JA’MARR CHASE HAD just crossed the goal line late in the first quarter of the Cincinnati Bengals’ first preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and Joe Burrow was smiling.
Seconds later, referee Bill Vinovich tapped Burrow on the back of the helmet and the quarterback’s smile turned into a laugh.
Sure, Burrow was happy that he threw another touchdown to Chase, but that’s not what led to the grin. It was Vinovich. The veteran referee told him to thank Eagles LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. — who had a straight, unimpeded path to Burrow — for slowing down and not leveling him.
And Burrow got a kick out of it.
It’s a scene found in every game, every week. At some point, the white hat goes over to the quarterback during the game for a chat. Sometimes it’s quick. Sometimes it’s not. But what’s being talked about? That’s a wide-ranging answer.
“Depends on the official,” Burrow said. “I know all of them, usually by name. You have the same ones throughout the season, usually two or three times, so you get to know these guys and you like some of them more than others.
“You talk to some differently than you do maybe others.”
The conversations range from the innocuous to the important to the personal.
Sometimes it’s “just shooting the s—,” as longtime referee Clete Blakeman put it during the preseason, when officials visited team camps and spoke to the media. Sometimes, it’s just football, as referee Brad Rogers said.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton tries to keep the chatter light during timeouts, sometimes cracking a joke or steering the conversation away from football because, he said, in a few seconds, “you know you’re about to go right back into it.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said teams learn early in the week which crew will work their game, and he doesn’t necessarily have a favorite.
“I love them all,” he joked.
WHEN REFEREES TALK to Marcus Mariota about his hometown, it’s not just because they’re interested in the Washington Commanders quarterback.
“For me, it’s really easy to talk about Hawai’i,” said the Honolulu native. “Everyone loves visiting Hawai’i or they maybe have a place there. So, usually those conversations go there and we just talk about how beautiful and how much we miss the paradise of Hawai’i.”
It’s at the point now that Mariota, who’s in his 11th season, knows which refs have a trip planned to Hawai’i during the offseason.
Oftentimes, the ref begins the conversation with a basic question like “Miss home?” or “How’s it going?” Then the chatter flows. They talk about the islands, the ref’s golf game and their family.
“It’s kind of just easy banter back and forth,” Mariota said.
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