. More details of the partnership will be discussed during the Zebra Super Bowl press conference on Wed., Feb. 8 at 3:30pm MT in Room 301C of the Super Bowl LVII Media Center in the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The panel will feature NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Troy Vincent and Zebra’s Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing and Channels, Rob Armstrong. Since 2015, Zebra has worked with the NFL on an innovative player and ball tracking solution, helping to enable a new era of football data and analytics known as NFL’s Next Gen Stats . Utilized by broadcasters, fans, coaches, and players alike, the information enhances all facets of the NFL ecosystem.  For example, Next Gen Stats improves the fan experience with engaging new insights about individual and team performances, allowing fans to understand the action on the field in a way never possible before. The data is also utilized by coaches to better prepare for games, the League Office to better study the impact of rule changes, and in many other ways around the NFL. “We are excited to extend our relationship with Zebra Technologies, allowing us to utilize their best-in-class capabilities to capture data which enable next generation data insights and expanded visibility into every NFL game,” said Matt Swensson, Senior Vice President, Product and Technology, National Football League. “Together, we are continuing to advance the League’s commitment to innovation and improving all facets of our sport while providing our fans incredible insight into the game they love.” In addition to tracking every football, Zebra MotionWorks™ tracking solution captures the real-time location data, speed, acceleration and other metrics of every player for every play on every inch of the football field. Sensors throughout each NFL stadium track RFID tags placed in the players’ shoulder pads, charting individual movements within inches. The insights enabled by Zebra’s data provide an informative look into the game for fans, media, and teams, with data for every down of every NFL game played across the globe. “We are thrilled to continue our exciting work with the NFL, and we are committed to building on our innovative approach to providing the League, teams and fans with real-time tracking data and insights,” said Joe White, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Product, Zebra Technologies. “As a global leader in location solutions, we provide similar real-time insights and solutions for enterprises of all sizes across multiple industries to help improve their operational visibility and the ultimate performance of their frontlines.” KEY TAKEAWAYS

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• Zebra will continue to track every regular season game – both domestic and internationally – along with pre- and post-season games plus the NFL Combine and NFL International Combine. 

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