You may have noticed I have not posted anything for several weeks. I'm still in the process of looking for work, and as some of you know, looking for work can be a full time job. I have continued to work football games and have several interesting items to talk about.
No Contest:
For the first time in twelve seasons I was part of a game that was postponed due to unfit field conditions. But it took us two hours before we pulled the plug.
Let's start at the beginning. Rule 11-1 states: The officials' jurisdiction begins 60 minutes before the scheduled kickoff and ends when the referee declares the score final. The referee declares the score final by raising the ball over his head after the game clock hits 00:00. In fact, the referee does this at the end of each quarter declaring the quarter has officially ended.
Back to the officials' jurisdiction -- each Saturday, we literally walk on to the field 60 minutes before the game starts and assume authority over the game. We can penalize players or teams even though game play has not actually started.
Each of us have specific tasks to perform during this period of time. One of these tasks is to check the football field and ensure it is fit for play. Since most playing surfaces are now turf fields we no longer have the same concerns we did with grass fields. The issue during this night's contests was not related to the field itself, but rather the lights. Two of the six banks of light would not stay lit. Most of the home sideline and the entire south endzone was dark. Now what?
As a crew we agreed this situation the game should be postponed until this could be resolved. The sun was already setting, so we needed a plan 'B'. We met with site administration and came-up with the idea of getting portable lights brought in. At this time is was 6:15PM and kick-off was in another 45 minutes.
At 6:57 (when we do the coin toss) we still did not have a solution for the lights. We decided to do the coin-toss and drag this out as long as possible. The visitors won and deferred. We then brought the coaches together to discuss the situation. They both wanted the game to be played, but agreed the lights needed to be working. We added 30 minutes to game clock and waited. Game administration shut the gate and did not allow anyone else into the stadium. The fans were pretty pissed at us, questioning what the big deal was. So it's a little dark, how could this be dangerous?
Less light on the field is not a hazard, per se, but it does, according to rule 1-2-9-b bring into account where the referee may require any improvement in the field necessary for proper and safe game administration. Coaches already complain we can't see fouls, how can I possibly do my job effectively when it is dark?
But honestly, the real issue was liability. All it would take is some kid to get hurt during the game and some lawyer would find out the field conditions were not fit for play. "Mr Official, can you please explain to the jury how you planned on protecting my client from injury when you cannot see properly?" Let's not go there.
Our primary job as officials is to ensure the safety of the players, so there' was no way we are going to let a game occur on an 'improper' field.
The 30 minuted burned off and we still did not have a solution, so we added another 30 minutes. The fans in the crowd were not happy. We even made attempts to contact the commissioner so we could get a plan 'C'. We could not reach him.
After 60 minutes game administration still did not have a final solution, but they did reach someone who felt they could help. We added another 30 minutes. It's now somewhere around 8:15PM. Fans are unhappy, people are still standing outside the gate getting angry, and now game administration has a big problem. Money.
Does he refund everyone's money? Teams use the gate fees to pay for the game. Who is paying for the cops, and medical, our game fees if he has to refund the gate? The 'home' rents this facility since they do not have their own field. The visiting coach said they spent $1,000 just for the buses. If the game has to be rescheduled, when would it be played? We even talked about playing the game on Sunday, but all the fields in the area already had Soccer or pee-wee football games scheduled.
Canceling a game is not a trivial thing. This was a conference game and there were potential bowl game considerations. We did not take this lightly.
Player safety is paramount, so when game administration told us lights could be here by 11:00PM we all agreed this game was not going to be played. Neither coach wanted his players in the field at 2:00AM and there was no guarantee the lights would even work well. And then I think we get into city rules about noise, etc.
The game was never replayed. If you look at the team records the game is not even listed. It doesn't say canceled, postponed... nothing. I suppose this means it is a 'no contest'.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
That Aint't Right
One of the great things about officiating football is you really do not know what is going to happen next. Sure, you expect a pass on 3rd and long, or if a team has to score with 2:00 remaining the odds are they will run certain types of plays. This is not what I am talking about.
From an officiating perspective, football is a game where much of the contest is structured. If you have a pre-snap routine, know your keys (what you focus as the play begins) and use proper mechanics, much of the game is routine. I even use a process where I break down a play as it happens, "knowing" I will not see holding within the first 'one-one thousand' of the play. I'm more likely to see a chop block, for example. By 'two-one thousand' now holding will begin to develop and now I just need to know where the point of attack is.
Screw-ups happen when the structure is broken and the unexpected, unexpectedly happens. I learned this weekend my structure needs more refining.
High School
This structure problem was not a major... I just did the wrong thing. During a Try (extra point) the holder, with his knee still on the ground, tosses the ball to the kicker during a fake Try. As I recall, they failed. What do I do? Toss my flag. What should I have done? Let's find out.
First let's look at rule 4-2-2-a; the ball becomes dead and the down is ended: a) when a runner... allows any part of his person other than hand or foot to touch the ground.
But wait, you say, the 'holder' is not the 'runner' silly man. If are a regular reader you should know better than to ask this kind of a question; because, in 2-32-13 is says a runner is a player who possess a live ball...
So, the holder is a runner with a part of his person other than his hand or foot touching the ground... shouldn't the ball be dead?
Well, no. Under 4-2-2-a there are some exceptions. 1) The ball remains alive if, at the snap, a place-kick holder with his knee(s) on the ground and a teammate is kicking position catches or recovers the snap while his knee(s) are on the ground and places the ball for a kick or if he rises to advance, hand, kick or pass; OR
Pretty wordy way to say the holder can have his knee on the ground and put the ball down for a kick. It also says he can rise and advance, pass, or hand the ball off. (The kick would mean he could drop kick... let's not go there.)
Did you notice the big read OR? Exception #2: the ball remains live if, at the snap, the place-kick holder with his knee(s) on the ground and with a teammate in kicking position RISES and catches or recovers an errant snap and immediately returns to his knees to the ground and places the ball for a kick or if he rises to advance, hand, kick or pass. It also says if while doing all this the holder muffs or fumbles the ball, the ball is dead.
None of this happened. The holder had his knee on the ground, there was a player in kicking position, the snap was good, no muff or fumble. But the holder passes the ball with his knee still on the ground... there is NO EXCEPTION for this scenario. It falls into under the basic 4-2-2 rule-- the ball becomes dead and the down is ended: a) when a runner... allows any part of his person other than hand or foot to touch the ground.
A little confusing? Even one of my fellow officials said, "He can pass the ball backwards, but not forward." I know what he was thinking -- a backward pass is a fumble. But this would fall into condition of making the dead when the holder fumbles.
So the holder can stand-up (and become a runner) and pass the ball, but he cannot pass the ball while his knee is still on the ground (while still being the holder). Holders can ether hold the ball for the kicker, or they can become runners.
So, I did not anticipate, expect or even consider this type of play occurring. I expected routine... this was a JV game. But when this play did occur all I thought was - "that ain't right" and tossed a flag.
I also screwed up the signals. I indicated the defense declined this phantom foul when I should have waived off the flag. Again, not the end of the world.
But the next blunder, outlined in the next post, is even more interesting.
To review older post, read about other mistakes, and learn the game from an official perspective, go to pigskinref.blogspot.com.
From an officiating perspective, football is a game where much of the contest is structured. If you have a pre-snap routine, know your keys (what you focus as the play begins) and use proper mechanics, much of the game is routine. I even use a process where I break down a play as it happens, "knowing" I will not see holding within the first 'one-one thousand' of the play. I'm more likely to see a chop block, for example. By 'two-one thousand' now holding will begin to develop and now I just need to know where the point of attack is.
Screw-ups happen when the structure is broken and the unexpected, unexpectedly happens. I learned this weekend my structure needs more refining.
High School
This structure problem was not a major... I just did the wrong thing. During a Try (extra point) the holder, with his knee still on the ground, tosses the ball to the kicker during a fake Try. As I recall, they failed. What do I do? Toss my flag. What should I have done? Let's find out.
First let's look at rule 4-2-2-a; the ball becomes dead and the down is ended: a) when a runner... allows any part of his person other than hand or foot to touch the ground.
But wait, you say, the 'holder' is not the 'runner' silly man. If are a regular reader you should know better than to ask this kind of a question; because, in 2-32-13 is says a runner is a player who possess a live ball...
So, the holder is a runner with a part of his person other than his hand or foot touching the ground... shouldn't the ball be dead?
Well, no. Under 4-2-2-a there are some exceptions. 1) The ball remains alive if, at the snap, a place-kick holder with his knee(s) on the ground and a teammate is kicking position catches or recovers the snap while his knee(s) are on the ground and places the ball for a kick or if he rises to advance, hand, kick or pass; OR
Pretty wordy way to say the holder can have his knee on the ground and put the ball down for a kick. It also says he can rise and advance, pass, or hand the ball off. (The kick would mean he could drop kick... let's not go there.)
Did you notice the big read OR? Exception #2: the ball remains live if, at the snap, the place-kick holder with his knee(s) on the ground and with a teammate in kicking position RISES and catches or recovers an errant snap and immediately returns to his knees to the ground and places the ball for a kick or if he rises to advance, hand, kick or pass. It also says if while doing all this the holder muffs or fumbles the ball, the ball is dead.
None of this happened. The holder had his knee on the ground, there was a player in kicking position, the snap was good, no muff or fumble. But the holder passes the ball with his knee still on the ground... there is NO EXCEPTION for this scenario. It falls into under the basic 4-2-2 rule-- the ball becomes dead and the down is ended: a) when a runner... allows any part of his person other than hand or foot to touch the ground.
A little confusing? Even one of my fellow officials said, "He can pass the ball backwards, but not forward." I know what he was thinking -- a backward pass is a fumble. But this would fall into condition of making the dead when the holder fumbles.
So the holder can stand-up (and become a runner) and pass the ball, but he cannot pass the ball while his knee is still on the ground (while still being the holder). Holders can ether hold the ball for the kicker, or they can become runners.
So, I did not anticipate, expect or even consider this type of play occurring. I expected routine... this was a JV game. But when this play did occur all I thought was - "that ain't right" and tossed a flag.
I also screwed up the signals. I indicated the defense declined this phantom foul when I should have waived off the flag. Again, not the end of the world.
But the next blunder, outlined in the next post, is even more interesting.
To review older post, read about other mistakes, and learn the game from an official perspective, go to pigskinref.blogspot.com.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Please, just don't talk to me anymore
High School Game
You know that theory that says if you say something out loud then it won't happen? Like "break a leg". I'm telling you that theory is a load of crap.
So, here's the story... during halftime of the JV game a parent walks up to me and asks, "can I ask you about a play I saw in a game earlier in the season. I don't understand what happened." Sure, no problem.
His explanation goes like this; a short scrimmage kick (i.e., a punt) crosses the expanded neutral zone (more on this is a minute), hits a player on the defense, bounces back over to the kickers side, where they gain possession of the ball, advance, and is tackled short of the line to gain (i.e., they did not make a first down).
"They gave the offense a first down. Was that right?", he asks. I confidently said, "yes, because the defense touch the ball. If they had not touched the ball then the refs were wrong." He believed me. I kinda, more-or-less, believed myself. I thanked the guy for bringing this up, because now it won't happen.
Of course, it did.
Ok, class, now stay with me on this one. (Rule 5-1-3-f) When a scrimmage down ends with the ball in the field of play or out of bounds between the goal lines, a new series is awarded to: F) The team in possession at the end of the down, if the defense is the first to touch a scrimmage kick while it is beyond the expanded neutral zone...
The F) means there are 7 conditions where a new series is awarded; A through G.
Expanded neutral zone? For reference, the normal, none expanded neutral zone is the line of scrimmage. The neutral zone for a scrimmage down is as wide as the length if the football (rule 2-28-1). The NZ may be expanded following the snap up to a maximum of 2 yards behind the defensive line of scrimmage... (rule 2-28-2)
OK, so when MAY it get expanded? You are not going to find some nice paragraph that explains this. Basically, the Expanded NZ exists to eliminate needless flags. For example, rule 7-5-12 says, "ineligible offensive players may not advance beyond the expanded NZ on a legal forward pass play before a legal forward pass crosses the neutral zone in flight...
The point is if a ineligible offensive lineman is within two yards of the original line-of-scrimmage, this is not a foul for ineligibly receiver down field. The same holds true for the punt I described above - ball needs to cross the ENZ.
Does this make sense? If the defense touch the ball beyond the ENZ, (and this can mean some poor kid gets hit on top of the head when he is not looking), whichever team gains possession of the ball will have a new series.
Now don't get cocky and think you understand this yet. Rule 6-2-6 says, the touching of a low scrimmage kick by any player is ignored if the touching is in or behind the expanded neutral zone. IGNORE this touching.
Hold on... there's more. Rule 6-2-3 says, any offensive player may catch or recover a scrimmage kick while it is in or behind the neutral zone and advance...
But....
Let's go back to (Rule 5-1-3-f) When a scrimmage down ends with the ball in the field of play or out of bounds between the goal lines, a new series is awarded to: C) the defense, if at the end of the forth down, the ball belongs to the offense behind the line to gain.
See why this expanded neutral zone thing is important? A mere six feet (two yards) makes the difference if the defense touches the ball and the offense gains possession.
So, please, someone talk to me about lotto numbers because I need this to really, really happen!
You know that theory that says if you say something out loud then it won't happen? Like "break a leg". I'm telling you that theory is a load of crap.
So, here's the story... during halftime of the JV game a parent walks up to me and asks, "can I ask you about a play I saw in a game earlier in the season. I don't understand what happened." Sure, no problem.
His explanation goes like this; a short scrimmage kick (i.e., a punt) crosses the expanded neutral zone (more on this is a minute), hits a player on the defense, bounces back over to the kickers side, where they gain possession of the ball, advance, and is tackled short of the line to gain (i.e., they did not make a first down).
"They gave the offense a first down. Was that right?", he asks. I confidently said, "yes, because the defense touch the ball. If they had not touched the ball then the refs were wrong." He believed me. I kinda, more-or-less, believed myself. I thanked the guy for bringing this up, because now it won't happen.
Of course, it did.
Ok, class, now stay with me on this one. (Rule 5-1-3-f) When a scrimmage down ends with the ball in the field of play or out of bounds between the goal lines, a new series is awarded to: F) The team in possession at the end of the down, if the defense is the first to touch a scrimmage kick while it is beyond the expanded neutral zone...
The F) means there are 7 conditions where a new series is awarded; A through G.
Expanded neutral zone? For reference, the normal, none expanded neutral zone is the line of scrimmage. The neutral zone for a scrimmage down is as wide as the length if the football (rule 2-28-1). The NZ may be expanded following the snap up to a maximum of 2 yards behind the defensive line of scrimmage... (rule 2-28-2)
OK, so when MAY it get expanded? You are not going to find some nice paragraph that explains this. Basically, the Expanded NZ exists to eliminate needless flags. For example, rule 7-5-12 says, "ineligible offensive players may not advance beyond the expanded NZ on a legal forward pass play before a legal forward pass crosses the neutral zone in flight...
The point is if a ineligible offensive lineman is within two yards of the original line-of-scrimmage, this is not a foul for ineligibly receiver down field. The same holds true for the punt I described above - ball needs to cross the ENZ.
Does this make sense? If the defense touch the ball beyond the ENZ, (and this can mean some poor kid gets hit on top of the head when he is not looking), whichever team gains possession of the ball will have a new series.
Now don't get cocky and think you understand this yet. Rule 6-2-6 says, the touching of a low scrimmage kick by any player is ignored if the touching is in or behind the expanded neutral zone. IGNORE this touching.
Hold on... there's more. Rule 6-2-3 says, any offensive player may catch or recover a scrimmage kick while it is in or behind the neutral zone and advance...
But....
Let's go back to (Rule 5-1-3-f) When a scrimmage down ends with the ball in the field of play or out of bounds between the goal lines, a new series is awarded to: C) the defense, if at the end of the forth down, the ball belongs to the offense behind the line to gain.
See why this expanded neutral zone thing is important? A mere six feet (two yards) makes the difference if the defense touches the ball and the offense gains possession.
So, please, someone talk to me about lotto numbers because I need this to really, really happen!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Play until you hear the whistle
College Game
Some days are simply perfect football days. A slight chill in the air, a gentle breeze, the glistening sheen of artificial turf. Grass stains are a thing of the past. Aesthetics and meteorology aside the day was superb... until the last two minutes.
I had another actual, for real, legit, Clipping call and a Chop Block. (click on hyperlink to refresh your memory on clipping and why it is rare.) The clipping was beautiful. Right out of the book, no judgment needed, right in front me. I should make next years training tape.
The chop block was also beautiful, but for another reason. I toss the flag, the QB was sacked for a loss, and the defense decides to decline because it would make it 4th and long. The victim protests to the Referee, "Can you watch the high, low blocks?" My White Hat says, "we did" as he picks my flag off the ground and tosses it to me. The player says, "You guys rock".
Ya, we know... for 58 minutes.
So, with about 2 minutes remaining the game is tied at 27-27. The visitors are on their own 15 yard line. There is a fumble, a scramble for the ball, the defense picks-up the ball and scores. The only problem was there was a whistle during the fumble. This is called an Inadvertent Whistle (IW) and is a bad, bad, bad thing to do. If an official has an inadvertent whistle they have to buy the beer. The IW impacts the game for sure, but buying the beer... now that hurts.
Here's the rule: If an official sounds his whistle inadvertently...
1) when the ball is in player possession, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where declared dead or replay the down.
2) When the ball is loose from a fumble, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where possession is lost or replay the down.
There are two additional conditions in the IW ruling which I'll leave out, but the pattern is the same -- the team in possession of the ball at the time of the IW may elect to 'redo' the down and pretend like the play never happened, or they can take the result of the play.
Did I fail to mention the defense had been down 27-14 at halftime and had just scored two consecutive touchdowns to tie the score? Ya, let's try to forget you didn't get a TD.
For this post we are concerned about situation #2. The ball is fumbled, rolls around, touched by multiple players... so how do we know where possession is lost? The beanbag.
Next time you watch a game, and there is a fumble, watch the official nearest the fumble. You will see his beanbag mark the spot where 'possession is lost'. This spot is not only for the unfortunate inadvertent whistle, but is the end of the run. The end of the run is a penalty enforcement spot for fouls during the loose ball.
Now, back to the tied game, with a fumble, inadvertent whistle, fumble recovery, touchdown..... and no f-ing beanbag. Needless to say, this took a minute or three to figure out. Then it got better. And worse.
So, a few plays later, the defense... the ones who should have scored the TD, are flagged for roughing the passer. A huge 15 yard penalty with an automatic first down. Two plays later they have moved the ball to around the 25 yard line and decide to kick a field goal.... which they made and won the game with 1.7 seconds remaining.
One little missed-timed whistle can change everything. Oh, and why was the whistle blown? The coach wanted a timeout.
So the fans are screaming insults, the coach calls us names and says he sending film to our bosses, and we ask for a security escort to our cars.
Did I mention the weather was great!
Some days are simply perfect football days. A slight chill in the air, a gentle breeze, the glistening sheen of artificial turf. Grass stains are a thing of the past. Aesthetics and meteorology aside the day was superb... until the last two minutes.
I had another actual, for real, legit, Clipping call and a Chop Block. (click on hyperlink to refresh your memory on clipping and why it is rare.) The clipping was beautiful. Right out of the book, no judgment needed, right in front me. I should make next years training tape.
The chop block was also beautiful, but for another reason. I toss the flag, the QB was sacked for a loss, and the defense decides to decline because it would make it 4th and long. The victim protests to the Referee, "Can you watch the high, low blocks?" My White Hat says, "we did" as he picks my flag off the ground and tosses it to me. The player says, "You guys rock".
Ya, we know... for 58 minutes.
So, with about 2 minutes remaining the game is tied at 27-27. The visitors are on their own 15 yard line. There is a fumble, a scramble for the ball, the defense picks-up the ball and scores. The only problem was there was a whistle during the fumble. This is called an Inadvertent Whistle (IW) and is a bad, bad, bad thing to do. If an official has an inadvertent whistle they have to buy the beer. The IW impacts the game for sure, but buying the beer... now that hurts.
Here's the rule: If an official sounds his whistle inadvertently...
1) when the ball is in player possession, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where declared dead or replay the down.
2) When the ball is loose from a fumble, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where possession is lost or replay the down.
There are two additional conditions in the IW ruling which I'll leave out, but the pattern is the same -- the team in possession of the ball at the time of the IW may elect to 'redo' the down and pretend like the play never happened, or they can take the result of the play.
Did I fail to mention the defense had been down 27-14 at halftime and had just scored two consecutive touchdowns to tie the score? Ya, let's try to forget you didn't get a TD.
For this post we are concerned about situation #2. The ball is fumbled, rolls around, touched by multiple players... so how do we know where possession is lost? The beanbag.
Next time you watch a game, and there is a fumble, watch the official nearest the fumble. You will see his beanbag mark the spot where 'possession is lost'. This spot is not only for the unfortunate inadvertent whistle, but is the end of the run. The end of the run is a penalty enforcement spot for fouls during the loose ball.
Now, back to the tied game, with a fumble, inadvertent whistle, fumble recovery, touchdown..... and no f-ing beanbag. Needless to say, this took a minute or three to figure out. Then it got better. And worse.
So, a few plays later, the defense... the ones who should have scored the TD, are flagged for roughing the passer. A huge 15 yard penalty with an automatic first down. Two plays later they have moved the ball to around the 25 yard line and decide to kick a field goal.... which they made and won the game with 1.7 seconds remaining.
One little missed-timed whistle can change everything. Oh, and why was the whistle blown? The coach wanted a timeout.
So the fans are screaming insults, the coach calls us names and says he sending film to our bosses, and we ask for a security escort to our cars.
Did I mention the weather was great!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Pass Interference - emphasis on the interference
Varsity Game
The varsity game was personally noteworthy for me since my first crew chief was in town and worked the Varsity game with me. And as I was the White Hat this made the game even more meaningful for me. We had a good time catching-up and working together again. Too bad the game was not a good time.
First, and this is trivial, but I was asked to wear a microphone like the big boys on TV. The PA guy says, "when you want to speak, hold down this button". "Ok, but how am I supposed to signal the fouls if I'm holding down a button?" I retort. Puzzled look from PA guy. "Ok, I'll control the volume from the press box." Swell. It was awkward, but thankfully it did not work most of the time which was just fine by me.
And my knee was still pretty painful which limited my mobility. But this was nothing compared to the pain caused by the game itself. This was 'one of those games'.
Sometimes games just don't flow well. Coaches are upset all game, some of officials are off their routines, the chain crew sucks, the clock sucks. It's never a single thing that makes a sucky game, but all these little 'things' add up. All you want to do is get the damn thing over with.
For example, on one play a flag is thrown for defensive pass interference (DPI). The pass was complete and then the flag came late. I was thinking this had to be facemask or some dead-ball personal foul. When it was reported as a DPI I was a little annoyed. I must have asked him three times, "DPI... Really?" Why throw a flag for a foul that has no impact on the play?
Here's the deal -- the pass was completed for a 25-yard gain. The penalty for DPI is 15 yards from the previous spot and an automatic first down. This is a big penalty. But, unless it had been 4th and 26 yards (meaning they were short of the first down and would have to turn the ball over), why would they accept a DPI foul and lose 10 yards? Of course, they would not.
So, again, why throw a late flag for this? Now, some officials would argue it is better to waive off a flag, or give the offended team an option, than to miss a foul. I've even heard this should be thrown just in case there are offsetting fouls, which would result in the down being repeated.
Ok, but here is the actual wording from the rule book: It is forward-pass interference if: any player [offense or defense] who is beyond the neutral zone interferes with an eligible opponent's opportunity to move toward, catch, or bat the pass.
Hmmm. So, if the receiver completes the pass was his opportunity to catch the ball interfered with? I'm interpreting the rule to mean the defender's act must affect the opponent's opportunity to complete the catch. Why would I reward offense (or further hurt the defense since the pass was completed) because of the defender use a crappy 'interference' technique? The pass was completed. Your interference technique sucked. Move the chains and let's go.
But, it's never this easy. Now, I step in and screw this up even more. I'm so annoyed with the calling official I'm not really paying attention to whay I'm doing. I still have it on my mind this has to be a dead-ball foul... which is enforced from the end of the run. So, I instruct the umpire to mark this off from the end of the run. WRONG.
Good thing my old crew chief was there. He stopped us before I could start the next play. We marched it back to the end of the run and I quickly announced the foul was -- declined.
Good thing the microphone was not working.
The varsity game was personally noteworthy for me since my first crew chief was in town and worked the Varsity game with me. And as I was the White Hat this made the game even more meaningful for me. We had a good time catching-up and working together again. Too bad the game was not a good time.
First, and this is trivial, but I was asked to wear a microphone like the big boys on TV. The PA guy says, "when you want to speak, hold down this button". "Ok, but how am I supposed to signal the fouls if I'm holding down a button?" I retort. Puzzled look from PA guy. "Ok, I'll control the volume from the press box." Swell. It was awkward, but thankfully it did not work most of the time which was just fine by me.
And my knee was still pretty painful which limited my mobility. But this was nothing compared to the pain caused by the game itself. This was 'one of those games'.
Sometimes games just don't flow well. Coaches are upset all game, some of officials are off their routines, the chain crew sucks, the clock sucks. It's never a single thing that makes a sucky game, but all these little 'things' add up. All you want to do is get the damn thing over with.
For example, on one play a flag is thrown for defensive pass interference (DPI). The pass was complete and then the flag came late. I was thinking this had to be facemask or some dead-ball personal foul. When it was reported as a DPI I was a little annoyed. I must have asked him three times, "DPI... Really?" Why throw a flag for a foul that has no impact on the play?
Here's the deal -- the pass was completed for a 25-yard gain. The penalty for DPI is 15 yards from the previous spot and an automatic first down. This is a big penalty. But, unless it had been 4th and 26 yards (meaning they were short of the first down and would have to turn the ball over), why would they accept a DPI foul and lose 10 yards? Of course, they would not.
So, again, why throw a late flag for this? Now, some officials would argue it is better to waive off a flag, or give the offended team an option, than to miss a foul. I've even heard this should be thrown just in case there are offsetting fouls, which would result in the down being repeated.
Ok, but here is the actual wording from the rule book: It is forward-pass interference if: any player [offense or defense] who is beyond the neutral zone interferes with an eligible opponent's opportunity to move toward, catch, or bat the pass.
Hmmm. So, if the receiver completes the pass was his opportunity to catch the ball interfered with? I'm interpreting the rule to mean the defender's act must affect the opponent's opportunity to complete the catch. Why would I reward offense (or further hurt the defense since the pass was completed) because of the defender use a crappy 'interference' technique? The pass was completed. Your interference technique sucked. Move the chains and let's go.
But, it's never this easy. Now, I step in and screw this up even more. I'm so annoyed with the calling official I'm not really paying attention to whay I'm doing. I still have it on my mind this has to be a dead-ball foul... which is enforced from the end of the run. So, I instruct the umpire to mark this off from the end of the run. WRONG.
Good thing my old crew chief was there. He stopped us before I could start the next play. We marched it back to the end of the run and I quickly announced the foul was -- declined.
Good thing the microphone was not working.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sore about the knee and other musings
On 9/18, I our crew did not have a high school game. I did work a college game and it was a big one.
The teams for the college game were ranked #4 and #5 in the state. Up until the 4th quarter it was very close contest. The halftime score was 7-6 and at one point the score was 21-21. The losers eventually lost the momentum and ultimately the game.
Overall the game was pretty clean and we had less than fifteen flags. I did not throw any laundry during this game.
A few interesting things occurred. We 'penalized' each team for Failure to wear mandatory equipment due to player knee pads' not covering the knees. Here is the rule under mandatory equipment: Soft knee pads at least 1/2-inch think that must cover the knees and be covered by the pants. There is also a provision which states mandatory equipment cannot be altered to decrease protection. What it does not state is the knee pad must cover the knees at all times, nor does it describe in what position the player must be in while having the knees covered. So what, you may be asking?
Here is what I mean with my the emphasis on at all times -- Before the game starts I ask a player to show me his knee pads. It looks funny. I ask him to show me they will cover his knees. The pads do cover the knees, or at least, they can if he pulls his pants down. Now what?
The books say: If a player is not wearing mandatory equipment in compliance in all respects with rule 1-4-4, the team shall be charged a timeout and the player shall not be permitted to play until he complies. (rule 1-4-4 covers several things, including the knee pads I mentioned above.)
So, if he comes to the line of scrimmage, pulls his pants over his knees, is he okay? If during the down his pant ride up, his knees are exposed, and then after the play ends he pulls them back down --- was that a foul?
My opinion is this is not a foul, but something really, really stupid by the player. If he can start the down being legally equipped, then he has fulfilled rule 1-4-4. The point is we should not allow players to participate in a down if they are not properly equipped.
And trust me, you'll get many different opinion from officials on this topic depending upon how black-and-white one interprets the rules. I hope you can see there is room to interpret the rule.
During this game, we charged both teams with a timeout for this equipment violation. This was was correct in my opinion as these particular players were in gross violation of the rule.
On a personal note, during the last play of the game, I got creamed by the tight end. He laid me out pretty good and, I love the irony, my unprotected knee was injured. The player who ran me over says, "hey, are you alright?" I reply, yes. Then he asks, "did I make the catch?" Ah, ya, and thanks for caring.
My knee is still sore but I hobbled through my games the following weekend. More on this next post.
The teams for the college game were ranked #4 and #5 in the state. Up until the 4th quarter it was very close contest. The halftime score was 7-6 and at one point the score was 21-21. The losers eventually lost the momentum and ultimately the game.
Overall the game was pretty clean and we had less than fifteen flags. I did not throw any laundry during this game.
A few interesting things occurred. We 'penalized' each team for Failure to wear mandatory equipment due to player knee pads' not covering the knees. Here is the rule under mandatory equipment: Soft knee pads at least 1/2-inch think that must cover the knees and be covered by the pants. There is also a provision which states mandatory equipment cannot be altered to decrease protection. What it does not state is the knee pad must cover the knees at all times, nor does it describe in what position the player must be in while having the knees covered. So what, you may be asking?
Here is what I mean with my the emphasis on at all times -- Before the game starts I ask a player to show me his knee pads. It looks funny. I ask him to show me they will cover his knees. The pads do cover the knees, or at least, they can if he pulls his pants down. Now what?
The books say: If a player is not wearing mandatory equipment in compliance in all respects with rule 1-4-4, the team shall be charged a timeout and the player shall not be permitted to play until he complies. (rule 1-4-4 covers several things, including the knee pads I mentioned above.)
So, if he comes to the line of scrimmage, pulls his pants over his knees, is he okay? If during the down his pant ride up, his knees are exposed, and then after the play ends he pulls them back down --- was that a foul?
My opinion is this is not a foul, but something really, really stupid by the player. If he can start the down being legally equipped, then he has fulfilled rule 1-4-4. The point is we should not allow players to participate in a down if they are not properly equipped.
And trust me, you'll get many different opinion from officials on this topic depending upon how black-and-white one interprets the rules. I hope you can see there is room to interpret the rule.
During this game, we charged both teams with a timeout for this equipment violation. This was was correct in my opinion as these particular players were in gross violation of the rule.
On a personal note, during the last play of the game, I got creamed by the tight end. He laid me out pretty good and, I love the irony, my unprotected knee was injured. The player who ran me over says, "hey, are you alright?" I reply, yes. Then he asks, "did I make the catch?" Ah, ya, and thanks for caring.
My knee is still sore but I hobbled through my games the following weekend. More on this next post.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Mr. Saturday Night
I could title this post "It's Saturday night, you dork" for a rookie mistake I made. Now, this was not the end of the world, and I realized the mistake before my flag even hit the ground, but it was one of those high school vs college rule, brain-fart moments.
The play in question transpired sometime in the second quarter. Recall, I work at the umpire position and generally have a starting position seven to eight yards off the line of scrimmage. Why is this relevant? I threw a flag for a block below the waist that occurred behind me. Confused? Let's review.
First, block below the waist is another example of how crazy the college rule book is laid out. One simple rule: Blocking below the waist is permitted except as follows: (and what follows is an entire page of exceptions). I will spare you reading all the exceptions, but the exception that applies to this situation has to do with players who are not on the line-of-scrimmage in the blocking zone. What is the blocking zone (BZ)? You'll need to draw a picture.
The description of the BZ: The BZ is a rectangle centered on the snapper and extending five yards laterally and three yards longitudinally in each direction. The blocking zone disintegrates when the ball leaves the zone.
Ok, back to blocking below the waist. If a player is within the BZ and on the line of scrimmage, they can block below the waist anywhere on the field. Simple. Actually, all players can block below the waist (because it is permitted); however, some players are limited as to when and where they can use this blocking technique.
The restrictions apply to players who are outside the BZ (think, the wing back or a wide receiver), or for players who are within the BZ, but not on the line of scrimmage (think, a running back). They are prohibited from blocking below the waist toward the original position of the ball in or behind the neutral zone and within 10 yards beyond the neutral zone.
So, take that picture of the 5 x 3 rectangle I asked you to draw and add another 7 x7 yard box on the defensive side. Put a dot seven yards in the middle and this is where I am.
Now when I say the block in the back occurred behind me the questions is -- did the block occur within this 10 yard zone by a player under restriction? Heck if I know about the restricted player part, but odds are the foul occured outside the zone and thus would not be a foul... at least on Saturday.
During a high school game, this would be a foul, no matter what. On Saturday, it depends. I threw the flag because because my high school red flag went up.
I had not games on 9/18, but I did have a college game on Saturday 9/19 which pitted the 4th and 5th ranked teams in the State. It lived-up to the hype.
The play in question transpired sometime in the second quarter. Recall, I work at the umpire position and generally have a starting position seven to eight yards off the line of scrimmage. Why is this relevant? I threw a flag for a block below the waist that occurred behind me. Confused? Let's review.
First, block below the waist is another example of how crazy the college rule book is laid out. One simple rule: Blocking below the waist is permitted except as follows: (and what follows is an entire page of exceptions). I will spare you reading all the exceptions, but the exception that applies to this situation has to do with players who are not on the line-of-scrimmage in the blocking zone. What is the blocking zone (BZ)? You'll need to draw a picture.
The description of the BZ: The BZ is a rectangle centered on the snapper and extending five yards laterally and three yards longitudinally in each direction. The blocking zone disintegrates when the ball leaves the zone.
Ok, back to blocking below the waist. If a player is within the BZ and on the line of scrimmage, they can block below the waist anywhere on the field. Simple. Actually, all players can block below the waist (because it is permitted); however, some players are limited as to when and where they can use this blocking technique.
The restrictions apply to players who are outside the BZ (think, the wing back or a wide receiver), or for players who are within the BZ, but not on the line of scrimmage (think, a running back). They are prohibited from blocking below the waist toward the original position of the ball in or behind the neutral zone and within 10 yards beyond the neutral zone.
So, take that picture of the 5 x 3 rectangle I asked you to draw and add another 7 x7 yard box on the defensive side. Put a dot seven yards in the middle and this is where I am.
Now when I say the block in the back occurred behind me the questions is -- did the block occur within this 10 yard zone by a player under restriction? Heck if I know about the restricted player part, but odds are the foul occured outside the zone and thus would not be a foul... at least on Saturday.
During a high school game, this would be a foul, no matter what. On Saturday, it depends. I threw the flag because because my high school red flag went up.
I had not games on 9/18, but I did have a college game on Saturday 9/19 which pitted the 4th and 5th ranked teams in the State. It lived-up to the hype.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
100th Post
For longtime followers this is the 100th post. I appreciate you following along and all the great feedback you give me.
I was recently asked how I started officiating football? What is my backstory? This seems like the time to share this with you.
Before I go there, first let me point out that I have deliberately remained anonymous. Some of you know who I am, but most do not. You notice I never mention my name, the teams by name, nor do I mention any other official or coach I work with. I believe I can make this interesting without those particular details, and after 100 posts, no one has ever asked or made a comment about not having these facts. I choose to use this approach so I can be a bit more open about what I say. After all this is named Confessions of an American Football Referee. I've only been challenged once on a statement I made -- I'm still right, by the way.
Flash Way Back
I only played football during my sophomore and junior years in high school. During my sophomore season I started out as a fullback and middle linebacker. I ended-up as an offensive pulling guard. This is where I earned my nickname "caveman".
One day I forgot my socks at practice. One of the coaches says, "damn Wood, you have more hair on you legs than I do. You're a friggin caveman." It was true... kinda still is, but now its migrated to my back.
During this sophomore season I played, started a few games, but mostly worked very hard.
Our coach said he just needed eleven guys who really wanted to play and the rest of you can go home. The guys who work the hardest will be the starters. I believed him. During the summer I decided I was going to make Varsity. My friends laughed at me.
I was the first one in the weight room and the last one to leave. I did all the running he asked, I worked hard, I never spoke back, and I pushed myself. I never gave-up.
The day before our first game my junior season our coach says to the entire team, "I found my first player." And he says my name. My coach kept his promise. I had pushed a senior out of the position and now I was starting Varsity. During season he and I battled back and forth for the position and I think I started half the games. I can fill pages with interesting stories from this single season. Perhaps later.
I did not play football as a senior. This is something I now deeply regret, which deserves explaining some other time.
After I graduated I coached Freshman football for two seasons. I had a blast. This was 1985.
For a dozen years, I had nothing to do with the game of football other than watching games on TV and perhaps going to a UCLA game once a year.
Flash Forward
Now it's 1997. I am new in town, my ex-wife and I are separated, and I'm pretty much alone. The pastor at the church I was attending happened to be a football official and asked if I would be interested in being a referee. I missed the game, had nothing better to do, so why not. the season had already started, so I could not work any games. But I went and asked if I could work on the chain crew.
When I joined the association the pastor arranged it so I could be assigned to his crew. This was very beneficial for me because I had more access to my crew-chief and I could ask more questions. And I asked a lot of questions. And just like in high school, I worked very hard and worked every game I possibly could. Some weekends I would work 12 games.
I was lucky (right place/right time), as is often the case with officiating, when one of the varsity crew members became injured. This opened a spot and I was promoted to the varsity crew my second season (typically it take five seasons). When the injured crew member returned, the pastor said I had earned the spot and it was mine.
Between 1998-2006 I worked two-three seasons of Youth football, but finally stopped. The parents are out of control. The money is good, but not worth the headache. And, of course, I continued to work high school.
I could fill another 100 posts with stories about things that happened during these eight seasons. On of the best things about officiating are the "you remember that game when..." Maybe during the off-season I'll share some of these. I think you'll fine many of them interesting.
Today
2007 brings us to Confessions of an American Football Referee. If you have not done so, go back to the beginning and catch-up.
I still have a college game from last week to report on. I applied some Friday night rules with Saturday rules, and I still need to explain my new nickname - twinkle toes.
No high school games this weekend, but the college game pits two teams ranked in the top 10 in the state.
I was recently asked how I started officiating football? What is my backstory? This seems like the time to share this with you.
Before I go there, first let me point out that I have deliberately remained anonymous. Some of you know who I am, but most do not. You notice I never mention my name, the teams by name, nor do I mention any other official or coach I work with. I believe I can make this interesting without those particular details, and after 100 posts, no one has ever asked or made a comment about not having these facts. I choose to use this approach so I can be a bit more open about what I say. After all this is named Confessions of an American Football Referee. I've only been challenged once on a statement I made -- I'm still right, by the way.
Flash Way Back
I only played football during my sophomore and junior years in high school. During my sophomore season I started out as a fullback and middle linebacker. I ended-up as an offensive pulling guard. This is where I earned my nickname "caveman".
One day I forgot my socks at practice. One of the coaches says, "damn Wood, you have more hair on you legs than I do. You're a friggin caveman." It was true... kinda still is, but now its migrated to my back.
During this sophomore season I played, started a few games, but mostly worked very hard.
Our coach said he just needed eleven guys who really wanted to play and the rest of you can go home. The guys who work the hardest will be the starters. I believed him. During the summer I decided I was going to make Varsity. My friends laughed at me.
I was the first one in the weight room and the last one to leave. I did all the running he asked, I worked hard, I never spoke back, and I pushed myself. I never gave-up.
The day before our first game my junior season our coach says to the entire team, "I found my first player." And he says my name. My coach kept his promise. I had pushed a senior out of the position and now I was starting Varsity. During season he and I battled back and forth for the position and I think I started half the games. I can fill pages with interesting stories from this single season. Perhaps later.
I did not play football as a senior. This is something I now deeply regret, which deserves explaining some other time.
After I graduated I coached Freshman football for two seasons. I had a blast. This was 1985.
For a dozen years, I had nothing to do with the game of football other than watching games on TV and perhaps going to a UCLA game once a year.
Flash Forward
Now it's 1997. I am new in town, my ex-wife and I are separated, and I'm pretty much alone. The pastor at the church I was attending happened to be a football official and asked if I would be interested in being a referee. I missed the game, had nothing better to do, so why not. the season had already started, so I could not work any games. But I went and asked if I could work on the chain crew.
When I joined the association the pastor arranged it so I could be assigned to his crew. This was very beneficial for me because I had more access to my crew-chief and I could ask more questions. And I asked a lot of questions. And just like in high school, I worked very hard and worked every game I possibly could. Some weekends I would work 12 games.
I was lucky (right place/right time), as is often the case with officiating, when one of the varsity crew members became injured. This opened a spot and I was promoted to the varsity crew my second season (typically it take five seasons). When the injured crew member returned, the pastor said I had earned the spot and it was mine.
Between 1998-2006 I worked two-three seasons of Youth football, but finally stopped. The parents are out of control. The money is good, but not worth the headache. And, of course, I continued to work high school.
I could fill another 100 posts with stories about things that happened during these eight seasons. On of the best things about officiating are the "you remember that game when..." Maybe during the off-season I'll share some of these. I think you'll fine many of them interesting.
Today
2007 brings us to Confessions of an American Football Referee. If you have not done so, go back to the beginning and catch-up.
I still have a college game from last week to report on. I applied some Friday night rules with Saturday rules, and I still need to explain my new nickname - twinkle toes.
No high school games this weekend, but the college game pits two teams ranked in the top 10 in the state.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Illegal Balls?
9/11 Varsity Game
This game is interesting because we had several odd things occur. But first, the non-odd, yet interesting.
I once again had to throw flags for sideline warnings (see this post of a rule description) But this time I deliberately added a dramatic effect. During a long touchdown run I noticed the coach in the restricted area. I tossed my flag right in front of him. The crowd gasped. The coach turned white. I smirked. I told him the first one was just a warning - no yardage. I thought I sent a pretty strong message. I was wrong.
On the second play of the 3rd quarter he was once again in the restricted area. This time the response was "I know this is a point of emphasis this season, but shouldn't you be watching the field?" I guess this coach has not heard about the $10M dollar lawsuit in Texas http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/LawDecisionTX.jsp?hubtype=TxCaseAlert&id=1202431770981&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1
Basically, an official ran into a coach on the sideline. The coach now has permanent brain damage. This occurred after repeated attempts to warn the coach to stay out of the restricted area. The courts have favored on the side of the officials. I think I will keep throwing flags and stay out of court.
Next, the visitors tried to use an illegal ball when they returned after halftime. The ball was very old, felt sticky (as if it was altered - is was a cold, foggy night) and had no stripes. You may think this is odd, but there is an entire section in the rule book on the ball. It describes how many laces there can be (either 8 or 12), how far apart they can be, how many panels, the air pressure inside, and a continuous 1-inch white or yellow stripe centered 3 to 3 1/4 inches from each end of the ball. The stripes shall be located only on the two panels adjacent to and perpendicular to the seam upon which the laces are stitched.
We had an interesting foul - Illegal Touching. This may be a new one for you, so pay attention. Here is the rule, an ineligible A player (a means offense) has illegally touched a forward pass if he bats, muffs or catches a legal forward pass, unless the pass has first been touched by B (a defensive player).
Bats, muffs or catches for simplicity sake means this "ineligible offensive player" deliberately touched the ball. Being hit in the back of the head by a pass would NOT be illegal touching.
So, you should be asking, which offensive players are ineligible to touch a pass? Linemen. And who are the linemen? Players numbered 50 - 79 (most of the time.)
During this game the QB was in trouble, and to avoid a sack, he tossed the ball to #53 who caught the ball. Oops. Flags. This is a 5-yard, loss-of-down penalty from the spot of the touching. Actually, a pretty big foul.
When I went in to get the information to report to my coach, the White Hat said to enforce this from the previous spot. I said, no this should be a spot foul. He did it from the previous spot anyway.
The next day I got an email from him saying he was wrong and I was right after all. This is rare, because he knows the rules way better than I do. He told me next time I should be assertive and stop him from making mistakes.
The game was actually very well played and was tied 20-20 for a period of time. We did have a player ejection late in the 4th quarter. I did not see the foul, but the calling official said the player took a swing at another player. That will get you tossed every time.
During the college game I earned the nickname ' twinkle toes'. And yes, I'll explain why next post.
This game is interesting because we had several odd things occur. But first, the non-odd, yet interesting.
I once again had to throw flags for sideline warnings (see this post of a rule description) But this time I deliberately added a dramatic effect. During a long touchdown run I noticed the coach in the restricted area. I tossed my flag right in front of him. The crowd gasped. The coach turned white. I smirked. I told him the first one was just a warning - no yardage. I thought I sent a pretty strong message. I was wrong.
On the second play of the 3rd quarter he was once again in the restricted area. This time the response was "I know this is a point of emphasis this season, but shouldn't you be watching the field?" I guess this coach has not heard about the $10M dollar lawsuit in Texas http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/LawDecisionTX.jsp?hubtype=TxCaseAlert&id=1202431770981&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1
Basically, an official ran into a coach on the sideline. The coach now has permanent brain damage. This occurred after repeated attempts to warn the coach to stay out of the restricted area. The courts have favored on the side of the officials. I think I will keep throwing flags and stay out of court.
Next, the visitors tried to use an illegal ball when they returned after halftime. The ball was very old, felt sticky (as if it was altered - is was a cold, foggy night) and had no stripes. You may think this is odd, but there is an entire section in the rule book on the ball. It describes how many laces there can be (either 8 or 12), how far apart they can be, how many panels, the air pressure inside, and a continuous 1-inch white or yellow stripe centered 3 to 3 1/4 inches from each end of the ball. The stripes shall be located only on the two panels adjacent to and perpendicular to the seam upon which the laces are stitched.
We had an interesting foul - Illegal Touching. This may be a new one for you, so pay attention. Here is the rule, an ineligible A player (a means offense) has illegally touched a forward pass if he bats, muffs or catches a legal forward pass, unless the pass has first been touched by B (a defensive player).
Bats, muffs or catches for simplicity sake means this "ineligible offensive player" deliberately touched the ball. Being hit in the back of the head by a pass would NOT be illegal touching.
So, you should be asking, which offensive players are ineligible to touch a pass? Linemen. And who are the linemen? Players numbered 50 - 79 (most of the time.)
During this game the QB was in trouble, and to avoid a sack, he tossed the ball to #53 who caught the ball. Oops. Flags. This is a 5-yard, loss-of-down penalty from the spot of the touching. Actually, a pretty big foul.
When I went in to get the information to report to my coach, the White Hat said to enforce this from the previous spot. I said, no this should be a spot foul. He did it from the previous spot anyway.
The next day I got an email from him saying he was wrong and I was right after all. This is rare, because he knows the rules way better than I do. He told me next time I should be assertive and stop him from making mistakes.
The game was actually very well played and was tied 20-20 for a period of time. We did have a player ejection late in the 4th quarter. I did not see the foul, but the calling official said the player took a swing at another player. That will get you tossed every time.
During the college game I earned the nickname ' twinkle toes'. And yes, I'll explain why next post.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Phantom of the Fouls
All three games were close fought contests and were filled with drama - often caused by the coaches rather than the action on the field. Some coaches perpetually declare their ignorance each time they open their mouth. Sometimes I just want to tell them to shut the $%#& up.
JV Game
The newest version of the sideline warning violation we discussed last week came into play again. When I tossed the flag the loud-mouth coach thinks it for some phantom foul he sees on the field. He saw a lot of phantom fouls by the way. When I tell him it is a sideline warning on his team he shouts, "on who?" When the play ends I say, "look where you are standing." He babbles something incoherent. Whatever coach just follow the rule and I won't be 'killing you' anymore. I heard that a lot -- you're killing me! But, now he's all over his team and assistant coaches yelling, "get back".
With the clock stopped and eight seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter, loud-mouth tells me he wants to take a timeout after this play. Ok, just say it loud so I can hear it - like that will be a problem. The play runs, I hear "timeout" and I quickly stop the clock. After about 20 seconds he says, "why did you call timeout?" So, now you are a loud-mouth schizo? "Why would I do that with two seconds left?" Cuz you're nuts?
Later in the 3rd quarter we were down by the 10 yard line he gets bent all out of shape because he wanted to talk to the White Hat about something. I never heard him ask. He says in an over-the-top sarcastic way, "thanks for listening". I was waiting for the expletive so I could nail him for this too. But it never came. Damn.
One of the phantom fouls that was killing him was something that resembled a block in the back. What is was, was a legal block that looked bad. He says, "that was Clipping, you have to call that." Now, when someone says 'hey, that was clipping' this means they are ignorant.
Clipping is defined as "a block against an opponent when the initial contact is from behind, at or below the waist, and not against a player who is the runner (ball carrier) or pretending to be the runner." (this NOT logic is not a typo. Welcome to the world of rule book interpretations.)
Please, tell me, when was the last time saw clipping or heard this foul reported during any game you've seen on TV? You'll see several blocks in the back during a game, but never clipping.
Part 2 of this relates to something called the free-blocking zone. In this section of the book it states: A player shall not clip or block an opponent in the back EXCEPT: a) in the free-blocking zone.
Now, the free-blocking zone is entire topic in itself, but my point is for Clipping to be called it has to be, more or less, in the open field. This never happens. I don't recall ever throwing a Clipping penalty.
I see Clipping being attempted within the free-blocking zone, but players usually fail in the attempt because they are pursuing the intended victim. Often the offensive guard is pulling and the defender is trying to take him out from behind. Rarely, the defender will beat the guard and the guard goes low on the defender when he passes by him. Not clipping if in the zone.
But why should I expect a guy whose job it is to teach players how to play game to actually understand the rules?
The score was tied 0-0 at halftime and ended up 7-6 in favor of the loud-mouth.
In the Varsity game... we had a horse collar tackle, a player ejection, three sideline warnings (two by me), and illegal touching, and an illegal game ball. Stay tuned.
JV Game
The newest version of the sideline warning violation we discussed last week came into play again. When I tossed the flag the loud-mouth coach thinks it for some phantom foul he sees on the field. He saw a lot of phantom fouls by the way. When I tell him it is a sideline warning on his team he shouts, "on who?" When the play ends I say, "look where you are standing." He babbles something incoherent. Whatever coach just follow the rule and I won't be 'killing you' anymore. I heard that a lot -- you're killing me! But, now he's all over his team and assistant coaches yelling, "get back".
With the clock stopped and eight seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter, loud-mouth tells me he wants to take a timeout after this play. Ok, just say it loud so I can hear it - like that will be a problem. The play runs, I hear "timeout" and I quickly stop the clock. After about 20 seconds he says, "why did you call timeout?" So, now you are a loud-mouth schizo? "Why would I do that with two seconds left?" Cuz you're nuts?
Later in the 3rd quarter we were down by the 10 yard line he gets bent all out of shape because he wanted to talk to the White Hat about something. I never heard him ask. He says in an over-the-top sarcastic way, "thanks for listening". I was waiting for the expletive so I could nail him for this too. But it never came. Damn.
One of the phantom fouls that was killing him was something that resembled a block in the back. What is was, was a legal block that looked bad. He says, "that was Clipping, you have to call that." Now, when someone says 'hey, that was clipping' this means they are ignorant.
Clipping is defined as "a block against an opponent when the initial contact is from behind, at or below the waist, and not against a player who is the runner (ball carrier) or pretending to be the runner." (this NOT logic is not a typo. Welcome to the world of rule book interpretations.)
Please, tell me, when was the last time saw clipping or heard this foul reported during any game you've seen on TV? You'll see several blocks in the back during a game, but never clipping.
Part 2 of this relates to something called the free-blocking zone. In this section of the book it states: A player shall not clip or block an opponent in the back EXCEPT: a) in the free-blocking zone.
Now, the free-blocking zone is entire topic in itself, but my point is for Clipping to be called it has to be, more or less, in the open field. This never happens. I don't recall ever throwing a Clipping penalty.
I see Clipping being attempted within the free-blocking zone, but players usually fail in the attempt because they are pursuing the intended victim. Often the offensive guard is pulling and the defender is trying to take him out from behind. Rarely, the defender will beat the guard and the guard goes low on the defender when he passes by him. Not clipping if in the zone.
But why should I expect a guy whose job it is to teach players how to play game to actually understand the rules?
The score was tied 0-0 at halftime and ended up 7-6 in favor of the loud-mouth.
In the Varsity game... we had a horse collar tackle, a player ejection, three sideline warnings (two by me), and illegal touching, and an illegal game ball. Stay tuned.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
First college game of 2009
9/5/09 was the first game of the college season, and no, this was not week zero; however, the same ten out of eleven week thing applies.
Once again I was at the field where they treat the officials like crap (see http://pigskinref.blogspot.com/2007/10/this-is-college-football.html). Game administration was a moderately better than previous seasons, but not much. The chain crew was late, the game clock did not run when it should, the play clock (25 second clock) often sat idle, and the ball boys were lame. We did not have our escort to the locker room, they did not supply any water, and we had to wait for the doors to be open at halftime and after the game. In all we still managed to compete the game within 2:51 minutes.
I mention this because each week we get a bulletin from the 'bosses' about game length. This weeks statement goes like this, "Average length of game was right at 3 hours, with the shortest game at 2:35 and longest at 3:41. We averaged 21 fouls, and an average of 10 fouls per game would be of the “coachable” classification."
"Coachable" fouls mean brain-fart fouls such as false starts or illegal formation. These are non-judgement, no subjectivity, no 'when in question do this' type of stuff. Easy, no questions asked fouls. Even your mother would recognize these as fouls. It's the other 11 fouls (using the 21 fouls mentioned above) my bosses care about. These depend upon our rule knowledge and making judgment decisions. This is often very difficult to do.
Contrarily to common myth officials do not want to throw flags. It delays the game and we get monitored on how many flags we throw. I actually spend more energy focusing on what NOT to flag as a foul. But my duty to the players and the game is to make it safe and fair, but to also not influence the game. Safety and fairness should always trump any other motivation. It still is not easy.
For example, during the game I threw flag for a Chop Block against the visitors. A Chop Block is when two players (typically offensive players) attack an opponent with a combination of a High-Low block. Often the first man goes low to take out the knees and the second hits the victim high. Or the first man engages high and the second guy takes his knees out. Visualize what happens to the guys - it's like he gets chopped in half.
Here is the official description: A Chop block is a high-low or low-high combination block by any two players against an opponent anywhere on the field, with or without delay between blocks; the "low" component is at the opponent's thigh or below.
This uses the term block several times. So, what does blocking mean? The official description is: obstructing an opponent by contacting him with any part of the blocker's body.
Does 'contact' mean I brush by a guy with my fingernail and I blocked him?
So, you should be asking some 'what if' questions. What if a guy was on the ground and the defender trips over him while engaged with another guy up high? I mean, hell we have 22 people and over the friggin place and people are falling over left and right. By reading the descriptions above, would this be a chop block?
I was watching the Center and Guard from the visitors all night getting very close to chop blocking the defender. The guard would go low and the center would attempt to contact the defender high. He often would touch the defender, maybe with a hand or shoulder, but he never really 'blocked' they guy enough to make it 'bad'. Eventually, they succeeded and took the guy out, which I promptly flagged. This is a 15 yard penalty.
This is what my bosses are looking for. Using judgment. Technically, there may have been 10 chop block fouls if we were being absolutely anal. Is this what anybody really wants?
This is why I like working int the middle. They are big fouls and player safety is in my hands. I know I'm wrong sometimes and I do miss making the call. I hate it when I miss it. But I catch it more often now than I used to.
More games tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Once again I was at the field where they treat the officials like crap (see http://pigskinref.blogspot.com/2007/10/this-is-college-football.html). Game administration was a moderately better than previous seasons, but not much. The chain crew was late, the game clock did not run when it should, the play clock (25 second clock) often sat idle, and the ball boys were lame. We did not have our escort to the locker room, they did not supply any water, and we had to wait for the doors to be open at halftime and after the game. In all we still managed to compete the game within 2:51 minutes.
I mention this because each week we get a bulletin from the 'bosses' about game length. This weeks statement goes like this, "Average length of game was right at 3 hours, with the shortest game at 2:35 and longest at 3:41. We averaged 21 fouls, and an average of 10 fouls per game would be of the “coachable” classification."
"Coachable" fouls mean brain-fart fouls such as false starts or illegal formation. These are non-judgement, no subjectivity, no 'when in question do this' type of stuff. Easy, no questions asked fouls. Even your mother would recognize these as fouls. It's the other 11 fouls (using the 21 fouls mentioned above) my bosses care about. These depend upon our rule knowledge and making judgment decisions. This is often very difficult to do.
Contrarily to common myth officials do not want to throw flags. It delays the game and we get monitored on how many flags we throw. I actually spend more energy focusing on what NOT to flag as a foul. But my duty to the players and the game is to make it safe and fair, but to also not influence the game. Safety and fairness should always trump any other motivation. It still is not easy.
For example, during the game I threw flag for a Chop Block against the visitors. A Chop Block is when two players (typically offensive players) attack an opponent with a combination of a High-Low block. Often the first man goes low to take out the knees and the second hits the victim high. Or the first man engages high and the second guy takes his knees out. Visualize what happens to the guys - it's like he gets chopped in half.
Here is the official description: A Chop block is a high-low or low-high combination block by any two players against an opponent anywhere on the field, with or without delay between blocks; the "low" component is at the opponent's thigh or below.
This uses the term block several times. So, what does blocking mean? The official description is: obstructing an opponent by contacting him with any part of the blocker's body.
Does 'contact' mean I brush by a guy with my fingernail and I blocked him?
So, you should be asking some 'what if' questions. What if a guy was on the ground and the defender trips over him while engaged with another guy up high? I mean, hell we have 22 people and over the friggin place and people are falling over left and right. By reading the descriptions above, would this be a chop block?
I was watching the Center and Guard from the visitors all night getting very close to chop blocking the defender. The guard would go low and the center would attempt to contact the defender high. He often would touch the defender, maybe with a hand or shoulder, but he never really 'blocked' they guy enough to make it 'bad'. Eventually, they succeeded and took the guy out, which I promptly flagged. This is a 15 yard penalty.
This is what my bosses are looking for. Using judgment. Technically, there may have been 10 chop block fouls if we were being absolutely anal. Is this what anybody really wants?
This is why I like working int the middle. They are big fouls and player safety is in my hands. I know I'm wrong sometimes and I do miss making the call. I hate it when I miss it. But I catch it more often now than I used to.
More games tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
When zero equals eleven - Part II
Varsity Game
This season I will primarily work at the Line Judge position during Varsity games. The LJ is the wing (the guy you see on the sideline) official opposite the Chains and Down Marker. My keys (what I focus on) are watching the line of scrimmage, the tackle on my side of the line, the 'inside' receiver, and then the back coming out of the back field. When passes occur I help the Back Judge on rulings. I have forward progress all the way to the goal line. On an interception, I do something called 'fade mechanics' where I have to back peddle all the way back to the opposite goal line.
My sideline was well behaved and I had no issues with the new sideline rule. The new rule is really an old rule, but now it has teeth. The bottom line is there is no longer a 'coaches box'. The next time you watch a game look at the team area. You'll notice a wide white area about 2 yards wide. It is now called the restricted area. Only officials are allowed in this area during the live ball. Coaches are allowed to step into this area during the dead ball period between downs, but otherwise they are restricted. Everyone is restricted except officials. This means the stat girl, the guy from the news, even the Athletic Director from the school. And the restricted area runs from end zone to end zone. Violations go against the Head Coach. The foul sequence goes -- warning, 5 yards, and then 15 yard unsportsmanlike.
My way of dealing with this was to stand at the back of the restricted zone and when the play was about to start, I would step forward to the sideline. This was the clue to the coaches they should step out of the restricted area. This seemed to work nicely.
Tonights contest was between cross-town rivals, so play was a bit cranked-up. As the game progressed, and the winners clearly began to dominate, the tempers began to flare and I had to get between players a bit more than normal. There was one play with about 3 minutes remaining in the 4th I wish I had seen more of. I threw a flag for illegal helmet contact against a player from the losing team. I am absolutely sure of the illegal contact. This happened right in front of me as the runner was going to the ground. I was focusing on progress and the ball carrier at this time. What was in doubt was whether he was 'targeting' the victim. Was his intention to punish him? I did not see the entire lead-up to the contact. I'm pretty sure it was spearing aiming above the head - and ejection-able act. If I had seen one or two steps prior to the contact I would have tossed the player.
What should happen is my Umpire, Referee, or Back Judge should help me on this. They are supposed to be doing clean-up after the ball goes away from them. Everyone's focus changes during the play depending upon what is happening. As the play ends near the sidezone, the wing official is no longer focusing on blocks but rather the ball carrier. The other officials know this (or they should) and they in turn 'widen' their view to pick crap around the ball carrier or stupid stuff away from the play. I got no help.
Ironically, the young man who did the 'attacking' was the most hurt by the act. He was on the field for about two minutes before he got up.
The final score was 36-12.
This season I will primarily work at the Line Judge position during Varsity games. The LJ is the wing (the guy you see on the sideline) official opposite the Chains and Down Marker. My keys (what I focus on) are watching the line of scrimmage, the tackle on my side of the line, the 'inside' receiver, and then the back coming out of the back field. When passes occur I help the Back Judge on rulings. I have forward progress all the way to the goal line. On an interception, I do something called 'fade mechanics' where I have to back peddle all the way back to the opposite goal line.
My sideline was well behaved and I had no issues with the new sideline rule. The new rule is really an old rule, but now it has teeth. The bottom line is there is no longer a 'coaches box'. The next time you watch a game look at the team area. You'll notice a wide white area about 2 yards wide. It is now called the restricted area. Only officials are allowed in this area during the live ball. Coaches are allowed to step into this area during the dead ball period between downs, but otherwise they are restricted. Everyone is restricted except officials. This means the stat girl, the guy from the news, even the Athletic Director from the school. And the restricted area runs from end zone to end zone. Violations go against the Head Coach. The foul sequence goes -- warning, 5 yards, and then 15 yard unsportsmanlike.
My way of dealing with this was to stand at the back of the restricted zone and when the play was about to start, I would step forward to the sideline. This was the clue to the coaches they should step out of the restricted area. This seemed to work nicely.
Tonights contest was between cross-town rivals, so play was a bit cranked-up. As the game progressed, and the winners clearly began to dominate, the tempers began to flare and I had to get between players a bit more than normal. There was one play with about 3 minutes remaining in the 4th I wish I had seen more of. I threw a flag for illegal helmet contact against a player from the losing team. I am absolutely sure of the illegal contact. This happened right in front of me as the runner was going to the ground. I was focusing on progress and the ball carrier at this time. What was in doubt was whether he was 'targeting' the victim. Was his intention to punish him? I did not see the entire lead-up to the contact. I'm pretty sure it was spearing aiming above the head - and ejection-able act. If I had seen one or two steps prior to the contact I would have tossed the player.
What should happen is my Umpire, Referee, or Back Judge should help me on this. They are supposed to be doing clean-up after the ball goes away from them. Everyone's focus changes during the play depending upon what is happening. As the play ends near the sidezone, the wing official is no longer focusing on blocks but rather the ball carrier. The other officials know this (or they should) and they in turn 'widen' their view to pick crap around the ball carrier or stupid stuff away from the play. I got no help.
Ironically, the young man who did the 'attacking' was the most hurt by the act. He was on the field for about two minutes before he got up.
The final score was 36-12.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
When zero equals eleven - Part 1
The months of preparation, study, and impatience finally culminated this weekend into a four game block of contests. Unexpectedly, the games were actually pretty good for week zero and none of them were lopsided. I'll cover the HS games in this post, and include a separate post for the college game.
By the way, week zero means the regular season begins next week. The games I worked count as part of the team's overall ten game regular season team record. These same teams will have a BYE sometime during the remaining ten weeks. Stated another way, the teams which did not play Friday night already had their BYE and will play for ten straight weeks. So, the season is eleven weeks long, but the teams all play a ten game season. So why is it called week zero? I just explained it, don't you get it?
Freshman
For one official this was his first high school game. When I asked him if he was nervous he stated, "no, I did two pop warner games last week" Through a sagacious grin I said, "that's good".
Prior to the game, one of the coaches said his son would be the ball boy. The young man was around ten years old I suppose and seemed eager to please. We instructed him to stay with the Line Judge(LJ), follow him around, do what he says, etc. He respectfully said he would. Typically, the home team provids the ball boy and the LJ typically works the home team sideline. The chains are on the opposite side of the field - away from the press box so the announcer can see the down and distance.
This was twenty minutes before game time when I still only had three officials. I was getting pissed and anxious. When the forth official finally arrived, I decided to move him to LJ and the new guy to Head Linesman. (If you are going to be using four-man mechanics, then you want the stronger official on LJ). I forgot to tell the ball boy he now had a new official to follow.
Then, as we were doing the coin toss, the fifth guy shows-up. I'm getting more pissed. I've never worked this guy before, so I moved him to LJ and the fourth guy to Back Judge.
During the first five change of possessions my glorious crew cannot seem to get the right ball on the field. I have to kill the clock, bring the new ball in, slow the game down. We looks like idiots. Now I'm just annoyed as hell.
During a time-out the coach (father of the ball boy) tells me his son is on the other side of the field following the original line judge... just as we instructed. Ooops. I went over-the-top to thank the young man for listening so carefully to our instructions. And promptly told the LJ what a jack-off he was for letting this fiasco go one for half the quarter.
Insert -- voice-over exhale.
One of the new rules came into play - Horse Collar Tackle. The new guy threw two flags on a single play. One was a block in the back and the other was the horse collar. How a new guy can see this, let alone on the same play, is beyond me, but I'll leave that alone. Ok, these two live ball fouls will cancel and we'll replay the down. Then the Back Judge tells me that was not a horse collar. I defer to the BJ and waive off the horse collar. Why? The BJ reported that although one player did have his hands on the inside of the shoulder pads, there were two players tackling him.
Here is the rule:
No player shall: grab the inside back or side collar of the shoulder pads or jersey of the runner and subsequently pull the runner to the ground.
So it is a foul when a single tackler using this technique to pull the runner to the ground. Once you have more than one tackler, then there will be no foul. This was also the interpretation from the 2009 Rules Interpetation Meeting I atteneded.
The game ended 33-22, which is high scoring for Freshman. It could have been 33-29 if one of the players for the visitors was not being stupid and blind sided a guy thirty yards away from the ball. I called back the TD with this flag.
When I asked the new guy how he felt after his first high school game he said, "it's a lot faster than pop warner. And this isn't even varsity!" I promptly resumed my sagacious grin.
This was a longer post that I expected. I'll post the Varsity notes separately.
By the way, week zero means the regular season begins next week. The games I worked count as part of the team's overall ten game regular season team record. These same teams will have a BYE sometime during the remaining ten weeks. Stated another way, the teams which did not play Friday night already had their BYE and will play for ten straight weeks. So, the season is eleven weeks long, but the teams all play a ten game season. So why is it called week zero? I just explained it, don't you get it?
Freshman
For one official this was his first high school game. When I asked him if he was nervous he stated, "no, I did two pop warner games last week" Through a sagacious grin I said, "that's good".
Prior to the game, one of the coaches said his son would be the ball boy. The young man was around ten years old I suppose and seemed eager to please. We instructed him to stay with the Line Judge(LJ), follow him around, do what he says, etc. He respectfully said he would. Typically, the home team provids the ball boy and the LJ typically works the home team sideline. The chains are on the opposite side of the field - away from the press box so the announcer can see the down and distance.
This was twenty minutes before game time when I still only had three officials. I was getting pissed and anxious. When the forth official finally arrived, I decided to move him to LJ and the new guy to Head Linesman. (If you are going to be using four-man mechanics, then you want the stronger official on LJ). I forgot to tell the ball boy he now had a new official to follow.
Then, as we were doing the coin toss, the fifth guy shows-up. I'm getting more pissed. I've never worked this guy before, so I moved him to LJ and the fourth guy to Back Judge.
During the first five change of possessions my glorious crew cannot seem to get the right ball on the field. I have to kill the clock, bring the new ball in, slow the game down. We looks like idiots. Now I'm just annoyed as hell.
During a time-out the coach (father of the ball boy) tells me his son is on the other side of the field following the original line judge... just as we instructed. Ooops. I went over-the-top to thank the young man for listening so carefully to our instructions. And promptly told the LJ what a jack-off he was for letting this fiasco go one for half the quarter.
Insert -- voice-over exhale.
One of the new rules came into play - Horse Collar Tackle. The new guy threw two flags on a single play. One was a block in the back and the other was the horse collar. How a new guy can see this, let alone on the same play, is beyond me, but I'll leave that alone. Ok, these two live ball fouls will cancel and we'll replay the down. Then the Back Judge tells me that was not a horse collar. I defer to the BJ and waive off the horse collar. Why? The BJ reported that although one player did have his hands on the inside of the shoulder pads, there were two players tackling him.
Here is the rule:
No player shall: grab the inside back or side collar of the shoulder pads or jersey of the runner and subsequently pull the runner to the ground.
So it is a foul when a single tackler using this technique to pull the runner to the ground. Once you have more than one tackler, then there will be no foul. This was also the interpretation from the 2009 Rules Interpetation Meeting I atteneded.
The game ended 33-22, which is high scoring for Freshman. It could have been 33-29 if one of the players for the visitors was not being stupid and blind sided a guy thirty yards away from the ball. I called back the TD with this flag.
When I asked the new guy how he felt after his first high school game he said, "it's a lot faster than pop warner. And this isn't even varsity!" I promptly resumed my sagacious grin.
This was a longer post that I expected. I'll post the Varsity notes separately.
Monday, August 31, 2009
2009 Rules Interpretation Meeting
During the off-season I had the privilege of attending the 2009 Rules Interpretation Meeting with Steve Stearns, State CIF Football Rules Interpreter for California. I got the inside scoop on all the rule changes before anyone else. It was kinda cool.
Perhaps some explaining is in order. The CIF (California Interscolastic Federation) is the governing body for competitive events between High Schools. They sanction the events, decided which rules will be used, etc. The CIF also certifies sports official associations. I could not work Football games if my association was not certified by the CIF. The schools can only use officials from certified associations.
The CIF, as I mentioned, also decides the Football rules California schools will use. And yes, there are more than one set of rules that can be used. The CIF, as do most states in the country, use the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) rules. The NFHS is the "owner" of High School football. They decide how the game is played. They make the rules. They are the gods. This is where Steve Stearns comes in.
Steve attends the meetings at a national level and brings back to California the interpretations of the new rules. This may seem odd, but quite often, if you do not understand what problem is being addressed, or what the Rules Committee is really trying to prevent the rules cannot be applied properly. Steve is they guy who has the final say for California. If we have some weird play situation that is not clear in the book how it should be handled, then Steve is the guy who helps us decide the official ruling.
As I have outlined in many posts, much of Football officiating is about the "spirit" of a particular rule. This is what Steve does for the CIF.
Think about it -- how frustrating would this be for coaches, players, and fans to have the rules applied differently throughout the state?
The meeting lasted almost 2.5 hours. There are a lot of changes this season and I'll be mentioning these as the season progresses. A few of these will not make the coaches happy.
My first game is this Thursday and I bet one of these new rules will come into play. I'll let you know.
Perhaps some explaining is in order. The CIF (California Interscolastic Federation) is the governing body for competitive events between High Schools. They sanction the events, decided which rules will be used, etc. The CIF also certifies sports official associations. I could not work Football games if my association was not certified by the CIF. The schools can only use officials from certified associations.
The CIF, as I mentioned, also decides the Football rules California schools will use. And yes, there are more than one set of rules that can be used. The CIF, as do most states in the country, use the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) rules. The NFHS is the "owner" of High School football. They decide how the game is played. They make the rules. They are the gods. This is where Steve Stearns comes in.
Steve attends the meetings at a national level and brings back to California the interpretations of the new rules. This may seem odd, but quite often, if you do not understand what problem is being addressed, or what the Rules Committee is really trying to prevent the rules cannot be applied properly. Steve is they guy who has the final say for California. If we have some weird play situation that is not clear in the book how it should be handled, then Steve is the guy who helps us decide the official ruling.
As I have outlined in many posts, much of Football officiating is about the "spirit" of a particular rule. This is what Steve does for the CIF.
Think about it -- how frustrating would this be for coaches, players, and fans to have the rules applied differently throughout the state?
The meeting lasted almost 2.5 hours. There are a lot of changes this season and I'll be mentioning these as the season progresses. A few of these will not make the coaches happy.
My first game is this Thursday and I bet one of these new rules will come into play. I'll let you know.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Let's do this thing
Football season is upon us and I once again become part of the greatest game humankind has known. The scrimmages are over, the tests are over, and my patience is over. Let's get this thing started already.
College scrimmages pretty much sucked this year --only inner-team scrimmages. The way I understand it there just is not enough money for teams to travel for scrimmage. This is unfortunate. This problem, however, is not limited to Community Colleges. Many of the High Schools in our area will not be fielding Freshman teams. This is very disappointing.
I received a full schedule from the Community College association and will continue working as Umpire. The complete HS schedule is not out yet, but I have my first game on Thursday as the White Hat and then two games on Friday -- one as White Hat and the other as Line Judge.
I do know I will have two varsity White Hat games this season. Regular readers will know this is a big deal.
During the off-season I was given the job of Chairman of the Certification Program for the HS association. This also means I get the grade all the tests. More on this and some the rule changes next time.
College scrimmages pretty much sucked this year --only inner-team scrimmages. The way I understand it there just is not enough money for teams to travel for scrimmage. This is unfortunate. This problem, however, is not limited to Community Colleges. Many of the High Schools in our area will not be fielding Freshman teams. This is very disappointing.
I received a full schedule from the Community College association and will continue working as Umpire. The complete HS schedule is not out yet, but I have my first game on Thursday as the White Hat and then two games on Friday -- one as White Hat and the other as Line Judge.
I do know I will have two varsity White Hat games this season. Regular readers will know this is a big deal.
During the off-season I was given the job of Chairman of the Certification Program for the HS association. This also means I get the grade all the tests. More on this and some the rule changes next time.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
NCFL Week 9 Update - Part II
Picking-up where we left off, week nine's game was full of difficult plays to officiate. Often there are games where really only one or two times do you have something odd happen. Something you second guess yourself on or need to have a conference on the field. Week nine's game had way too many of these situations.
I threw a flag for Aiding the Runner. This is when a teammate either pushes or pulls the ball carrier(runner). The Runner must earn the yardage themselves. The home teams was driving to the goal line and when the scrum pile started, several of his teammates began pushing the pile. This happens frequently in games and many offiicials do not see it. They get caought-up in the play and are watching the ball. The penalty is 5 Yards from the spot of the foul.
Things really fell apart when early in the second quarter the visitors threw a pass to the flats. Recall, I work Umpire, so I often will spin or rotate to help on these plays. Often I am the only one in position to see a trap ball. So, I let go of my keys (the players I typically focus on during scrimmage plays), turn to the flats, and witness the airborne receiver snatch the pigskin from the air and plummet to earth into a sea of jerseys. I cannot help on this play so I turn my attention back to mess around the action. I do this to help 'clean-up' and catch any necessary actions away from the play. Everyone is slowing down... no whistle...the play seems to be ending... I still have not heard a whistle... this feels funny... where is the f-ing whistle...
Now, you may be asking why don't I blow mine? Well, Umpires generally do not blow their whistle unless the play ends right in front of them, and if I cannot see the ball, I can't blow the whistle...
Where were we... right, no f-ing whistle... all of sudden a player for the other team is running with the ball... and still, no whistle. What the hell just happened? Apparently, the receiver, thinking he was down, let go of the ball and the other team, thinking it was a fumble, picks it up and runs. The official on that sideline ruled it was a fumble. Well, ya, if you don't kill the play what are people going to think?
One team is happy, the other is pissed, and all of a sudden, I am part of the game. And a few plays later the benefactors of this screw-up score three points. This is not good.
This occurred twice, both caused by the same official.
I had a controversial no-call that I still think I got right. The runner is embraced by to defenders, but forward progress was not stopped. They go to the ground, but the runner falls on-top of another player, rolls onto his feet, and continues running. Nothing other than his hands or feet touched the ground. This was not a tackle. I did have my whistle in my mouth (I use a finger whistle), but thankfully, I did not blow it. Sometimes it hard to believe how fast you can process this stuff when it happens. Again, one team was happy, the other was not, but in my judgement he was not down.
Then we had this one. http://www.pacificaislanders.com/News%20stories/Pacifica%20defeats%20Salinas.html Notice the ball is out before the QB is on the ground. This would be a fumble. Unless, his arm had been in motion, or maybe his left leg, which I cannot see, touched the ground before the ball came loose, or maybe this photo is after his elbow hit the ground and the ball came loose and now he is just trying to protect himself?
I'm pretty sure it was a fumble. This is very difficult to officiate in real-time because you have to watch for several things at once. The primary concern is for the safety of the QB. The guy is getting mauled. If I were the White Hat on this play, I would be focusing on the QB - forget the ball. We would never live it down if the QB gets hurt for some extra-curricular activity.
My point is most of these close calls would be less of a problem if we were not under the microscope due to some crappy no-calls. Once we become part of the game, everything comes into question.
The next contest is the last regular season game.
I threw a flag for Aiding the Runner. This is when a teammate either pushes or pulls the ball carrier(runner). The Runner must earn the yardage themselves. The home teams was driving to the goal line and when the scrum pile started, several of his teammates began pushing the pile. This happens frequently in games and many offiicials do not see it. They get caought-up in the play and are watching the ball. The penalty is 5 Yards from the spot of the foul.
Things really fell apart when early in the second quarter the visitors threw a pass to the flats. Recall, I work Umpire, so I often will spin or rotate to help on these plays. Often I am the only one in position to see a trap ball. So, I let go of my keys (the players I typically focus on during scrimmage plays), turn to the flats, and witness the airborne receiver snatch the pigskin from the air and plummet to earth into a sea of jerseys. I cannot help on this play so I turn my attention back to mess around the action. I do this to help 'clean-up' and catch any necessary actions away from the play. Everyone is slowing down... no whistle...the play seems to be ending... I still have not heard a whistle... this feels funny... where is the f-ing whistle...
Now, you may be asking why don't I blow mine? Well, Umpires generally do not blow their whistle unless the play ends right in front of them, and if I cannot see the ball, I can't blow the whistle...
Where were we... right, no f-ing whistle... all of sudden a player for the other team is running with the ball... and still, no whistle. What the hell just happened? Apparently, the receiver, thinking he was down, let go of the ball and the other team, thinking it was a fumble, picks it up and runs. The official on that sideline ruled it was a fumble. Well, ya, if you don't kill the play what are people going to think?
One team is happy, the other is pissed, and all of a sudden, I am part of the game. And a few plays later the benefactors of this screw-up score three points. This is not good.
This occurred twice, both caused by the same official.
I had a controversial no-call that I still think I got right. The runner is embraced by to defenders, but forward progress was not stopped. They go to the ground, but the runner falls on-top of another player, rolls onto his feet, and continues running. Nothing other than his hands or feet touched the ground. This was not a tackle. I did have my whistle in my mouth (I use a finger whistle), but thankfully, I did not blow it. Sometimes it hard to believe how fast you can process this stuff when it happens. Again, one team was happy, the other was not, but in my judgement he was not down.
Then we had this one. http://www.pacificaislanders.com/News%20stories/Pacifica%20defeats%20Salinas.html Notice the ball is out before the QB is on the ground. This would be a fumble. Unless, his arm had been in motion, or maybe his left leg, which I cannot see, touched the ground before the ball came loose, or maybe this photo is after his elbow hit the ground and the ball came loose and now he is just trying to protect himself?
I'm pretty sure it was a fumble. This is very difficult to officiate in real-time because you have to watch for several things at once. The primary concern is for the safety of the QB. The guy is getting mauled. If I were the White Hat on this play, I would be focusing on the QB - forget the ball. We would never live it down if the QB gets hurt for some extra-curricular activity.
My point is most of these close calls would be less of a problem if we were not under the microscope due to some crappy no-calls. Once we become part of the game, everything comes into question.
The next contest is the last regular season game.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
NCFL Week 9 Update - Part I
An official should never go into a game with expectations of who is going to win. Admittedly, I often do. Most of my colleagues do the same. It has no bearing on my calls or no-calls or have any influence on how I perform. I couldn't care less who actually does wins the game. Completely irrelevant to me. As I have mentioned before, I frequently don't even pay attention to which teams are playing... there is a team in a white jersey and team in a not-white jersey.
This week (week 9) I assumed the undefeated team would beat the .500 team. I worked these two teams last season during the California State Championship game. During this game, both teams were undefeated; however, clearly one team was better than the other --- 58-6 better.
So, going into this game, what was I too think?
When the score was 6-0 at halftime... and the anticipated victors were losing... I was frankly perplexed.
The coach with the goose-egg, of course, blamed the officials for his team losing. And if I am being honest he had plenty to gripe about. Several poorly officiated calls/no-calls by two of the weaker officials on the crew made the entire crew look terrible. These mistakes were accentuated because they all occurred during some form of change of possession when everyone and their mother was watching.
My opinion on this scenario is the coach should never let the game be decided by me (the officials). His team touches the ball 60-70 times a game. I do not influence each and every play, but mistakes may occur on non-routine plays. And when players fumble the ball, weird shit happens. His team fumbles several times. When the ball gets punted, weird shit happens. His team punted a lot. Someone once said, "Three things can happen when you pass the ball and two of them are bad." His team passed a lot. Most of the questionable calls occurred during fumbles, punts and passes. In this league, at this point its maturity, you are going experience officiating mistakes when weird shit happens.
I am not making excuses. This coach got screwed on several plays. It pisses me off when mistakes are made and now I become part of the game. I want people to forget, or better yet, not even notice I was even there. The game deserves good officiating and we earn our money making difficult judgment calls when things start falling apart. The level of officiating does need to improve which I will discuss in another post.
Ultimately, the team who I expected to win did prevail 14-17. There were some interesting plays I'll mention in the next post.
This week (week 9) I assumed the undefeated team would beat the .500 team. I worked these two teams last season during the California State Championship game. During this game, both teams were undefeated; however, clearly one team was better than the other --- 58-6 better.
So, going into this game, what was I too think?
When the score was 6-0 at halftime... and the anticipated victors were losing... I was frankly perplexed.
The coach with the goose-egg, of course, blamed the officials for his team losing. And if I am being honest he had plenty to gripe about. Several poorly officiated calls/no-calls by two of the weaker officials on the crew made the entire crew look terrible. These mistakes were accentuated because they all occurred during some form of change of possession when everyone and their mother was watching.
My opinion on this scenario is the coach should never let the game be decided by me (the officials). His team touches the ball 60-70 times a game. I do not influence each and every play, but mistakes may occur on non-routine plays. And when players fumble the ball, weird shit happens. His team fumbles several times. When the ball gets punted, weird shit happens. His team punted a lot. Someone once said, "Three things can happen when you pass the ball and two of them are bad." His team passed a lot. Most of the questionable calls occurred during fumbles, punts and passes. In this league, at this point its maturity, you are going experience officiating mistakes when weird shit happens.
I am not making excuses. This coach got screwed on several plays. It pisses me off when mistakes are made and now I become part of the game. I want people to forget, or better yet, not even notice I was even there. The game deserves good officiating and we earn our money making difficult judgment calls when things start falling apart. The level of officiating does need to improve which I will discuss in another post.
Ultimately, the team who I expected to win did prevail 14-17. There were some interesting plays I'll mention in the next post.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Week 8 Doldrums
Rivalry games can be fun to work. They can also be hard to work. This weeks rivalry game was neither. It was just plain boring.
Oh, there was scoring -- 44-20... or 28. I can't read my writing. But all it really means is the clock was stopped following each score. Neither team drove down the field. Just a lot of turnovers, and then opportune scoring because of the resulting good field position. There were occasional blown coverage resulting in a long touchdown pass. These types of plays may be exciting on TV, but from an officials point of view, this is pretty boring.
From an Umpire point of view, pass blocking is dull. In this league, there is no 'pocket'. There really is no time for a lineman to hold during pass plays. Three step drop and dump the ball off. Boring. An because these guys cannot decide on using a standard game ball, all I end up doing is chasing the ball after the highly probable incomplete pass, placing the ball back on the ground, stepping back to my position, and doing it all over again. And again.
There were way too many offsides for this late in the season. The visitors must have been called for seven offside fouls. There complaint was the Center was moving the ball. The Center's adjustment of the ball was absolutely NOT cause the defense to jump. Every Center adjusts the ball to some degree. As long as he is doing this consistently, which they all do, then no one is being fooled. He is not doing it deliberately. It's routine and part of a rhythm. The defenders were jumping because the QB was changing his cadence, not because of anything the Center was doing.
The home team's Center was very good. Everything the defense was in the neutral zone, we would snap the ball. It becomes a free down. No matter what happens, they will be keeping the ball. I was impressed.
No one really complained about being held. Since I worked this team several times, I guess they know I will not be persuaded.
We did have one great play on a two-point Try. The receiver inside the end zone was coming back to the ball. He caught the ball airborne, reached back, and touched the ball on the top of the pylon. It was quick thinking by the receiver. The pylon is considered to be part of the end zone. As an airborne runner he needs to keep the ball in the field of play. The HL was not on the goal line for some reason, but he did make the correct TD ruling.
Two more weeks of the NCFL league. I may work a second game this weekend with another league. I have not seen the names for the crew.
Oh, there was scoring -- 44-20... or 28. I can't read my writing. But all it really means is the clock was stopped following each score. Neither team drove down the field. Just a lot of turnovers, and then opportune scoring because of the resulting good field position. There were occasional blown coverage resulting in a long touchdown pass. These types of plays may be exciting on TV, but from an officials point of view, this is pretty boring.
From an Umpire point of view, pass blocking is dull. In this league, there is no 'pocket'. There really is no time for a lineman to hold during pass plays. Three step drop and dump the ball off. Boring. An because these guys cannot decide on using a standard game ball, all I end up doing is chasing the ball after the highly probable incomplete pass, placing the ball back on the ground, stepping back to my position, and doing it all over again. And again.
There were way too many offsides for this late in the season. The visitors must have been called for seven offside fouls. There complaint was the Center was moving the ball. The Center's adjustment of the ball was absolutely NOT cause the defense to jump. Every Center adjusts the ball to some degree. As long as he is doing this consistently, which they all do, then no one is being fooled. He is not doing it deliberately. It's routine and part of a rhythm. The defenders were jumping because the QB was changing his cadence, not because of anything the Center was doing.
The home team's Center was very good. Everything the defense was in the neutral zone, we would snap the ball. It becomes a free down. No matter what happens, they will be keeping the ball. I was impressed.
No one really complained about being held. Since I worked this team several times, I guess they know I will not be persuaded.
We did have one great play on a two-point Try. The receiver inside the end zone was coming back to the ball. He caught the ball airborne, reached back, and touched the ball on the top of the pylon. It was quick thinking by the receiver. The pylon is considered to be part of the end zone. As an airborne runner he needs to keep the ball in the field of play. The HL was not on the goal line for some reason, but he did make the correct TD ruling.
Two more weeks of the NCFL league. I may work a second game this weekend with another league. I have not seen the names for the crew.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
College Season begins in April
Hard to believe but the college season is already starting. Sunday I attended the first of two college clinics in Stockton. During the clinic we watch film and discuss various play situations. This clinic focused on the two-minute offense. As was pointed out at the clinic, there is very little mentioned in the mechanics manual on how to handle this situation. Ironic as this when some of the most important plays occur during the game.
Midway through the clinic we broke out by officiating position. During the Umpire meeting we focused much of our time reviewing where to line-up during scrimmage downs. There are several points of view on this. The mechanics of the Umpire position are evolving, due in part, to safety concerns for the Umpire. Many of the old school rules-of-thumb donot work all that well with modern football. Do we begin six yards deep or eight yards deep, do you move up to the line-of-scrimmage on passes or stay put, cheat-up during Trys or take a wider view, etc. It all boils down to what each of our conferences what us to do. And no, they are not consistant.
I learned this at the Reno clinic last year. Each conference has a prefered way of working each position. There are no universal standards.
We also had several DI and DII conference supervisors speak about their respective conferences and how one becomes an official in these conferences. Sounds like I can begin to get on the radar, but I would not be accepted until I have five years experience. I'll start applying and see what happens.
The next clinic is July 25th, which is where we take our tests.
Midway through the clinic we broke out by officiating position. During the Umpire meeting we focused much of our time reviewing where to line-up during scrimmage downs. There are several points of view on this. The mechanics of the Umpire position are evolving, due in part, to safety concerns for the Umpire. Many of the old school rules-of-thumb donot work all that well with modern football. Do we begin six yards deep or eight yards deep, do you move up to the line-of-scrimmage on passes or stay put, cheat-up during Trys or take a wider view, etc. It all boils down to what each of our conferences what us to do. And no, they are not consistant.
I learned this at the Reno clinic last year. Each conference has a prefered way of working each position. There are no universal standards.
We also had several DI and DII conference supervisors speak about their respective conferences and how one becomes an official in these conferences. Sounds like I can begin to get on the radar, but I would not be accepted until I have five years experience. I'll start applying and see what happens.
The next clinic is July 25th, which is where we take our tests.
Monday, April 20, 2009
NCFL Week #6 - Odd Game
The game this week was very odd, and yet, very good. Odd and good... are good.
Odd because during the first 90 seconds of the 1st quarter there were four turnovers. During the entire game I believe there were ten turnovers. It was pretty bad.
But good because the score was actually close and neither team dominated. The game really could have gone either way.
Odd because the game was tied with the unusual score of 18-18 up until about 2:30 remaining in the 4th quarter. The Warriors were around the Spartans forty yard line with 4th and about three as I recall. All the Spartans had to do was hold the line for one last play. And yes, there was a long snap count, and yes, the Spartans jumped off-sides and made contact, so the Warriors we given a first down.
The Spartans again held the Warriors for three downs. On forth down the Warriors brought out the field goal team and kicked a 44 yard FG. Pretty odd for this league... and pretty cool actually.
Another odd thing was I threw a foul for Sideline Interference. As I was back peddling on an interception, I ran into a coach or player. I really don't know since I was back peddling. The coach made a comment that I should "watch where I am going". I had my hand on my flag because that was pretty close to Unsportsmanlike, but I decided against it.
But, back peddling is the correct mechanic as I should not turn my back to the field of play. But I also now have goal line responsibility in these situations, so you have move quickly. The interception occurred around the ten yard line, so I had about 70 yards of back peddling to do. (I was working Line Judge instead of usual Umpire).
So, not only did the other team intercept the pass and return it to the 30 yard line, but they were given and additional 15 yards due to the foul
Odd, because out of the 19 fouls for the game, I threw seven flags. I never throw this many flags but six of the seven were dead ball fouls for false start or offside.
All-in-all, I don't know that the best team won. I was one of those games were the team that made the fewest mistakes won.
Which, by the way, is not that odd in the NCFL.
Odd because during the first 90 seconds of the 1st quarter there were four turnovers. During the entire game I believe there were ten turnovers. It was pretty bad.
But good because the score was actually close and neither team dominated. The game really could have gone either way.
Odd because the game was tied with the unusual score of 18-18 up until about 2:30 remaining in the 4th quarter. The Warriors were around the Spartans forty yard line with 4th and about three as I recall. All the Spartans had to do was hold the line for one last play. And yes, there was a long snap count, and yes, the Spartans jumped off-sides and made contact, so the Warriors we given a first down.
The Spartans again held the Warriors for three downs. On forth down the Warriors brought out the field goal team and kicked a 44 yard FG. Pretty odd for this league... and pretty cool actually.
Another odd thing was I threw a foul for Sideline Interference. As I was back peddling on an interception, I ran into a coach or player. I really don't know since I was back peddling. The coach made a comment that I should "watch where I am going". I had my hand on my flag because that was pretty close to Unsportsmanlike, but I decided against it.
But, back peddling is the correct mechanic as I should not turn my back to the field of play. But I also now have goal line responsibility in these situations, so you have move quickly. The interception occurred around the ten yard line, so I had about 70 yards of back peddling to do. (I was working Line Judge instead of usual Umpire).
So, not only did the other team intercept the pass and return it to the 30 yard line, but they were given and additional 15 yards due to the foul
Odd, because out of the 19 fouls for the game, I threw seven flags. I never throw this many flags but six of the seven were dead ball fouls for false start or offside.
All-in-all, I don't know that the best team won. I was one of those games were the team that made the fewest mistakes won.
Which, by the way, is not that odd in the NCFL.
Monday, April 6, 2009
NCFL Week #4 Report
Sorry for the delays with the game reports. I became a statistic and received a pink slip at my day job. I've been a bit preoccupied.
The game this week, I am pleased to announce, was actually a good game to work. Two team played, one team won, nobody was hurt, and those who still have jobs went to work on Monday.
The fouls were evenly split between the two teams with twenty-two penalties in total. Average for these games, although we did have more Interference fouls than normal.
Yes, there were crybabies... or stated another way... participants with concerns regarding my propensity to call fouls against their opponent... but, this bullshit (sorry, misplaced distress) goes without saying. And indeed, the perpetual schoolboy declarations of "my daddy can kick your daddy's butt" was ever present. But, this is part of the game, and none of it got out of control.
The game play was pretty evenly matched during the first half. The Barnstormers finally took control during the second half. They appeared to be younger players in better condition.
Nothing interesting from an officiating point of view occurred. Next week I work a semi-pro game that is not NCFL. Let's see if there is a difference in game play between these two leagues.
The game this week, I am pleased to announce, was actually a good game to work. Two team played, one team won, nobody was hurt, and those who still have jobs went to work on Monday.
The fouls were evenly split between the two teams with twenty-two penalties in total. Average for these games, although we did have more Interference fouls than normal.
Yes, there were crybabies... or stated another way... participants with concerns regarding my propensity to call fouls against their opponent... but, this bullshit (sorry, misplaced distress) goes without saying. And indeed, the perpetual schoolboy declarations of "my daddy can kick your daddy's butt" was ever present. But, this is part of the game, and none of it got out of control.
The game play was pretty evenly matched during the first half. The Barnstormers finally took control during the second half. They appeared to be younger players in better condition.
Nothing interesting from an officiating point of view occurred. Next week I work a semi-pro game that is not NCFL. Let's see if there is a difference in game play between these two leagues.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Pipe Dream Classic Football
Saturday morning I officiated a football game called the Pipe Dream Classic. This was a fun game which pitted the Prison Guards against a collection of other Peace Officers. I really could not tell who was on what team and I don't think anyone really cared. They were all out just having fun.
Pipe Dream means, "An unrealistic hope or fantasy." Befitting. The best part of working this game was watching these guys try to play. Before the game, we are told they want 30 minute QUARTERS with a running clock. Ah, are you sure you really want to play for two hours? "Absolutely", stated the tall, bald, and confident officer. We snickered.
By halftime, and between heavy breaths, both teams asked to cut the quarters down to 15 minutes with a running clock. We thought so.
Play was pretty basic and we used 4-man mechanics. No kickoffs and no rushing on scrimmage kicks (i.e., punts) Following a score we just started the ball at the 40 yard line. Simple.
The game was interesting because they were playing for bragging rights. It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to have a good time. I wish all the games were like this.
This game occured at 11:00 AM and then I have a NCFL game at 6:00.
Pipe Dream means, "An unrealistic hope or fantasy." Befitting. The best part of working this game was watching these guys try to play. Before the game, we are told they want 30 minute QUARTERS with a running clock. Ah, are you sure you really want to play for two hours? "Absolutely", stated the tall, bald, and confident officer. We snickered.
By halftime, and between heavy breaths, both teams asked to cut the quarters down to 15 minutes with a running clock. We thought so.
Play was pretty basic and we used 4-man mechanics. No kickoffs and no rushing on scrimmage kicks (i.e., punts) Following a score we just started the ball at the 40 yard line. Simple.
The game was interesting because they were playing for bragging rights. It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to have a good time. I wish all the games were like this.
This game occured at 11:00 AM and then I have a NCFL game at 6:00.
NCFL Week #2 Report
I was not assigned an NCFL game last week (March 21st), but we did receive an email from the Commissioner stating the game lengths are growing longer and the number of fouls being called per game increasing.
This is the same message we get from the college leadership - speed-up the games and make the fouls BIG. No problem. I just which these teams who think they have a passing game would stop throwing the ball.
One major factor contributing to the length of the games is this silly single ball rule. Each time, or rather every time... ok, fine, 90% of the time, when there is an incomplete pass we have to go chase down the ball and relay it back to the previous spot. This same process occurs following a Try (i.e., a PAT or extra point.) Go chase the ball, give it to me, I have to run to the opposite 30-yard line and go through the motions before the kickoff.
In a college game I just turn to the sidelines and get a new ball. Fast and efficient.
I believe the league is attempting to find a sponsor to supply the footballs, but the last I heard, the team owners could not decide on which ball manufacture to use. Just pick one and if you end-up not liking it, choose another supplier next season. A game ball should be a game ball just like in baseball.
I do have a game scheduled on 3/28.
This is the same message we get from the college leadership - speed-up the games and make the fouls BIG. No problem. I just which these teams who think they have a passing game would stop throwing the ball.
One major factor contributing to the length of the games is this silly single ball rule. Each time, or rather every time... ok, fine, 90% of the time, when there is an incomplete pass we have to go chase down the ball and relay it back to the previous spot. This same process occurs following a Try (i.e., a PAT or extra point.) Go chase the ball, give it to me, I have to run to the opposite 30-yard line and go through the motions before the kickoff.
In a college game I just turn to the sidelines and get a new ball. Fast and efficient.
I believe the league is attempting to find a sponsor to supply the footballs, but the last I heard, the team owners could not decide on which ball manufacture to use. Just pick one and if you end-up not liking it, choose another supplier next season. A game ball should be a game ball just like in baseball.
I do have a game scheduled on 3/28.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
NCFL Week 1 Report
The first game of the 2009 NCFL season ended much like most of last season's games -- a one-sided contest which was essentially over before the end of the first quarter. This was very disappointing. If you look at the box scores, this was the moost lopsided game this week. It is difficult to remain focused during a game like this.
There were three Safety's during the game all against the losing team. I don't believe I ever worked a game with three Safety's. I can go an entire season and never see a Safety. Unfortunately for the losing team, they spent most of the game on their half of the field.
As a crew we found using the NFL/NCAA rules a bit challenging, but there were never any serious issues where a rule conflict caused a problem. A few on the crew a primarily high school officials, so these rules are even more challenging. We make a few mistakes, but no one noticed.
For example, during a play, 3rd and three as I recall, the offense gained four yards for a 1st down. The defense was offside. Since the offense made a first down, we just assumed the offense would decline. We should have gone previous spot, marched off the five. We shorted them a yard. Not a big deal - this team ended-up winning 63-6. So, a big whatever.
We had a holding call on a play that ended with a pass to the sideline. We did not get the information whether the holding occurred before the pass was completed or after. We (White hat and I) didn't ask either. We marched off ten yards from the flag. This mistake short changed the losing team since this would have push the offense back maybe six more yards. Again, I am assuming the holding occured before the completion of the pass and not after. If it was after, then we did it right.
As for my performance, I threw two holding fouls against winning team - a take-down and the second was arms outside the frame with a twist. There were a few other occasions where I may have had a holding, but these were often not at the point of attack, or they did not bust open the run. I'd love to see these on film.
I also threw and Illegal Player Downfield. This is a NFL rule. During a Scrimmage Kick (punt) only the two outside players can go downfield before the ball is kicked. The long snapper for the losing team streaked down the field after snapping the ball.
Player behavior was improved over last season. If this was a high school or college game, there would be some more flags on the ground for Unsportsmanlike, but overall, not too bad. There were some of the typical 'whiners', but every game, at every level I've worked, has crybabies.
As of this writing, I am not scheduled to work next week, but I'll have a posting.
There were three Safety's during the game all against the losing team. I don't believe I ever worked a game with three Safety's. I can go an entire season and never see a Safety. Unfortunately for the losing team, they spent most of the game on their half of the field.
As a crew we found using the NFL/NCAA rules a bit challenging, but there were never any serious issues where a rule conflict caused a problem. A few on the crew a primarily high school officials, so these rules are even more challenging. We make a few mistakes, but no one noticed.
For example, during a play, 3rd and three as I recall, the offense gained four yards for a 1st down. The defense was offside. Since the offense made a first down, we just assumed the offense would decline. We should have gone previous spot, marched off the five. We shorted them a yard. Not a big deal - this team ended-up winning 63-6. So, a big whatever.
We had a holding call on a play that ended with a pass to the sideline. We did not get the information whether the holding occurred before the pass was completed or after. We (White hat and I) didn't ask either. We marched off ten yards from the flag. This mistake short changed the losing team since this would have push the offense back maybe six more yards. Again, I am assuming the holding occured before the completion of the pass and not after. If it was after, then we did it right.
As for my performance, I threw two holding fouls against winning team - a take-down and the second was arms outside the frame with a twist. There were a few other occasions where I may have had a holding, but these were often not at the point of attack, or they did not bust open the run. I'd love to see these on film.
I also threw and Illegal Player Downfield. This is a NFL rule. During a Scrimmage Kick (punt) only the two outside players can go downfield before the ball is kicked. The long snapper for the losing team streaked down the field after snapping the ball.
Player behavior was improved over last season. If this was a high school or college game, there would be some more flags on the ground for Unsportsmanlike, but overall, not too bad. There were some of the typical 'whiners', but every game, at every level I've worked, has crybabies.
As of this writing, I am not scheduled to work next week, but I'll have a posting.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Minor League Football 2009 Clinic
This Saturday, I'll work my first Minor League Football game for the 2009 season. There are high expectations for the league and I intend to do my part to make good things happen. For those who were following along last season, you will recall I worked three separate Semi-pro leagues. Each used College rules with some slight variations between them (some used down-by-contact and others didn't. Don't ask me which one used which rules.) Two of the leagues are now defunct and the NCFL has taken their place.
The NCFL (Northern California Football League) league is going to use NFL rules. More or less.
As I mentioned, the Semi-Pro games (we now use the term Minor League) used College rules with a few High School rules thrown in for safety. Now, we are using NFL rules with some College rules thrown in - I assume for simplicity.
The good news - The NFL rules are closer to College rules, than High School are to College. The bad news - many of the officials I will be working with have never worked a College game. And we did not get the rules we will using until last Saturday. This will be interesting.
Here are some of the non-College things we will have to remember:
During the clinic we had a representative from the NFL give a presentation and the NCFL commissioner has some big ideas for the league. More on this next post.
The NCFL (Northern California Football League) league is going to use NFL rules. More or less.
As I mentioned, the Semi-Pro games (we now use the term Minor League) used College rules with a few High School rules thrown in for safety. Now, we are using NFL rules with some College rules thrown in - I assume for simplicity.
The good news - The NFL rules are closer to College rules, than High School are to College. The bad news - many of the officials I will be working with have never worked a College game. And we did not get the rules we will using until last Saturday. This will be interesting.
Here are some of the non-College things we will have to remember:
- Offensive Pass Interference is only 10 yards, instead of 15 yards
- Defensive Pass Interference is a spot foul. No yardage penalty.
- College Chop-Block rule (meaning, not allowed)
- College block below he waist rules (they will regret allowing this one)
- Don't kill the clock on a 1st down
- The defense cannot score on a Try (extra point)
- Two feet in-bounds, not one
- Only the outside gunners can leave until the ball is kicked
- Overtime will be like College
During the clinic we had a representative from the NFL give a presentation and the NCFL commissioner has some big ideas for the league. More on this next post.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Minor League Update
The Minor League Football (or Semi-Pro Football) season begins on March 14th and I'm getting impatient . (See ncflfootball.com). The anticipation of getting back on the field is odd and hard to describe. What kind of person really looks forward to spending the bulk a Saturday running around, getting yelled at by coaches and cry-baby players? The feeling of anticpation is like looking forward to seeing an old friend you have not seen in years. Or when you were a kid two days before Christmas. Whatever that word is, that's the feeling. Let's get this thing started already.
Next Saturday we are supposed to have an officials clinic somewhere in the Bay area. What happens at a clinic? Generally, we go over league rules, how we plan on officiating the games, what the coaches want to see from us, what the league commissioner expects from us, and maybe a speaker from the NFL or NCAA D1. Then we do some field work and get to see some snaps. It's usually a long day and most of the information is useful.
I'll know more next week.
Next Saturday we are supposed to have an officials clinic somewhere in the Bay area. What happens at a clinic? Generally, we go over league rules, how we plan on officiating the games, what the coaches want to see from us, what the league commissioner expects from us, and maybe a speaker from the NFL or NCAA D1. Then we do some field work and get to see some snaps. It's usually a long day and most of the information is useful.
I'll know more next week.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Semi-Pro Around the Corner
It's been forever and a day since my last post, but semi-pro ball will be starting again in February, so there will be plenty of Pigskinref coming your way. The Semi-pro arena has changed quite a bit since last season. More on this as we get closer.
Since the last report, I did work a High School playoff game in the Open Division between the fourth and fifth seeded teams. The Open Division has the big, powerhouse teams. What is relevant is this game did not have the best teams, but has two evenly matched teams. Around here, they pit the team seeded #1 against the #8 team, #2 against #7, etc. Generally, these games with high seeded teams are not evenly matched games, and in my opinion, do not require the best officials. It's these middle seeded games which are typically evenly matched and make me earn my money.
Unfortunately, one team pounded on the other, so there goes my theory. The team that really should have won did not come to play. They lost rather than the other team winning.
I also worked the All-Star game... again. (see 2007 All-Star post, 2006 All-Star post). As with last year, this was a clean game, but a very close contest. Click here to read the game report in the newspaper. It was a good, back and forth game. As it should.
Since the last report, I did work a High School playoff game in the Open Division between the fourth and fifth seeded teams. The Open Division has the big, powerhouse teams. What is relevant is this game did not have the best teams, but has two evenly matched teams. Around here, they pit the team seeded #1 against the #8 team, #2 against #7, etc. Generally, these games with high seeded teams are not evenly matched games, and in my opinion, do not require the best officials. It's these middle seeded games which are typically evenly matched and make me earn my money.
Unfortunately, one team pounded on the other, so there goes my theory. The team that really should have won did not come to play. They lost rather than the other team winning.
I also worked the All-Star game... again. (see 2007 All-Star post, 2006 All-Star post). As with last year, this was a clean game, but a very close contest. Click here to read the game report in the newspaper. It was a good, back and forth game. As it should.
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