In my games so far...
- Failed to carry over DPI on a successful 2-point conversion to the kickoff. Oops
- Have seen very, very few low blocks, even legal ones. I think coaches are scared to teach it.
- A team tried to have the FG holder pitch the ball to the kicker while kneeling. Luckily I wasn't the WH in this game because I didn't know that rule either. Now I do, though.
- Still not sure whether we're required to have a halftime countdown and then put three minutes on the clock and count down again, or whether we can just tell the coaches "when it says 3:00, that's the start of the warmup period". Is this a legal thing where if a player gets hurt in the second half they sue the officials? But if we do halftime in two parts we're not liable? Seems like the "mandatory" aspect of the warmup period should be a requirement that's binding on the coach, not on the officials. I can't force the players to do stretches, after all.
- There was a rumor going around that "defer" is not an option in Fed. Hopefully that got quashed by now.
- Everyone in stripes loves the 40-second play clock. Maybe these snowflake coaches are right that the number of PLAYS in a Massachusetts quarter has gone up, but I can tell you the number of actual MINUTES in a Massachusetts quarter has gone down if anything. First down, kill it and WIND IT - this more than compensates for the extra game clock minutes.
- We've already shut down multiple extra point attempts for defensive encroachment. The kick sails through the uprights as the whistles blow. K's coach doesn't always appreciate this rule but they'll get used to it. Frankly if I were a coach, I'd teach R to guess the snap and not be afraid to jump early. Best case, you time it right and the officials don't even call it. Worst case, you get to ice the kicker without taking a timeout. It's almost free. The only drawback is he gets to kick it from the 1.5 yard line instead, which might not even be all that advantageous for him, now that it's not the exact yard line he's practiced a thousand times. And the ACTUAL best case, maybe you mess with his head and cause a miss.
- Related: Lots of griping from coaches and officials that "Fed hates offense." To wit: If an OL holds, it becomes 1st and 26 or something, but if the defense jumps offside you don't even get a free play out of it. We'll all "get used to it" but I doubt we'll ever LIKE it.
- One personal gripe: I can't stand not having a PDF rulebook