Some of you have asked how NFL V.P. of officiating Dean Blandino was involved in a replay review from the Lions-Cowboys game (as he mentioned on Monday’s PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio) if he was in Indianapolis for the Bengals-Colts game. It’s a fair question, given that all referees conducting replay reviews received real-time assistance through a command center at the league office.
For the postseason, the show is going on the road, with Blandino. On Sunday, he worked from the replay booth in Indianapolis. Since the stadiums are all connected, and with only one game on at a time in the postseason, Blandino was able to communicate with the referee in the same way Blandino did it throughout the 2014 regular season, the first year of the new system that gives Blandino direct input in the replay process.
This weekend, Blandino will be at the Ravens-Patriots game. Then, from the replay booth at Gillette Stadium, Blandino will be available to participate in any replay reviews occurring during the Panthers-Seahawks game on Saturday night. For Sunday’s games, he’ll be back in New York.
