That's a good question--I usually find out from press reports, but I'm sure there's a more direct way. It's probably most important in the Indy/N.E. game, to see how close they'll call the secondary contact. The crew there should help the Pats:
"...part of the reason for that was learned yesterday, when the NFL let the eight remaining teams in the playoffs know what officiating crews were headed their way this weekend.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> The Pats drew the crew headed by referee Bill Carollo, a group that is known as being decidedly average when it comes to throwing flags. Carollo's crew ranked 10th in the league (out of 18 crews) in penalties accepted and total penalty yardage. What's more, the three types of penalties in which they led the NFL (defensive offsides, delay of game and illegal shift), are all pre-snap calls.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Carollo's crew refereed only one Patriots game this season, in which it whistled 14 accepted penalties in the Pats' 42-15 blowout in Cleveland Dec. 5. The crew made five illegal contact/interference calls during the game, two of which were declined.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Given the volume of Polian's complaints, and his influential standing on the league's competition committee, there was some fear that the league would make sure the illegal contact emphasis showed itself on Sunday. And that line of thinking was only exacerbated when Polian, during a radio interview last month, said he called director of officials Mike Pereira to encourage him to maintain the emphasis through the postseason.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> But those worries should have been put to rest by the assignment of Carollo. Had the league assigned Terry McAulay's crew, which led the league in illegal contact calls (18 on the year), then the conspiracy theorists may have had something to point to. They also may have had a case if the Pats drew the crew of referee Ron Winter (first in pass interference with 17) or the crew of Bernie Kukar (first in defensive holding with 19).
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> As it stands, the Pats got Carollo, who is known for his consistency. His crew had between nine and 15 accepted calls in 10 of their games this season. The crew averaged 13.7 penalties a week, which is about the league average. They had only one game in which they threw more than 20 flags (24)."
"...part of the reason for that was learned yesterday, when the NFL let the eight remaining teams in the playoffs know what officiating crews were headed their way this weekend.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> The Pats drew the crew headed by referee Bill Carollo, a group that is known as being decidedly average when it comes to throwing flags. Carollo's crew ranked 10th in the league (out of 18 crews) in penalties accepted and total penalty yardage. What's more, the three types of penalties in which they led the NFL (defensive offsides, delay of game and illegal shift), are all pre-snap calls.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Carollo's crew refereed only one Patriots game this season, in which it whistled 14 accepted penalties in the Pats' 42-15 blowout in Cleveland Dec. 5. The crew made five illegal contact/interference calls during the game, two of which were declined.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Given the volume of Polian's complaints, and his influential standing on the league's competition committee, there was some fear that the league would make sure the illegal contact emphasis showed itself on Sunday. And that line of thinking was only exacerbated when Polian, during a radio interview last month, said he called director of officials Mike Pereira to encourage him to maintain the emphasis through the postseason.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> But those worries should have been put to rest by the assignment of Carollo. Had the league assigned Terry McAulay's crew, which led the league in illegal contact calls (18 on the year), then the conspiracy theorists may have had something to point to. They also may have had a case if the Pats drew the crew of referee Ron Winter (first in pass interference with 17) or the crew of Bernie Kukar (first in defensive holding with 19).
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8><SPACER height="8" width="8" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> As it stands, the Pats got Carollo, who is known for his consistency. His crew had between nine and 15 accepted calls in 10 of their games this season. The crew averaged 13.7 penalties a week, which is about the league average. They had only one game in which they threw more than 20 flags (24)."
Oh, sorry--should have put in the link. From the Boston Herald:
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=63071
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=63071
I'll bet if that info was fed into a computerized handicapping program it would affect the final selection. Without looking, I'm sure that the crews with the highest number of pass interference calls and illegal contact calls were involved in higher scoring games than the crews with lower amounts of these calls. It's a very interesting concept.
ESQAJM
ESQAJM
