Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints: What to Expect from Tony Corrente

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Earlier this week, Detroit Lions Insider Tim Twentyman tweeted (say that ten times fast!) that Tony Corrente is the referee that has been assigned to the game between the Lions and Saints. Thanks to the magic of the internet, specifically a well timed retweet from our friend Ty, we can attempt to make a pregame officiating profile of what to expect on Saturday.

The good news is that the Lions, one of the most penalized teams in the league, will be playing under the watchful eye of a referee that doled out a below average number of penalty yards on a per game basis. See table below:

Name	G	Called	Accepted	Yards	Yards/Game
James Coleman	1	11	11	146	146.0
Jerome Boger	15	270	237	1976	131.7
Jeff Triplette	16	240	211	1917	119.8
Terry McAulay	15	218	195	1779	118.6
Carl Cheffers	15	237	196	1775	118.3
John Parry	15	226	195	1685	112.3
Walt Coleman	14	214	173	1561	111.5
Pete Morelli	16	240	200	1784	111.5
Clete Blakeman	16	243	211	1781	111.3
Ron Winter	16	238	210	1717	107.3
Walt Anderson	15	213	189	1606	107.1
Mike Carey	16	261	223	1663	103.9
Bill Leavy	15	225	187	1549	103.3
Tony Corrente	11	147	127	1117	101.5
Ed Hochuli	17	212	189	1500	88.2
Scott Green	12	148	125	1049	87.4
Gene Steratore	16	205	171	1391	86.9
Al Riveron	15	183	148	1153	76.9

FoxSports.com goes on to provide a break down of calls for each referee.

The following calls strike me as being called disproportionately by Corrente (and crew) as compared to his peers:

Delay of game – This shouldn’t be concerning considering it is pretty obvious what is and what is not delay of game and how to avoid it.

Illegal block in the back – Called ten times on the year in eleven games. Twelve was tops among referees that officiated 16 games. A little concerning consider the Lions haven’t been great on special teams, the spot in the game where this is most likely to show up.

Illegal contact – Called six times, second most to Bill Leavy’s seven (in 15 games). Lions defensive backs will have to be careful and creative in how they try to slow the Saints’ receivers. Pass interference was called at a pretty low rate by Corrente’s crew so things may even out here.

Illegal motion – Not a common call and therefore not a big concern. Another call that is easily controlled by the offense rather than in the hands of the officials.

Unnecessary Roughness – 14 calls on the year, a number that looks more like the referees that officiated 16 games rather than 11. It is important to note that roughing the passer is a separate call, one that Corrente only made twice on the year.

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