Seifert: And the NFL is fine with that? Don't they grade you for the accuracy of your calls and non-calls? John Parry was an NFL official for 19 years before joining ESPN as a rules analyst. There is a lot of conversation from officials and players and coaches to try to get the best entertainment value for the fan. You do it all game long, on both sides of the ball. Parry: Yeah, you're working with a player to eliminate having to call a foul.
Seifert: It's basically warning players who are committing fouls to stop it, right? You're challenging me and eventually, if you continue with this technique, you'll force me to throw.' And you'll find that players do work with you. But you've got to get your hands inside when you're blocking. There are definitely times when you go to an offensive lineman and say, 'It's a long drive, I get that you're winded. Based on the flow of the game, or how the game is being played, the artistry in great officiating is determining when I will insert myself. You have a three-hour window where the canvas is created, and you're painting hopefully a masterpiece of officiating. Seifert: So in a way you're trying to keep the flags within a range. It just seems that every fourth or fifth play, I'm making an announcement.' Let's make sure for the rest of the game that what we're calling is big. You might bring the crew together during the game and say, 'Hey guys, we're putting the flag down a lot. And I will tell you that when you're in a game with two teams that aren't as disciplined as they should be, and you start to get into that range of 17, 18, 19, mentally you do start to ask yourself, 'Are we calling this game too technical?' NFL Preseason Scores and News I never went into a game thinking, 'I've got to hit 12 flags.' But you do have this idea that in a three-hour football game, there probably will be between 10-15 fouls. How do all of those things change, but the flag totals don't? Every year there are at least five or six new head coaches. How could that be? NFL players turn over at a rate of 30% or so per season. The numbers are so close, it's hard to imagine they are organic:
Kevin Seifert: I've been called a nerd, and maybe it's true, but one of the most fascinating things to me about NFL officiating is that there have been nearly the same number of flags thrown in each of the past five years. Note: Our conversation has been edited for clarity and flow. But most fascinating to me is his description of the "artistry" of officiating and how it affects the frequency of flags thrown, a practice that has produced a seemingly impossible statistical outcome in recent years. Parry offered his opinion of senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron, expressed dismay at the lack of training available to current officials and explained how he pushed back at perceptions of favoritism. He'll appear weekly on Monday Night Football, explaining and judging the most significant calls of the game. So as the regular season approaches, I jumped at the chance to chat at length with John Parry, who stepped away from 19 years as an NFL official to join ESPN in April as an officiating analyst. Only when they retire can officials speak freely about the underworld of the league's 33rd team. The NFL maintains a thick wall around its referees, limiting their public exposure to occasional pool reports and once-per-year training camp visits with reporters.
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