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For NFL officials, scrutiny begins long before kickoff

By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY

NFL referee Ed Hochuli's final preparations for Sunday's game between the Detroit Lions and the Washington Redskins began with three rubber ducks, three stuffed bears and a plunger.

It was Saturday in a hotel conference room, and the nine-man officiating crew Hochuli leads had gathered from across the USA to become the law amid the mayhem of 22 athletes repeatedly smashing into each other. A crowd of 90,000 would be at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.; millions would watch on TV.

Other than Hochuli — who has something of a cult following on the Internet because of an upper body that's as imposing as his explanations of football rules (he is an attorney) — those on Hochuli's crew are mostly anonymous. Unless they make a mistake. Which is why they're here — with Hochuli's props — reviewing their previous game, between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

USA TODAY was given weekend-long access to the crew, which under NFL policy normally comments only to a pool reporter after a game in which there was an unusual or controversial call. What emerges is a view of how Hochuli's group and the NFL's 16 other officiating crews manage the intricacies of America's most popular televised sport — from overseeing the choreography of warm-ups, to dealing with players in the heat of a game, to working together to meet the league's strict standards for interpreting rules.