Gene Steratore is heading to the Super Bowl for the second straight season http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dalton-risner-jersey , this time in a very different capacity.Steratore wraps up his first year as CBS rules analyst at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta on Feb. 3. He will be in the booth with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo whenever a replay decision or officiating call needs interpretation as the Los Angeles Rams face the New England Patriots.CBS hired Steratore last summer when he retired after a 35-year career as a football and basketball official. He had been an NFL official since 2003 and was a referee for 12 years. His final assignment was last year’s Super Bowl between New England and Philadelphia.“I’m maybe a little more nervous about this game. It’s good, nervous energy because there’s the lack of 35 years of experience (in television),” Steratore said in a phone interview.Steratore was in the network’s New York studio on Sundays during the regular season, but he did work the Chicago-Detroit Thanksgiving game in the booth to get used to working with Nantz and Romo. He has been part of the crew throughout the playoffs.He acknowledged he had a learning curve at the beginning of the season but has gained confidence throughout the year.“He has a lot of natural ability to articulate what we need in a short window. I’ve been able to carry on a conversation with him as if we’ve been doing this for years,” Nantz said. “The way the rules are these days I can’t imagine operating your show without someone.”Viewers of last Sunday’s AFC championship game between New England and Kansas City didn’t hear much from Steratore during the first three quarters, but there was a period during the fourth quarter when Steratore was offering more analysis than Romo.Julian Edelman’s apparent fumble of a Kansas City punt was reversed because there was no clear evidence that he touched it. Chiefs receiver Sammy Watkins also had a reception nullified when replay showed the ball hit the ground when he was unable to maintain clear possession.A catch by the Patriots’ Chris Hogan was upheld even though one angle showed he wasn’t able to maintain possession before it hit the ground. There was also a roughing-the-passer penalty against Kansas City defensive lineman Chris Jones that Steratore thought was the wrong call.“We had about a 15-minute period where it was the Gene Steratore show,” CBS producer Jim Rikhoff said. “He has fit in perfectly with what we have done. He has a natural chemistry with Jim and Tony, and I am sure he will do a great job next week.”Steratore is also hoping the Super Bowl won’t have the controversy that marred the two conference championship games. The non-pass interference against Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman in the NFC championship game against New Orleans has continued to resonate.“It’s an egregious mistake in that it is a foul. We don’t need to dwell more on the fact since coaches, players and officials all understand the magnitude,” Steratore said of the call. “I know the officials agree and admit that it was a mistake.“What I hope to always remember is how hard and fast this game is when you get between the lines. You probably are never going to work a perfect game.”Steratore has been at the center of controversial calls over the years. He was the referee in 2010 for the Calvin Johnson touchdown that was overturned and made “process of the catch” part of the NFL lexicon.Five years later in the NFC divisional round, Dez Bryant’s catch was overturned when it was determined he didn’t hold the ball throughout the process of going to the ground. Last year, the NFL’s competition committee simplified the catch rules.Steratore thinks the league has done a better job of defining the catch and making it easier to define possession. When it comes to other matters, he admits the job of officials continues to get more difficult, especially at a time when many veteran officials such as Steratore are retiring.“It was going to be a tall task this year with four referees leaving, implementing the helmet-to-helmet rule and a couple of other rules that were points of emphasis Drew Lock Jersey ,” he said. “The game gets harder every year. We dwell on the major mistakes made year in and year out, but I don’t know if this year was worse than years past.”The calls from the championship games also showed why each network has a former referee working games. Steratore was hired after CBS didn’t have one for two seasons. Rikhoff said with networks going to commercials during replay reviews, that gives Steratore more time to review the play, look for the right angles, then be able to form an opinion.Football wasn’t the only sport CBS hired Steratore for. He will also be a part of the CBS coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament. Steratore’s hope for the Super Bowl, though, is that he won’t need to be used that often.“Being in Atlanta for the week and watching what happens, the excitement is tremendous,” he said. “I think with all of this not only an official but as a fan of the game, we want the players and coaches to decide it.” ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP)The Detroit Lions have improved their chances of winning a division title for the first time since 1993. Detroit won 30-17 at Green Bay on Monday night and is the only NFC North team without a loss in division play. Lions coach Jim Caldwell, though, refused to bask in the relative glow. ”It’s a matter of making certain that we kind of keep our focus narrow,” Caldwell said Tuesday. ”We can have kind of 360-degree awareness, but 180-degree focus in terms of what’s ahead of us.” The Lions (4-4) are two games behind division-leading Minnesota (6-2) http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dre_mont-jones-jersey , but they beat the Vikings on the road and can own a potential tiebreaker by defeating them again on Thanksgiving. Detroit has a favorable schedule, starting with Sunday’s home game against the winless Cleveland Browns (0-8). The Lions’ last three games at Ford Field are against NFC North teams, ending Dec. 31 with the Packers. And their four remaining road games are against teams with losing records. ”I don’t buy into that,” Caldwell bristled when asked about his team’s remaining schedule. ”Games are hard to win in this league, and every team has talent and ability.” Perhaps most important, Matthew Stafford is the best quarterback still standing in the division. Minnesota’s Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t played this season because of a knee injury, though he might return soon. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers is out indefinitely with a broken collarbone. Chicago is giving rookie Mitch Trubisky, the No. 2 pick overall, a chance to play even though he has completed less than half his passes and has two touchdown passes and two interceptions in four games. The Lions took full advantage of facing the Packers with Brett Hundley under center. ”We just knew that he wouldn’t be able to do the stuff that Aaron does at the line of scrimmage,” said Detroit cornerback Darius Slay, whose man-to-man coverage limited Jordy Nelson to four catches for just 35 yards. Stafford, meanwhile, completed a season-high 79 percent of his passes for 361 yards. He threw a touchdown pass in each half, didn’t throw an interception and finished with a season-high 132.4 passer rating. ”This is a guy who deserves to thrive in this league, experience playoff games T.J. Hockenson Jersey , playoff wins, NFC championship games and even the Super Bowl,” said receiver Golden Tate, who signed with Detroit in 2014 after helping Seattle win a Super Bowl. ”He is that type of quarterback, and I want to be a part of it and help him get there. I think we are working in the right direction.” Detroit has done a much better job of protecting Stafford lately, and it may even get more help up front with the expected return of Taylor Decker. The left tackle has begun practicing, putting him closer to protecting Stafford’s blind side. Caldwell was not forthcoming about Decker’s timetable. ”I hope to see him when he’s ready,” Caldwell said. ”That’s what I want to make certain happens.” The Lions have learned they shouldn’t celebrate their position in the division until, or if, they clinch a championship. They lost the last three games of the 2016 season and fell out of first place in the NFC North. The slide put them on the road in the playoffs, where the Seahawks won and extended the franchise’s postseason losing streak to nine games dating to the NFC championship game on Jan. 12, 1992. ”You just don’t know what’s going to happen week to week throughout the league,” Caldwell said. ”That’s why it’s more beneficial not to look down the road. It’s better to just kind of be looking right ahead at who you’re playing next and doing the best you can trying to find a way to win.” NOTE: The Lions waived OG Tim Lelito from the reserve-injured list. —