We’re moving on to Week 9, where referee Ron Torbert and his crew have been assigned to work Sunday’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. Torbert is one of the most experienced referees in the league, having been promoted to that role back in 2014. The Saints are 7-3 in games with him on the field as referee, while the Bears are 2-6.
But the Saints played too much sloppy football this year to take past performance for granted. The Saints are tied for the third-most penalties in the league (54) and they’ve given up 513 penalty yards, more than anyone else, primarily on defensive pass interference fouls (12 infractions for 219 yards, which leads the NFL) on starting cornerbacks Paulson Adebo (4 DPI’s) and Marshon Lattimore (3).
That could be a problem on Sunday. Torbert’s crew has thrown eight flags for DPI, which is in line with league average, but six of them have gone against home teams, which is the second-most. Adebo and Lattimore must watch their hands and take care to not give up free yards.
