Getty Scott Novak during a 2019 game with Buffalo.
The Detroit Lions certainly haven’t lost both of their games early in 2020 thanks to the referees, so they will try to keep the positive momentum with the officials going this week.
So far, there’s decent news on that front for Detroit. This week, the league has assigned veteran referee Scott Novak to the Week 3 tilt against the Arizona Cardinals. Ironically, Novak worked Detroit’s game against Arizona in 2019 and their game against the Giants last season as well, giving them a measure of familiarity with his crew.
Detroit was 1-0-1 in those games, falling apart late and tying with the Cardinals and beating the Giants in ironically what has been Detroit’s last win in a long time. To that end, the Lions probably won’t mind seeing Novak on the field this weekend, especially after what the NFL did to them for Week 2.
Scott Novak’s History
Novak has been in the league since 2014, even though he has been a referee since only the start of 2019, he’s been a side judge for most of his career. In 2017, Novak was a field judge, and this season, he got the promotion to full time referee. Novak’s first game, ironically enough, was Detroit’s tangle with the Arizona Cardinals in the desert to open the season.
That day, Novak wasn’t known for any outlandish calls or rule interpretations, calling 16 total penalties on both Detroit and Arizona combined. In fact, Novak might actually be one of the better officials going in terms of consistency with calls. Only once in the early part of last season has he flagged a team over 10 times, and that was the Indianapolis Colts in a game against the Oakland Raiders.
When the Lions had Novak entering into a game against the Giants last year in October, he had thrown 88 flags. While that sum seems like a lot on the surface, it’s fair to remember plenty of referees have easily surpassed this total by this point of the season. If the Lions and Cardinals were hoping for a crew that will let them play, Novak is the closest thing to that going in the NFL right now.
This should be welcome news for the teams, even though a good referees in the NFL is a fluid term that can always change by the day or week.
Lions Primed for Kenny Golladay Return Sunday
When Detroit takes on Arizona this weekend, they should have one piece of good injury news. Golladay, who hasn’t practiced or played much at all this season, is inching ever closer to a return for the team. In fact, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported, the Lions are hoping to have Golladay back by Week 3 against the Arizona Cardinals. In fact, as Matt Patricia put it to Pelissero, Golladay is “really close” to coming back on the field.
Golladay has been missing with a hamstring injury for the last few weeks, but the Lions have been being responsible with him and trying not to make the injury worse by forcing Golladay to play. So far, it looks like that has paid off if they can get him back next week.
It’s some good news in what has been a tough start to the season in Detroit in terms of health. With Golladay looking likely to come back and a referee the team has been comfortable with, it could be the start of a decent week in Detroit.
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