Here we go. The NFL has assigned veteran referee Jerome Boger to work Week 17’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles. Boger is one of the most-experienced on-field officials you’ll find these days, having been promoted to referee way back in 2006 after working a few years as a line judge in the NFL. New Orleans has a 12-9 record in games with Boger on the mic; they most recently worked with him in their prime-time loss to the Arizona Cardinals, in which the Saints were outscored 42-34
The black and gold were hamstrung by a pair of first-half Andy Dalton interceptions returned for touchdowns by the Cardinals defense in that one. But New Orleans was also fouled 8 times for 49 yards, whereas Arizona drew 4 penalties for 20 yards — the Cardinals were given as many first downs by penalty (3) as they converted on third downs (where they went 3-for-10) in the evening. Hopefully the Saints can do a better job of staying out of their own way this time.
Boger’s crew has thrown more penalty flags for offensive holding and false starts (27 each) than any other foul, with defensive holding infractions (17) in a distant third-place. While they rank among the least flag-happy crews around the league (averaging just 11.2 penalties per game, tied for fifth-fewest), they do lead the NFL’s officials in defensive holding fouls per game (1.21), so the Saints secondary needs to mind their hands.
If you’re curious, New Orleans has drawn more fouls for false starts (24) and defensive holding (14) than any other team in the league going into Week 17. They are tied for the third-fewest offensive holding fouls (11), so that shouldn’t be as big of an issue. Hopefully.
On the other hand, Philadelphia stands right in the middle of the pack for offensive holding (17 penalties, tied for fifteenth), false starts (16, tied for fourteenth), and defensive holding (6, tied for seventeenth). So this should be more of a typical day in the office for the Eagles, whereas the Saints need to watch out for themselves. Boger’s crew doesn’t throw many penalty flags, but the fouls they do look out for are some that New Orleans has struggled to clean up all season.
