The NFL’s decision to move the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams game from Mexico City to Los Angeles wasn’t the only big change the league made this week involving the game.
According to NFL reporter Ed Werder, the league also made the rare decision to change the officiating crew just days before the game. The Monday night showdown was originally assigned to referee Jerome Boger and his crew, but due to the change, Boger will now be replaced by referee Clete Blakeman.
Although Boger has been pulled, three officials from his eight-person crew will still be working the game. Line judge Rusty Baynes, back judge Tony Steratore and field judge Dale Shaw will work under Blakeman.
On Blakeman’s end, he’ll have two of his normal crew members there with umpire Ramon George and down judge Dana McKenzie. Overall, the eight officials working in Monday’s game will be coming from four different officiating crews, according to ESPN.com.
Besides Blakeman and Boger, the crews of referees Brad Allen and Clay Martin will also be represented. The side judge in the game will be Brad Freeman, who usually works under Martin. The replay official will be Jim Lapetina, who usually works with Allen.
Basically, the NFL has cobbled together and all-star officiating crew for the game, which is almost unheard of during the regular season. Although the NFL will generally use an all-star crew for playoff games, the league almost never pulls anyone from an assigned regular season game. Of course, the NFL has made it clear this year that poor officiating won’t be tolerated. Back in October, the league fired official Hugo Cruz, which is believed to be the first in-season firing in NFL history.
With a game of this magnitude, the league might have felt more comfortable with Blakeman as the ref, rather than Boger. Although Boger won’t get to work the Monday night game, he did get work over the weekend. Boger was the referee for Oakland’s 23-21 win over Arizona.
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