Confessions of an American Football Referee

Final Season Game

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 05:30:00 +0000

Earlier in the season I did not even know if I would have a season. In August, I was still working 100 miles from home, never came home until the weekends, and never saw my family. I had planned on dropping High School football. I was kinda ok with this since I worked the CCS Division IV Championship game and have pretty much accomplished all the big ticket items one can do in High School officiating. My wife convinced me attend the required meetings and at least qualify, just in case another job pans out. Which it did. I’m glad I listened to her and stuck it out because this season I once again I worked the CCS Division IV Championship this year and it was a great game.

Carmel was ahead 11-25 at halftime, but by the end of the game they lost the lead 39-32. I never worked a game with this large of a momentum change. Click on this link to read about the game in the local paper.

Clock Problems

One very annoying problem that occurred more than once was the scoreboard went blank several times during the 1st half. The first time we waited 10 minutes trying to get the thing started again.

I actually cannot find anything specifically in the rule book or the mechanics book about the clock when it malfunctions. We always say we will track the time on the field if this occurs, but I don't see the procedure on how this is done. We did track the time on the field.

Rule 1-3-6 (Game Equipment) says “A timing device referred to as “the game clock” or “the clock” shall be provided by the game management. The operator(s) shall be approved by the referee.” There has been many a game where we ‘fired’ the clock operator. (There are several examples of this on the blog.) During this game the issue was with the scoreboard itself and not the operator. Rule 3-4-7 says “The referee shall have the authority to correct obvious errors in timing if discovery is prior to the second live ball following the error, unless the period has officially ended.” Which we did do several times when the clock did come back on-line.

During the last rounds of the playoffs the chain crew is comprised of football officials, so one of them kept the clock on the field. The press box also was also keeping the time, so after the 3^rd time, when the clock came back on-line, it matched the time we had on the field perfectly. It was disappointing this occurred so often and was a momentum killer for the teams.

Defensive Holding

One unusual situation I think I missed was related to defensive holding on the line of scrimmage. The foul is called Illegal Use of the Hands. Typically, the defensive lineman will restrict (otherwise known as holding) the offensive lineman so the linebacker can blitz into the backfield. Can’t do that. That’s not what happened. Untypically, this defensive lineman was typing to hold his opponent on sweeps. The defender was trying to hold the offensive tackle. As umpire, the tackles are not one of my keys to watch, but depending upon the play, such as a sweep, I can change my focus and pick up the tackle and help out. On this particular plays the “hey, that looks funny” light went on. And then the, “did I just see what I thought I saw” bell went off.

The defender had his arms outside the frame of the defender (a clue, but not holding) and was outsized by about 6 inches and 50lbs (a clue – if he’s beat he’ll cheat) and is trying to control the offensive play (another clue). What the heck is going on? So, I ask my self - does this have a bearing on the play? Is the defender trying to get to the ball carrier? If he is, he may “Push, pull or ward off an opponent in an actual attempt to get to the runner or a loose ball…” Rule 2-3-5-b. This play is near the sideline and these two players are near the hash marks. No linebackers to be found. So, who cares since all the action was 10 yards away. Then the defender falls and attempts to grab the offensive player around the ankles. What is this kid thinking?

So, he does a crappy job actually ‘holding’ the guy, but he does (inhibit) slow him down. I’m thinking, this isn’t right, but not at the point of attach, not a ‘take down’ and seems to have no bearing on the play. If the offensive guy was put at a disadvantage, it may have been simply not being able to go downfield to make a block. So, I don’t throw a flag. I see the same action again later in the quarter, but just can’t bring myself to throw a flag in a game where we what ‘make them big’ fouls.

Still bugs me. Let me know what you think.

Can I Inspect Your Balls... Footballs

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 05:50:00 +0000

This week I worked a high school, open division, regional semi-final playoff game. To be honest, it wasn't much of a game. The visitors dominated at the game was over by half-time.

There was huge collision where two players ended their seasons. One of the two players was strapped to a stretcher and sent to the hospital. I have learned from someone who knows the family that the young man is ok.

Special Balls

Following the first score by the visitors, I place the ball on the 3 yard line for the Try. The ball boy brings me a football and says this is the 'kicking ball'. I inform him the ball cannot be changed and send him back to the sideline. The Try is attempted and blocked by the defenders.

Was I right in not allowing the 'kicking ball' to be used? Sort of.

This is an interesting exercise of understanding the English language and the understanding of the rule. However; in this case there is no 'foul' if the rule is broken. Rule 1-3-2 says "Each team shall provide at least one legal game ball to the referee at the time the game officials assume authority for the contest. Only legal game balls approved by the referee may be used during the contest..." (there is a part 2 to this rule)

Let's stop here. I would bet if you ask 100 high school officials how many footballs can be used by a team during a high school game, 99 of them would tell you they can only use one ball during the game. I don't know where misconception comes from, but most officials I know believe this. Let's go on.

Rule 1-3-3 says "The referee shall decide whether the ball meets specifications. If the field is wet, the referee may order the ball changed between downs." So, if you wanted to be picky, if the team did not provide more than one ball for the referee to inspect, and the snapper, or in our case the ball boy, requests a new ball to be used, the Referee could deny the requests. No right minded Referee would do this during a rainy game, but there is a point here I hope you can see.

And to make another point, the book says REFEREE, not UMPIRE. Good luck getting the White Hat to deal with this. Since I touch the ball every play this is placed, and I think rightly so, on my shoulders.

Anyway, let's get back to the 'part 2' I refereed to previously. Part 2 of Rule 1-31 says "... Each team may use any referee approved ball of its choice to free kick or start a new series of downs. If a touchdown occurs following a change of possession and the scoring team did not put the ball in play, ANY referee-approved ball may be used for the try."

So, if you read carefully, the team can have a 'kicking ball' -- any approved ball may be used for free kicks. Also, ANY approved ball can be used following, for example sake, an interception which is run back for a score. The scoring team can use the same "kicking ball" they use for kickoffs on this particular Try.

But, and this is where you must be a good reader, is where things get interesting -- each team may use any referee approved ball of its choice to... start a new series..." So, the question becomes, is the Try following the touchdown, a new series, or a continuation of the same series? It is.

You will not find anything in the book that says you must use the same ball, or even better, cannot change the ball during a series of downs. That would be simply too easy to understand. Instead, we get the mumbo-jumbo in rules 1-3-2 and 1-3-3.

And compounding the issue with playoff games is teams are required to only use Rawlings footballs during the game.

So, I suppose you could penalize the head coach for unsportsmanlike conduct for allowing an non-referee ball to be brought into the game, but I would never do that. Just kick the ball out an get the 'right' one. You could instead call a delay of game foul, but again, just kick the ball out. These would be ticky-tack fouls for sure.

Did either team offer myself or the referee more than one ball to inspect? No.

Wrap-up

Our area has two teams with the high seed position going to the finals. Last year I was fortunate to work one of the final games, and ironically, one of these two teams is the again in the finals. I don't know if this excludes me from consideration or not. I'll let you know.

College Bowl Game

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0000

Bowl Game Assignment

Yesterday I had the priviledge of working my first college post-season contest; the first annual Living Breathing Foundation Bowl, hosted in one of the most beautiful places in the world - Monterey, Ca. The air was damp and cold, the threat of rain was eminent, and the promise of a great gridiron battle hung in the air. Both teams were undefeated in conference play. The rain never materialized. Perfect.

I worked with a solid crew including two officials from my local area. In fact, one official worked with me the night before during a High School playoff game -- ironically, held at the same stadium. One official, the line judge, I had never worked with before. The White Hat I may have worked once in the past, but I actually don't recall. As I have written in the past, when you have good officials it does not matter if they have worked together or not. Yesterday was no exception.

Interesting Pre-Game Items

During our pre-game I make a point to emphasize that as the Umpire, I am the judge and jury on equipment legality, but I am not the police. We all as a crew have responsibility for player equipment. I get to be the bad guy, but I can't look at 100+ and catch everything.

Kudoes to our Linesman for bringing to my attention a player with tinted eyeshield and cleats that appears to be too long. Upon inspection, these two item indeed were in violation of the rules. Rule 1-4-5-e [Illegal Equipment] "Shoe cleats more than 1/2 inch in length....". And 1-4-5-s "Eye shields that are not clear, that are tinted....". The player responded, "it's the 11th game and you are the first one to catch this." I said, "Well, it still needs to be fixed." Which he immediately did and even came up to me to show me later it was corrected. Good man.

I Have It Here...

Another pregame discussion has to do with how we will handle pile-ups at the goal line. How do we handle situation when a wing official believes the runner has scored, but cannot see the ball in the end zone. The wing official cannot signal touchdown if he cannot see the ball crossing the goal line plane, and the Umpire never signals Touchdown. Somehow I have to give information to the wing officials that I have discovered the ball in the end zone.

What I do not do is nod my head, or the old-school technique of tapping your hand on your head. Coaches have caught on to this signal and it also shows up on film. What we don't want is one guy saying score and another guy saying no score. So, when I discover the ball in the endzone I say, "I have it here" and let the wings decide TD or not. And I have never had to actually do this until this game... and bowl game no less. It worked just fine.

Leaping

Leaping is a foul I will assume most readers have rarely heard of and have never seen. This was another 'first' for me. It was a first for the home team coach as well, because the sideline had to spend a minute or so explaining to him what the foul was. He said he never heard of it. We had about 10 questions during our summer tests on this one foul, so I was pretty clear on this one.

Here's what happened. The visitors score and are attempting a Try (extra point). I see #36 line-up next to me. I'm 3-4 yards off the ball and he just has "the look". This guy is going to charge forward, leap, and try to block the kick. Sure enough, he does this, but he also lands on top of other players. What's the problem?

Rule 9-1-2-n "No defensive player who runs forward from behind the neutral zone and leaps from behind the neutral zone in an obvious attempt to block a field goal or try may land on ANY player." Any player means his own teammates. Which is what happened on this play. This is 15-yard Personal Foul penalty which was assessed on the kickoff.

Player Conduct

It was somewhat disappointing to constantly hear the losers complain about holding. They were really just getting blown off the ball. They never penetrated into the defensive backfield and the offensive linemen were never being 'beat' [if they are beat, they will cheat]. I did catch a few holds, but when the score ended 38-9 and the losers threw four interceptions, it's hardly my fault for them losing. My approach to this game was to "make them big". And the two flags for holding I threw were only moderately big.

The losers also had a melt down with player from the same team practically fighting each other. The coach had to call a timeout and have his own player removed from the field. It was the one major downer for the game.

Wrap-up

Saturday's game was a great way to end the college season and I am humbled to be chosen to work a post season contest. Hopefully this will be first of many and a stepping stone for the next level.

Several of our local high school teams have made it into the second round of high school playoffs. I should have a second round game. Next post will be on the high school playoff game last Friday.

Beer Penalty

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:38:00 +0000

Prelude

While cleaning off the football gear and preparing for the Minor League season (Semi-Pro), I ran across some notes I did not publish. I made a classic rookie mistake and paid the price for it.

Classic Battle during High School Game

Late this season I worked one of the best games I've worked in a long time. 974 total offensive yard during the game, most of them rushing. And 17 penalties. A lot for a high school game. But, what a great game. As umpire, I worked my butt off. You can read about it in the local paper by clicking here. A rivalry game that went back and forth all the way to the end. There were huge swings in momentum and either team could have won. The home team had a terrible season and everyone expected blow-out. But as usually happens, the underdogs had nothing to loose and came to play. And play they did.

Late in 4th quarter the home team had held off a 4th and goal by the visitors. The score was 32 - 27. No f-ing way this should be happening. The home team had the ball around their own 15 with about 2:40ish remaining in the game. So, just make a 1st down, run out the clock, and celebrate the upset. But, where is the drama in that?

A false start, some dumb pass to the flats, a huge sack, and now it's 4th and 15 from their own 5 yard line with about 45 seconds remaining. Now, we have drama!

The punter is near the end-line when the punt is blocked...queue the slow motion close-up on the ball... switch to the linebacker standing in the end zone with his arms outstretched.... queue back to the ball hanging in the air... back to the linebacker. You get the picture. In fact, here is a picture. Notice there are no offensive players around him. The blocked punt skyrockets into the sky and takes forever to come down. The linebacker catches the ball. Touchdown.

Screw-up

During this game I made a mistake I have not made in a very long time - inadvertent whistle. And yes, I did by a round of beer after the game. A $25 dollar mistake.

The IW occurred on a pooch kick during a Free Kick (kick-off). I was working Umpire, so I was at the 20-yard line. The receiver was right in front of me. I see him waive a valid fair-catch signal and all I am thinking is I have to protect this guy. Players were bearing down on him. He must have known this also, because as the ball is slipping between his arms as I am blowing my whistle. I've explained the IW rules and options several times before. You can read about these other glorious incidents here. Wanna Get Away, Play Until You Hear The Whistle, Gridiron Brain Fart.

Spring Season

I'll be working Minor League games this spring, so I'll have plenty of interesting items to discuss in the new year.

Have a great holiday season.

What do Denmark and a Fumble have in Common?

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Last Weeks College Game

Last week was a travel game -- 350 miles round trip. It rained and was played on an old crappy grass field, but it was evenly matched, well played game, without much drama. The game ended 21-31.

This game exemplifies of why I really enjoy working at the college level. Three of my fellow officials I had never met before, but we worked well as a team. In fact, one official, Frank Kristensen, was from Denmark. Frank works Football throughout Europe and is a great official. He also writes a blog which can be found at www.whitecap.dk.

What's really great about working with guys at this level is after spending about 20 minutes reviewing how we are each going to handle basic football scenarios we are all on the same page. It just works when you work with quality guys who really want to do a good job. How I wish we could have this at the high school level.

The other pleasant suprise was PAC-10 official Jeff Hansen evaluated our game and gave us a great assessment after the game. He made the point that last week we observed a Division II crew (a crew that works together all the time) and he could not tell the difference between our two crews. That was cool to hear.

No odd or unusual plays or rules during this game. Just good old fashion football in the rain.

This Weeks College Game

The coolest thing about this weeks game was there were only 13 fouls and we finished in 2:30. From an official's point of view this was a great game. A well played game without any of the testosterone + adrenaline + immaturity = stupid acts drama most JC games have.

One play I think I may my have missed was on a fumble. I was working Umpire and this was a pass about 15 yards down field. The receiver caught the ball, made some football moves and when the pile drove him to back, and before he hit the ground, the ball came loose, bounces in the air, the opponents pick it up and run for a score.

The question is was he down before the ball came out? As I replay this in my mind I'm convinced the ground did not cause the fumble. But were his knees, or "When any part of the ball carrier's body, except his hand or foot, touches the ground, or when the ball carrier is tackled or otherwise falls and loses possession of the ball as contacts the ground with any part of his body, except hand or foot..." This comes from Rule 4 under Ball Declared Dead (4-1-3-a).

You have read this carefully. The second phrase is the classic ground cannot cause a fumble. If a body part other than the hand or foot is in contact with the ground during a tackle, and the ball comes loose, it is NOT a fumble.

The twist comes in with something called the our Officiating Philosophies. It our Philosophy document is states "When in question, the runner fumbled the ball and was NOT down."

These are hard plays to call - hence the need for a "when in question" philosophy. They happen quickly. I am not watching the ball as Umpire, but plays such as this where I turn to help on the pass, I typically see the end of these type of plays. But I'm not looking for non-foot or hands in contact with the ground. I'm watching for illegal contact and other stupid acts (see equation above).

When it happened my mind was going a mile a minute trying to put it all together. My first reaction was fumble, then I started thinking about maybe his knee was down, maybe this, maybe that. Finally, (and this is all in about 1 second) I knew I was "in doubt" so I ruled fumble. Meaning, I did not blow my whistle and continued to officiate.

I think we all properly applied the "when in doubt", but we may have been technically wrong.

The game ended 56-21, so it didn't matter anyway, but I still want to get it right.

Denmark has nothing to do with a fumble.

Subjectivity Rules

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:01:00 +0000

I'm a little late in posting Part II from last week but here we go. As a reminder I made three calls during a single game (were talking High School rules this time) which had a bearing on the outcome of the game. Last post we reviewed the non-Safety ruling. The remaining two rulings were on exactly the same type of play about 3 minutes apart - passes thrown to a receiver at the sideline.

Here's the scenario. It's been a close game. The home team has the ball, there is something like 5 minutes remaining, and they are down by 7. They need to score. They make a critical first-down. And then another. And then, it's 3rd and long at about their own 45 yard line. Time to wake-up Pigskinref because this is a critical play.

The ball is snapped, I read pass and begin to drift down field. I was working Line Judge, so I have partial pass coverage duties. Partial meaning I share the pass coverage with the Back Judge. I have described pass coverage responsibilities in other posts, so we won't dig into that here, but on this particular play, the Back Judge could help me, but it was my call all the way.

The intended receiver streaks down the sideline. I struggle to keep up with these speed demons while watching for any kind of interference. Nothing. Then the ball is thrown. The receiver leaps into the air, catches the ball, and before he hits the ground is driven out of bounds. When he hits the ground he retains possession of the ball.

So, did he complete the catch? What should my ruling be?

Let's look at rule 7-5-5 "A forward pass, legal or illegal, is incomplete and the ball becomes dead when the pass touches the ground or goes out of bounds. It is also incomplete when a player in the air possesses the pass and alights so that his first contact with the ground or anything other than another player or game official is on our outside a boundary..." We are concerned about the last part in italics. In common vernacular, this mouthful means the receiver needs to land inbounds (one foot inbounds like in College) to complete the pass.

So, my ruling should be incomplete. But, wait there is more. There is always more, isn't there?

If you paid attention I highlighted the word catches a paragraph or two above. What is the definition of a catch in High School? And yes, the definition is different depending upon the level.

Let's look at rule 2-4-1 "A catch is the act of establishing player possession of live ball which is in flight, and first contacting the ground inbounds or being contacted by an opponent is such a way that he is prevented from returning to the ground inbounds while maintaining possession of the ball.

So, in High School, we have this added complexity of determining "IF" this player would have come down inbounds without being contacted by the opponent. There is no time to think this through. No time to discuss this. You gotta know and make the ruling. I ruled completed catch but the wheels were spinning in my head. I haven't made this call in years.

The home team scored on the next play. Now it's 28-29 and the visitors have the ball with about 2:00 left. They get a first down. And then another. Sound familiar? Now they have crossed the 50 yard line, but this time it's 4th down with 30 seconds left. It's gonna be a pass. They just need to get to the 20 or so and can attempt a field goal for the win. Crap, stay awake Pigskinref.

The same scenario. A long pass to my sideline, but this time the receiver leaps sideways and not vertical. He catches the ball about the 10 yard line and is driven out of bounds before he contacts the ground. He maintained possession. The reception was highly athletic and actually beautiful. This is a huge play. And I'm a frigging Umpire. I make big ruling like calling back touchdowns for Holding. What am I doing making these kind of calls?

Oh ya, it was homecoming, so the stadium was packed of people and this play occurred on the home team side.

So, did he complete the catch?

Talk to you all next week.

There's the Correct Thing and Then There is the Right Thing - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 04:54:00 +0000

Most football games are routine, at least at the high school level, and are essentially over by they end of the 3rd quarter. Infrequently, officials have an impact of the outcome of the game, and even more rare, are the single mistake made by an official that determines the outcome of game. Most games are just not that evenly matched. However, this week I had three opportunities, all during a single game, where my decision determined the outcome of the game. I think I make the correct decision in all three plays although I may not have been 'right' on one of them. Let' see if you agree.

It's 4th down and the home team is backed up to their 5 yard line. The player ready to receive the long snap (i.e., the kicker) is backed-up to his end line. The snap is bad, the kicker fumbles the ball, he panics, and scrambles to get out of the end zone. Which he did. His progress was stopped a the 1 yard line and then he was driven back into the endzone. I hit my whistle and crash in signaling timeout, which means I did not rule a Safety. This was the correct ruling. I actually saw this play on the news that night and knew I ruled correctly on this play. But, here is what I thinking at the time and why I may not have been right.

We have this philosophy in our are area were we do not want to award a 'cheap safety'. If the Defensive (typically its the Defense) team earned the Safety we are not going to take this away from the Defense. But when it comes to the play I mentioned above, even if the player ran to the goal line and it was close we are going to avoid giving the Safety. In this game the player was clearly out to the 1 yard line, so there was not 'when in question' issue here.

But after the play was overheard the coach say, "We need to teach these guys [the offense] to take the Safety." Why is that?

Because now the other team has the ball at the one and has a great opportunity to score 6 points instead of the 2 points for the Safety. You can argue that taking the two points and then giving the ball back to scoring team is not a great alternative (the idea around the 'cheap safety') but, in this case, at this point of the game, awarding a cheap safety would be the right thing to do. I'm sure the other coach was not thinking "please don't award a Safety".

For the next several plays I considered whether doing the correct thing was the right thing to do. I concluded it was and I'd do it again. The play was the play, and players need to learn how to think on the field. If they make a mistake like this that costs them the game, then this is a lesson learned. The final score of the game was 28-29, so difference between a safety and a touchdown had a bearing on the final score.

Part II, in the next post, I talk about two identical play, both in the 4th quarter within two minutes of each other, which absolutely had a beating on the outcome of the game. And to be quite frank, had I not been writing this blog for the past few years and forcing myself to review the rules and philosophies, I would not rules these two plays properly. I would have directly changed the outcome of the game.

Stay tuned.

Inapproproate Touching

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 22:56:00 +0000

During Saturday’s college game mistakes were made by some players and by the officials. The game ended 38-0, so we did not influence the outcome of the game. But mistakes are mistakes.

Out You Go
One thing I did not make a mistake on was ejecting two players for throwing punches. One guy in the 2nd quarter and the other guy in the 3rd quarter. The coach for the 2nd guy (the visitors) said he was going to protest my flag. Which apparently he did, since I got a call from the Commissioner Sunday morning asking for my view of what happened. He said he was watching the film and it got cutoff before he could see anything. I explained what I saw and why I threw the flag. Now, whatever happens to this play is whatever happens. Out of my hands. But if my ruling stands, this player cannot play the during the game next week.

What I am finding is most coaches are being very good about controlling players. When I throw flags now players begin to panic. They tell me if the flag is on them the coach will make them run sprints or some other form of punishment. I love that. Other coaches don’t seem to care. We are still throwing too many flag for Unsportsmanlike conduct, and I have had to DQ three players in the last 2 weeks, but things do seem to be getting a little better.

Inappropriate Touching
Our crew made a mistake related to an illegal touching foul. The root cause of this mistake was poor communication. Here is what happened. The Side Judge reported the foul as Illegal Touching. He was correct. The rule for this is found at 7-3-4 “No eligible offensive receiver who goes out of bounds during a down shall touch a legal forward pass the field of play or end zone or while airborne until it has been touched by an opponent or an official”. Simple. If a receiver steps out of bounds, comes back on the field and touches the ball, it’s a foul. The player became ineligible (remember this) by stepping out of bounds. But, what makes this kinda odd is the penalty is -- loss of down from the previous spot. No yardage. Not much of a penalty. So this becomes, in essence, simply an incomplete pass. BUT, after a moment, the Side Judge provided some additional information.

The receiver did step out of bounds and touch the ball…. BUT before that, this player was a covered receiver who went downfield. Hmmm. This makes him an Ineligible Receiver Downfield, which is a 5-yard penalty from the previous spot. If accepted, the down would be repeated. But, before we uncover (pun intended) this quandary, let’s first review what it means to be a covered receiver.

To understand being covered you first need an understanding of what it means to be an eligible receiver. Rule 7-3-3-a says, “Each player who is in an end position on his scrimmage line and who is wearing a number other than 50 through 79.” So to be ‘covered’ means an eligible receiver by number, say #40, has another player further down (wider) on the line of scrimmage. In other words, #40 is not the LAST player (in an end position) on the line of scrimmage. There is another player is the last one on the line of scrimmage and thus #40 is ‘covered’. This makes him, if you are following this, an ineligible receiver by position. If he goes downfield and there is a legal pass downfield, we have a foul.

BUT wait… there’s more. Rule 7-3-11 says “No originally ineligible player while inbounds shall intentionally touch a legal forward pass until it touched an opponent or an official”. This is also a foul for Illegal Touching. But, the penalty for this flavor of illegal touching is 5-yards from the previous spot…. No loss of down.

So, what the heck do we have here? Here is what I think. We obviously have Ineligible Receiver Downfield once the ball is airborne. There should be a flag. Then, once the player touches the ball we have a flag for illegal touching and the Ineligible Downfield goes away. I think the defense has an option to take either the loss of down, or the 5-yard version of Illegal Touching.

I originally walked off the 5-yards because typically the penalty is called on a lineman who touched the ball (the rule 7-3-11 flavor). I brought the ball back and we eventually applied the loss of down Illegal Touching. But really, we should have given the defensive captain the option.

Either way we looked like we didn’t know what we were doing. Because we didn’t.

Wanna Get Away?

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 04:27:00 +0000

Thank You

Before we jump into the weekly football dialog, I’d like to thank everyone for all the positive feedback from fellow officials from across the country. It means a lot to me.

Reno Football Officials Camp

I finally signed up for the 2010 Reno camp. I attended the 2007 and 2008 camps, but due to being out of work last year, I did not attend in 2009. Some readers have commented they plan on attending this year and I’d love to meet you at the camp in June. But I suggest you register quickly. It looks like there is only a single week instead to the usual two week camp. The website indicates there will only be 14 crews, so you can do the math on how many slots there are for your position.

Wanna Get Away?

This weeks game had a lot of problems and was basically a mess. Some very simple things went wrong at the most inappropriate time. Inappropriate means, the score was tied 28-28, it's 4th down and 7, there is 4 minutes remaining in the forth quarter, and... what? You think I'd tell you this early in the post?

This week I worked with a crew from our sister group in the north. They do not use crews like we do in the south and the non-crew format does not seem to work as well as it down in college. We were not on the same page in spite of having a 20 minute pre-game.

There are several issues worth mentioning during the game (which took 2:45 minutes, BTW) but, there were two major issues of interest.

The QB is running around trying to avoid a sack and while he is running for his life he simply tosses the ball forward. I ask the White Hat if there was an eligible receiver in the area. I'm working Umpire, so I have no idea about the receivers. I get a blank look. Otherwise we have Intentional Grounding. This is a huge deal in a game tied 28-28 since this is a loss of down foul. Here is the rule found in 7-5-2 "An illegal forward pass is a foul. Illegal forward passes include: A) A pass after team possession has changed during the down B) A pass from beyond the neutral zone C) A pass intentionally thrown into an area not occupied by and eligible offensive receiver D) A pass intentionally thrown incomplete to save loss of yardage or to conserve time.

Notice the key word intentional. The foul is called Intentional Grounding, after all. In most cases when this foul occurs it is obvious, as it was during Friday's game, that the QB is just dumping the ball. Which is why I found it odd the White Hat ruled this an incomplete pass. On one hand, it makes no difference. The down counts either way, Intentional Grounding or Incomplete Pass. The only real difference is that IG also includes a 5-yard penalty. But this 5-yards, at this point in the game, makes a big difference. These guys need a 1st down. They are backed-up on there own 25 yard line.

So, it turns out to not make a difference. They made the 1st down on the next play. The team is driving down the field. They have the momentum. Time is running out. We are in hurry-up offense and the defense is getting tired. And then it happened.

It's 4th down and six at the 35 yard line (the opponents 35). They gotta make this. 2:10 on the clock. A run up the middle and the runner hit the wall... but his he down? ... has his momentum stopped? Should we blow the play dead? The ball carrier falls forward. Did he make the 1st down?

No, because he didn't have the ball. The ball carrier (i.e., the runner) is sweeping to the outside. Wow, that was a good fake... holy crap, he fumbled... wait did I hear a whistle... holy crap, why is there a whistle being blown... oh, this can't be good... no, this WON'T be good. Now what?

First, thank goodness, I did not blow the whistle. But now we have a problem. So, here is the rule on IW found in 4-2-3-c, "An inadvertent whistle ends the down. Inadvertent whistles are administered as follows... The team in possession may choose to either accept the result of the play at the dead-ball spot or replay the down if, during a down or during a down in which the penalty for a foul is declined, and inadvertent whistle is sounded while the ball is in player possession."

Soooo, in this case, which is unusual, there was not a loose ball, and hence, a beanbag. Most IW's occur during a loose ball (i.e., a fumble) and the beanbag gives us a reference point to go back to if we needed to administer the accept the result at the deadball spot. But if the ball carrier still has possession and an IW is blown what do you do? Remember, it was 4th down. If they are short of the 1st down they want to obviously replay.

And the result of the dead ball spot? About 2 yards passed the line to gain. I think, but who knows because, there is no beanbag. of course, so... holy crap. Now what, Mr. White Hat?

Oh ya, I almost forgot... during the fumble the other team recovered the ball.

The White Hat panicked and choose to replay the down. But the rule says the team in possession may choose... I need a beer.

So, luckily the next play... since thy got to replay the down... they threw an interception. Game over.

There was actually a second IW during the game by the same official but I will spare you the details on that.

I also worked a college and an 8-man game on Saturday. Look for this in the next day or two. During the college game there was some inappropriate touching... I mean illegal touching. We managed the screw this up also.

Oh ya, I got a phone call Sunday morning from the State Commissioner for Community College Football about one of my flags on Saturday.

Yes, I'll explain. Stay tuned.

...when we practice to deceive... or not

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 05:06:00 +0000

The College football contest on Saturday was another example of how disappointing the game can be at the Community College level. Long time readers may recall my ranting about just how poor game administration can be at some facilities. Combine this with behavior by the players and you have ingredients for a crappy game. Saturday's game was crappy.

A total of ninety-three points were scored (38-55), there were a total of thirty (30) fouls, ten(10) of which were Personal Fouls, two (2) Unsportsmanlike Conduct, and a player Disqualification (Ejection). So, nearly 50% of the fouls were by players acting STUPID and not playing football.

In the second quarter, the Referee approached each sideline and asked the coaches to control their teams. In the third quarter, we actually stopped the game and brought the coaches to the middle of the field and directed them to control their teams. Pretty sad to have to do this with 'adults' who are not playing the game for money.

I was the official who ejected a player for throwing a punch.

All during the game the 25-second clock was malfunctioning. We finally just kept the play clock on the field. Before the game started we had to wait twenty minutes before we could get into our locker room. This delayed our pre-game preparation. Then after the warm-up period before the game begins the teams usually go back to the locker rooms. Neither locker was open and the two teams were mingling in the same area outside the stadium. We had stand between the teams to prevent any possible altercations.

What made this a bit uneasy is our jurisdiction pretty much only applies to the field. So, now were our outside the stadium. I'm not really sure what the protocol should be here, but we thought it best to do preventative officiating.

There was a very interesting play

This is play very interesting and we still do not know what the right answer is. During the game we did not flag this is action as a foul. While having beers after the game I think we convinced ourselves we wanted this to be a foul, but could not find anything in the rule book to state this was a foul. Here is the situation.

The visitors have lined-up for Field Goal on fourth down. They line-up with these huge splits between the center and the next lineman... like, five yard splits. The have a kicker, holder, and two personal protectors -- odd. And then the other three players spread out wide. If you are paying attention you will notice there are only ten players on the field.

The Referee and I both indicate there are only ten on the field. This is odd, but no big deal. The snap goes off and its going to be a fake Field Goal... ok, haven't seen one of these in a long time. And all of a sudden, the holder throws the ball thirty yards downfield to some receiver who came out no where. The Referee and I look at one another and chase down the Linesman. When we asked if this player had substituted properly. He said he was a player who was part of the previous play. But the team ran a group of people off the field for the field goal attempt. Something looked funny.

Rule 9-2-2-b says "not simulated replacements or substitutions may be used to confuse opponents. No tactic associated with substitutes or the substitution process may be used to confuse opponents.

In the back of the college rule book there is a section called Interpretations. The Interpretations are play examples that help explain the rules. One of the Interpretation related to this play reads as follows; "A1 leaves the field of play during a down. Team A (the offense) huddles with 10 players. Substitute A12 enters, and A2 simulates leaving the field but sets near the sideline for a "hide out" pass." This is considered a simulated replacement to confuse the opponent and is a 15 yard penalty for Unsportsmanlike Conduct.

I think we blew it on this play. The team gained about 25 yards and made the first down. They scored the next play. Since the score was 38-55 is didn't change the outcome, but I think we let them get away with it.

It's Simply a Plane

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:03:00 +0000

On a non-football note, I begin a new job this week and expect to have more time to blog. My previous job was 100 miles from home and it required me to burn the candle at both ends. One must do what one must do these days, but at least I can find more of a work-life-balance now.

High School

Friday night I was fortunate to work the 'big' high school game of the week. The game ended with a final score of 19-20 and came down to a last minute hail Mary pass. This kid must have thrown the ball seventy yards. Amazing. The visitors scored 42 and 47 yard field goals which is pretty darn good for high school. But, unfortunately for the visitors, this same young man missed the extra point that would have tied the game.

We used six-man mechanics during the game instead of our usual five-man mechanics. This didn't really impact our game performance, but on big games like this one, it does make the game easier to manage. Unless your an Umpire (me) working as a Side Judge.

The Side Judge is a deep official working on the sideline, about 20 yards from the line of scrimmage, on the defensive side of the ball. My primary responsibility are the pass receivers on my side side of the field. Typically, when you see a pass interference flag it is the Side Judge (or the counter part on the opposite side of the field – the Field Judge) making the call.

The other major responsibility occurs during scrimmage kicks (punts). Most of the time the SJ focuses on the blockers and the FJ focuses on the kick receiver. During this game I found myself 'ball watching' and may have missed a block in the back. I saw the tail end of the collision, but I did not see the whole act. I did see the block on TV that night I think it was one of those blocks that looks 'bad', but technically is not a block in the back. These happen all the time. I just really can't be sure and wish I could have the game film to see if I missed it.

Onside Kick

I did make a big call during an onside kick. Boy, the crowd went crazy on this one. The visitors has just scored to make the score 19-20 and there was only about 4 minutes remaining. They lined up, kicked the ball, and were offside (encroachment is the foul in high school). I was a little late on my whistle and unfortunately, the visitors had recovered the ball, so on such a big play I should have shut this down ASAP. But I could not see the ball when it was kicked, so they were clearly offside, but from a game administration point of view, I should have sold the flag harder.

I heard later that the opposing coach was upset because we had not called ticky-tack fouls all night, and on the biggest play of the game I threw a flag. But here is the criteria. On a standard free kick (kickoff) the player is not considered to have encroached on the neutral zone (the 10 yard gap between teams) unless, before the ball is kicked, he has one foot on the ground after crossing the restraining line. In other words, we cut them some slack and don't make the restraining line a 'plane'.

However, during an onside kick there is no slack. Onside kicks are huge game changing plays and the restraining line becomes a plane similar to the goal line. And the visitors broke the plane. I may have cost them the game, but the rules are the rules.

On Saturday I was asked to work two college game. This came to a total of seven hours of game time. Not fun. But some interesting thing occurred during the contest. More on that during the next post.

High School Concussion Rule

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:13:00 +0000

I worked my first high school game of the season this weekend and it was a classic contest. The home team was down by seven with six seconds remaining on the clock. It was 4th down and no time outs remained. The line of scrimmage was the 17 yard line and while the QB was under pressure, tosses the ball to his teammate at the five who tips the ball once, twice, three times, falling into the end zone... empty handed.

The game became ugly in the 3rd quarter when we had to eject two players for fighting. The visiting team complained about everything and had the 'poor me' attitude going full force. Some teams are just cry babies. Otherwise, a good contest to shake off the rust.

A few new high school rules of interest. The most important, yet controversial, is the concussion rule. 3-5-10 reads, "any player who exhibits signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with a concussion (such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion, or balance problems) shall be immediately removed from the game and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional." In California, where I officiate, the ruling is even more severe. If a player is removed due to exhibiting signs of concussion the player cannot return to the game, period, no matter what appropriate medical person is present.

What makes this controversial is this decision it put into the hands of the officials. I now have to be the sole judge on this issue. If I believe the player has sustained a concussion, I don't ask the medical about their opinion. Even if medical says the player does not have a concussion I must make a ruling. If anyone says anything that would lead a reasonable person to think the player is exhibiting symptoms consistent with concussion the player is to be removed. Period.

Now think of this scenario. The opposing QB runs to the sideline and gets creamed. All the opposing coach has to say is the 'C' word and I have a problem on my hand. You know this will happen.

More on this as the season goes on but I'm very uncomfortable making this kind of decision.

My first college game of the season is this Saturday. No huge changes here other than the new Wedge foul.

Pigskinref is back

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:20:00 +0000

Well, I'm back. A lot has happened since the last post in November.

During the end of the High School season I had the privilege to work all three rounds of the playoffs, including the conference championship game. This was something I'd dreamed about doing for a long time. Nothing like working football in December.

I've found work since the last posting. I'm working 100 miles away and only go home on the weekends. I decided not work the Semi-pro league this season. It's a love-hate thing with me anyway.

I will continue to work College ball this season, but High School is up in the air. I won't be able to work with my old crew; no way I can make it down our area in time for games. I can work with our group in San Jose and have been attending meetings with them. It won't be the same, but it will be nice to see new teams.

I did not attend the Reno clinic this year... just could not swing the costs after being out of work for 10 months.

I have some interesting news about the college season and there are new high school rules that will be interesting to discuss.

Until next post.

Pigskinref

No Contest

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:40:00 +0000

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'.

That Aint't Right

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:41:00 +0000

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.

Please, just don't talk to me anymore

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:52:00 +0000

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!

Play until you hear the whistle

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:16:00 +0000

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!

Pass Interference - emphasis on the interference

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:53:00 +0000

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.

Sore about the knee and other musings

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:25:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:32:00 +0000

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.

100th Post

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:07:00 +0000

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.

Illegal Balls?

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 04:14:00 +0000

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.

Swell

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:59:00 +0000

I worked a game with this team recently. http://www.ksbw.com/health/20914377/detail.html

Phantom of the Fouls

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:10:00 +0000

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.

First college game of 2009

noreply@blogger.com (pigskinref) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:36:00 +0000

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.