highlights from Friday

[Derek Teigen]

just wanted to share a few things with you about my game on Friday night. 
1. flagged an illegal formation and an illegal shift.  Film bears out both but my wingman missed the 5 in the backfield even though he punched he had a receiver off and so did I we should have flagged it together.  It would have looked a lot better.   I was surprised my white hat did not catch the illegal shift.
2.  I had poor mechanics on a hard tackle out of bounds and I think I was so focused on getting the spot I didn't realize how bad it looked when the defender threw the runner to the ground.  As I'm killing the clock I see my back judge's flag  come flying by feet ( yes i'm still looking down)  and I'm like wow my back judge has my back.  Very thankful for my back judge who also synced up with me on a couple of very close downfield sideline plays.
3.  missed a block in the back near the very end of the game but by this time it was a blowout and a running clock and I kept my flag in my pocket.  Still I think I should have flagged it because it was a potential safety issue.

all in all though a clean game and I hope yours were too.  Would love to hear any summaries from your games. 

[HLinNC]

1) Yes, it looks better to have two flags down but in the end 1 is better than none.   Too many officials get hung up on that "we need two flags down".
2)  A good back judge will take clean up on the sideline that allows you to get the spot and immediate action on the runner.  Good that he was able to help.  Focusing too tightly can make you miss things.
3)  BIB is rarely a safety concern.  That's why it got removed from clipping and downgraded to 10 yards.  I haven't called an honest to goodness Clipping foul in 20+ years.

[bama_stripes]

While it may not look great on film, missing a spot by a yard or so isn’t the worst thing in the world if the LTG isn’t threatened in a close game.  Missing a late hit OOB could lead to major problems.

We had an honest-to-goodness hurdle that Najee Harris would have been proud of.  Of course, the crowd oohed & ahhed, then booed when we correctly penalized it.

One coach vociferously insisted that IDF carried a LOD provision.  I explained that it did at one time, but not in the last 30 years.  He also wanted us to bring a 4th-down forward fumble back to the spot of the fumble.  We finally convinced him that wasn’t a Friday rule.

[TampaSteve]

just wanted to share a few things with you about my game on Friday night. 
1. flagged an illegal formation and an illegal shift.  Film bears out both but my wingman missed the 5 in the backfield even though he punched he had a receiver off and so did I we should have flagged it together.  It would have looked a lot better.   I was surprised my white hat did not catch the illegal shift.
2.  I had poor mechanics on a hard tackle out of bounds and I think I was so focused on getting the spot I didn't realize how bad it looked when the defender threw the runner to the ground.  As I'm killing the clock I see my back judge's flag  come flying by feet ( yes i'm still looking down)  and I'm like wow my back judge has my back.  Very thankful for my back judge who also synced up with me on a couple of very close downfield sideline plays.
3.  missed a block in the back near the very end of the game but by this time it was a blowout and a running clock and I kept my flag in my pocket.  Still I think I should have flagged it because it was a potential safety issue.

all in all though a clean game and I hope yours were too.  Would love to hear any summaries from your games.

Similar to pass catches on the sideline where one has the feet and one has the catch/no catch: it seems your B properly focused on the tackle while you focused on the spot - although throwing a runner to the ground is generally obvious.

Was it possible you were too close to the players on that item you were focused on the spot? If you tend to get too close, take a few steps back and it's remarkable how your peripheral changes with that little change...PLUS it's much easier to take those 2 steps forward (vs backward) when you need to.

[AlUpstateNY]

Similar to pass catches on the sideline where one has the feet and one has the catch/no catch: it seems your B properly focused on the tackle while you focused on the spot - although throwing a runner to the ground is generally obvious.

Was it possible you were too close to the players on that item you were focused on the spot? If you tend to get too close, take a few steps back and it's remarkable how your peripheral changes with that little change...PLUS it's much easier to take those 2 steps forward (vs backward) when you need to.

Sound advice.  Considering, there is an awful lot going on, at a usually an accelerated "real time" pace, is the reason we work in multi-person "crews", in which each has both primary and secondary responsibilities.  We each can only respond to what we, each, actually see, which is why we each have specific "keys", both primary and secondary, and designated focus.  It's impossible for any one of us to personally see every angle, or side, of every play, which it is why it's so important to follow the action from different perspectives, and distances, to support each other.

[Ralph Damren]

While supporting flags adds clout to a call, it can add to some confusion for the white hat. We had one this weekend in my game. Three flags  on an obvious facemask (mine was one) one official reported a 5-yarder, while another ruled it a PFFM. Per our "when in doubt" guidance , I also had PFFM and the tie-breaker. Rarely do multiple flags land on top of each other and often ,in an open-field foul, they mark the enforcement spot. In pregame, we discuss the flagging officials  should confer and agree on the spot of the foul and that they both have the same call. One would move his flag to the spot while the other reports their mutual call to the white hat.

[Derek Teigen]

Was it possible you were too close to the players on that item you were focused on the spot? If you tend to get too close, take a few steps back and it's remarkable how your peripheral changes with that little change...PLUS it's much easier to take those 2 steps forward (vs backward) when you need to.
[/quote]

yes I believe I was too close and this is a hole in my swing.  Our instructors harp on having a wide vision.  But how to mark the spot without being close to the runner/tacklers going out of bounds?

[Legacy Zebra]

But how to mark the spot without being close to the runner/tacklers going out of bounds?

The spot is the spot and it's not going to change. You don't have to get to the spot right when the play is done, you just need to know where it is. Stay back, let the action finish, and then once it's clear you can step up to the spot. There's no rush to get there until after the players are clear.

[AlUpstateNY]

The spot is the spot and it's not going to change. You don't have to get to the spot right when the play is done, you just need to know where it is. Stay back, let the action finish, and then once it's clear you can step up to the spot. There's no rush to get there until after the players are clear.

Sound advice.

[Derek Teigen]

The spot is the spot and it's not going to change. You don't have to get to the spot right when the play is done, you just need to know where it is. Stay back, let the action finish, and then once it's clear you can step up to the spot. There's no rush to get there until after the players are clear.

Thanks I'll work on that.  Several times on those hard out of bounds plays I've had coaches yelling 'didn't you see that!!??'  Well no actually.  I was too close.  I didn't say that but I think that's why.