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.

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.