Difficult Crew

[ETXRef1994]

What do y'all do when you are working a game, and one or more members of the crew are not performing well? Be it missed calls, an umpire that is constantly spotting the ball wrong, or a white hat that is having a difficult time with his rules enforcement? I had a bad experience last Friday, and I am working with that person again this week.

[BIG UMP]

If its just a bad day for that person, double up and help out.  If its normal hopefully the supervisor has seen them and knows but has not choice but to assign them.  If not ensure that the super knows what's going on.  We do this for the kids not an officials feelings.

[TampaSteve]

what he said.
Work your way through it but if R is making errors, step up to make sure the enforcement, etc is right..
*Maybe the assigner is aware there's a weak link but put you with them because you're a strong link who can cover for the weak one.
*Maybe there's a ton of games this week to cover and the talent pool is shallow and did the best he could do with what he had.

[ElvisLives]

Each of us owe it to the game, the players, and our fellow officials to get as much right as humanly possible. If you see a significant error being made, you should step up, as professionally and courteously as possible, and let the crew know they are about to make an error, and offer the correct ruling/ball placement. Judgment errors are tricky. In a crew of 5, there are only so many eyes (10, maximum), so offering an opinion from a different (literal) viewpoint is not a bad thing. But 1) be sure you are right, and 2) be sure you had a good reason to be looking at the action in question.
If, in either case, you get major push-back, and they stick with the original ruling/placement, know that you did what you could. Soon enough, you will get assigned with other folks, and your situation may improve.
The trick is to do this without embarrassing anyone else, or coming across as the "know-it-all," or as being over-officious. When done right, such interventions are appreciated. Be a crew saver, as politely as you can.

[HLinNC]

I have dealt with bad spotting U's, particularly in sub varsity games.  Most of it can be attributed to bad or lazy mechanics.  If he's newer, try to talk about it during a break.  If he's a vet, some nights you've just got to live through it.

As to R and enforcement's, someone, anyone has to straighten that out every time.  If he gets HACKED, he gets HACKED.  If your head gets bitten off, deal with it later.

[Ralph Damren]

Welcome, EXTRef1994, to our forum. May you find it both enjoyable and informative. IMHO, the best way to bring up positive corrections is to start with a correction on yourself...ie.."I should have....when....". Ask for suggestions from your crewmates and the ice may be broken for their mistakes to be discussed.

[yarnnelg]

We were always professional in our pregame and postgame. When those were a wrap, we could joke again. We made it a point to be business like and had the right mix of personalities to do it. MY favorite was the night I got over ruled by vote and then had my moment when we got in the locker room at half time.

I threw a flag before the snap for illegal substitution. There were twelve on defense .... Punt return man behind the Back Judge. I looked and counted again and still had twelve. When we came together was where I lost a body. The punt return man simply walked off the field. The Back Judge had eleven because he didn't see the man behind him. The Head Linesman was cheerleader viewing and forgot to count. After the next down following my picking up my flag .....The Head Coach on my side says "You caught our punt return man on the field too soon." I replied "I knew I counted 12 three times ..... I got out voted, no one else saw him." Going in the Head Linesman says "Man, I didn't count so I used Rock, Paper, Scissors and you lost."

I sat in silence while the "Crew" got chewed out. We never made that mistake again. 

[Etref]

If you have a veteran R and he misses something, rush and a SUGGEST the proper enforcement or mechanic. It may jog his memory without putting him on the defensive. If that doesn’t work you may just have to suck it up and then have a talk with the chapter leadership and suggest they view the film with you. But be sure you are right before pushing too far.

[AlUpstateNY]

If you have a veteran R and he misses something, rush and a SUGGEST the proper enforcement or mechanic. It may jog his memory without putting him on the defensive. If that doesn’t work you may just have to suck it up and then have a talk with the chapter leadership and suggest they view the film with you. But be sure you are right before pushing too far.

It's NOT absolute, or guaranteed, but "something actually seen", usually outweighs "something surmised". (ie. " I saw the ball hit the ground" vs "it seemed the ball hit the ground".  If YOU are the one who actually "SAW" something, different from what someone else "concluded" (assumed, felt like, heard, etc.) you should stick with what you saw.

If/when the R gets involved, and decides to go with a different answer, after you've expressed what you SAW, he's the crew chief and it's his decision.