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Later today the 49ers and Rams wrap up their last day of official practices in advance of Sunday's Week 10 division showdown. With the week wrapping up, I thought I'd take a look at the officials who will be handling the game. The folks at football-refs.com put together a rundown of the officials, and the 49ers and Rams will be dealing with Clete Blakeman and his crew.
Blakeman is a relatively inexperienced referee compared to many around the league. Blakeman began his carer in the Big 12 after a college career as a quarterback at Nebraska. Blakeman moved to the NFL in 2008, operating as a field judge for two seasons before being promoted to referee in 2010. He handled two 49ers games that year, both of which were ugly losses for San Francisco. He handled the 49ers 31-10 loss to the Chiefs and their 34-7 loss to the Chargers.
Blakeman's crew has a particularly noteworthy member. His crew generally includes umpire Garth DeFelice, head linesman Tony Veteri, line judge Jeff Seeman, field judge Buddy Horton, side judge Greg Meyer and back judge Terrence Miles.
This is noteworthy because DeFelice was the official who Justin Smith shoved, leading to Smith's ejection in the Chargers loss mentioned above. Here is some video of DeFelice ejecting Smith two years ago.