let's talk

[BIG DON]

Here is one for us to talk about.

Last Friday night during the pregame conference with the coaches, when asked of they had any unusual plays the Visiting coach said that no matter where on the field they were that on 4th down that they would kick off a tee.  I now wished I would have asked what was the reason behind this but I guess I was in shock as I never heard of this. Any way when we were back in the locker room going over our pregame the other officials were shocked and tried to convince My Referee and my self that this was not legal, I had to remind them what the definition of a scrimmage kick was. Still puzzled about this I told them to look at it this way I cannot help the coach if he thinks is kicker is going to make a 99-yard field goal.  Once the scrimmage kick definition found the right part of their brains we were on the next topic was how mechanically are we going to handle this?  The field we were on runs north and south and we had a pretty good wind blowing out of the north.  How would you all handle this do you treat it as a punt type and send you back judge back with the receiver or do you handle it as a field goal attempt and send your guy back under the goal post. I believe you have to use a little common sense here and make your decision on where the ball was going to be snapped from.  After watching the kicker he had a good leg not great so we decided anything from the 40 in we were treating like a field goal and sending 2 guys back it worked well for us. Just curious how others would handle this and what other strange situations other have seen. Turned out that is was not much of a game as is was 57 to 0 at the end of the game

[maven]

How odd. You were right of course to convince the crew that this is legal, and it does raise the mechanics issue of when to use FG mechanics.

I think I'd break it down this way:

1. For clear cases where the kick could score (kick would be 30 yards or less, say), then use FG mechanics.

2. For cases where no HS kicker is likely to score (kick would be 50 yards or more, say), then use punt mechanics.

3. Adjust those lines for strong wind, +/– 10 yards.

4. That leaves a 20 yard "tricky zone." If you know how far the kicker can go, that will help decide and maybe shrink the size of the zone. If the first kick is in the zone, I'd err on the side of judging the score right and use FG mechanics.

Sound good?

[BIG DON]

it was odd the kicking team take out one of their blockers to now become the holder  then you have to watch for roughing the holder I would think it would be easier to block this but they had good kicks all night probably average 40 yards on kick and roll

[Atlanta Blue]

We do this regularly, well, not from anywhere on the field, but once we cross the 50, unless we are kicking into a strong head wind, we will try a FG.

Why?

1.  I have one of the top kickers in the country, he' has made a 57 yarder in a game, a 63 yarder in practice.  Sure, it may not be great odds, but it's not out of the question for him to make it.

2.  What is a FG but a punt that can score (which is exactly how we teach it to the kids)?  If the kick makes the end zone, it's a TB.  If it doesn't, it's just a punt, and we have never had one of these returned.

3.  The only down side is that it is easier to block a FG than a punt, and you add an element of risk because you add another player that must handle the ball into the equation, the holder.

Chances of pinning them deep with a punt aren't great anyway, so let's take a chance of scoring.  Most teams that see us line up for a 50+ yard FG don't rush hard anyway because they are worried about a fake.  So all things considered, it's worth a shot.

[HLinNC]

Its been 10 or so years ago but one of our area high schools used a FG to punt for a season or two.  Coach didn't have a punter but had a decent kicker

[BIG UMP]

10 years ago a school did that here.  His reasoning was that his PK could control the placement of the ball better than a punter, and he didn't have one anyway.  But they were heck on coffin corners.

[VALJ]

Its been 10 or so years ago but one of our area high schools used a FG to punt for a season or two.  Coach didn't have a punter but had a decent kicker

We've got a school around here that does that, too, for the same reason - one of the ciy schools, so we had a seven man crew.  We handled it pretty much as Maven suggested.  We decided that if there was any chance that it could score, we'd officiate as a field goal, with B and F under the uprights and S on the goal line to rule on TB.  Otherwise, we'd officiate it as a punt.

2.  What is a FG but a punt that can score (which is exactly how we teach it to the kids)?  If the kick makes the end zone, it's a TB.  If it doesn't, it's just a punt, and we have never had one of these returned.

I use this exact metaphor when we're talking about field goals during the pregame, to remind everyone that we don't go back to the previous spot if the kick is no good.

[FredFan7]

For 5-man I'd first ask the coach what's the longest FG his kicker has kicked (if not observed in warmups), and go from there.

For your situation from between 40-50 yards I might put the B on the goal line so he could retreat if the kicker really got into one.  Anything longer I'd play it like a punt.

Sounds like you did the right thing mechanically.

[Ralph Damren]

Trudging down memory lane to see what I have missed before joining you guys........Improvisation is always part of our job. While quick kicks usually involve punts, you probably don't have to be a member of Patriot's Nation to recall Doug Flute surprising all by drop-kicking a PAT from a shotgun formation as his last play in the NFL. The startled back judge, stationed under the pipes for endline coverage, quickly reacted  by calling the kick good .  Moral of story : Be ready for surprises, for if not surprises may be ready for you!