NJ High School Measurement Controversy

[MAFBRef]

I cannot fathom what happened in this sequence. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.thecomeback.com/high-school/new-jersey-hs-football-referee.html

[Etref]

😳😳😳

[ElvisLives]

We bust our rears for decades to DO the right thing, and to teach others to do the right thing, to give us full credibility with players, coaches, and fans. And this idiot comes along and tears it all down with one act of either stupidity or selfishness.
There is no satisfactory explanation or excuse for this kind of thing. This was not a simple bad spot, or missed judgment call, or even a rule misapplication. This was a conscious and deliberate act of officiating malfeasance. This guy’s actions should be denounced in the strongest of terms, and he should be unceremoniously dismissed from all forms of sports officiating.
There can be no tolerance of this kind of thing.

Robert Cameron
Lubbock, Texas

[HLinNC]

An assessment I read elsewhere indicated that the LTG was the B12 from the B22.  The LTG was reached on the initial spot and the U pulled on the chains too hard when he took the front stake, thus pulling the chains forward.  The R got HACKED on the sloppy mechanics by the crew and just reset the ball instead of making them re-set the chains properly and remeasuring.  Still a poor job by the R but not the conspiracy to commit malfeasance some have suggested.  True or not, I don't know.

[Rich]

This is a turf field.

Virtually every first down starts on a yard line.

Why are they measuring?

[TSHunt]

An assessment I read elsewhere indicated that the LTG was the B12 from the B22.  The LTG was reached on the initial spot and the U pulled on the chains too hard when he took the front stake, thus pulling the chains forward.  The R got HACKED on the sloppy mechanics by the crew and just reset the ball instead of making them re-set the chains properly and remeasuring.  Still a poor job by the R but not the conspiracy to commit malfeasance some have suggested.  True or not, I don't know.

This really seems to make the most sense, but even in that situation I feel like you can sell a remeasure claiming the clip shows the chains are not where they're supposed to be much easier than simply just moving the football.

I don't think this is deliberate awarding of a first down the O didn't get, but there were much better ways to go about selling the first down if you know you have one. Sell the chains call, sell the spot a bit more forward past the LTG if you know they have it, but moving the ball while the chains are out is a huge no-no in my eyes.

[ilyazhito]

I would re-set the chains using the clip, have the umpire pull the stake again, and then accept the results of the second measurement. Moving the ball up to meet the front stake is unprofessional and reeks of game manipulation. When the coach who is victimized says "he (the referee) gave them the first down", the coach would be right.

[RMR]

Where was the back judge?

[ilyazhito]

This is New Jersey. There, they use 6-man crews for varsity games. As a result, there is no back judge.

[bama_stripes]

This is a turf field.

Virtually every first down starts on a yard line.

Why are they measuring?

Sometimes, even on a turf field, I’ve called for a measurement just to “prove” to everyone else what we already know.  This was in the 4th quarter of a one-pointbgame, and a measurement seems prudent to me.

[CalhounLJ]

This is New Jersey. There, they use 6-man crews for varsity games. As a result, there is no back judge.

But still, our FJ comes up and tends the ball. Should have been someone on it. OAN, I don’t care why the WH was ticked, that was completely unprofessional. I can think of  at least 3 ways he could have handled that better.


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[refjeff]

Sometimes, even on a turf field, I’ve called for a measurement just to “prove” to everyone else what we already know.  This was in the 4th quarter of a one-pointbgame, and a measurement seems prudent to me.

Me too.

[Rich]

Sometimes, even on a turf field, I’ve called for a measurement just to “prove” to everyone else what we already know.  This was in the 4th quarter of a one-pointbgame, and a measurement seems prudent to me.

To be honest, it's well outside the team box and it's a successful make of a first down.  Our LJ would've killed the clock, let me know, and the ball would've been inside before anyone could've complained.  If they complain? "We started right on the 22, the ball made the 12, it's a turf field."

On fourth down where it's short but not by much?  Sure, I'll bring them out.  But I doubt we would've here, despite being 4th down. If I was the H I would've known the LTG myself and notified the R.  As the R, I wouldn't have even looked at it.

I won't say too emphatically the crew shouldn't have brought the chains out -- what I will say is once they did they need to not be in such a hurry and ensure they didn't look this bad in the process.  Certainly the R can't move the ball forward. Fix the chains using the clip.  Make sure the chains are setting on the right spot and the clip(s) are clipped to the right link(s).  Something we should cover every week, but I'm guessing not all H's do.

[RMR]

This is New Jersey. There, they use 6-man crews for varsity games. As a result, there is no back judge.

Fair enough. Is no one responsible for holding the ball on a measurement?

[RMR]

Me too.

Yes, the PR measurement.

[Derek Teigen]

Looking at another aspect of this I thought the H did a poor job spotting the ball.  I have been taught to put place my foot where the ball should be spotted and then place the nose of the ball to the inside of foot.  If you notice here the H gives A an entire length of the football as he spots the ball.

[CalhounLJ]

Fair enough. Is no one responsible for holding the ball on a measurement?

Yes. The Field Judge. Home side deep wing.

V. MEASUREMENT FOR FIRST DOWN

When the ball is dead and forward progress is close to the line-to-gain, the Referee will decide if the clock should be stopped to signal a first down or ask for a measurement. If a measurement is needed, the Field Judge will hold the ball in place on the ground. The Side Judge and The Head Linesman will go to the sideline with the chains. The Side Judge will mark and hold the front stake with the down box. The Head Linesman will take the chain at the clip, and direct the chain crew to take the chains onto the field toward the ball. The Line Judge will help the Head Linesman to align the chains on the field for measurement by giving him a spot on the yard line with the clip and in line with the ball. Once the Head Linesman has the clip down and secure, the Umpire will take the front stake from the chain crewman and stretch the chains so the Referee can rule on whether the front of the ball is beyond the line to gain.

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[refjeff]

Yes. The Field Judge. Home side deep wing.

V. MEASUREMENT FOR FIRST DOWN

When the ball is dead and forward progress is close to the line-to-gain, the Referee will decide if the clock should be stopped to signal a first down or ask for a measurement. If a measurement is needed, the Field Judge will hold the ball in place on the ground. The Side Judge and The Head Linesman will go to the sideline with the chains. The Side Judge will mark and hold the front stake with the down box. The Head Linesman will take the chain at the clip, and direct the chain crew to take the chains onto the field toward the ball. The Line Judge will help the Head Linesman to align the chains on the field for measurement by giving him a spot on the yard line with the clip and in line with the ball. * Once the Head Linesman has the clip down and secure, the Umpire will take the front stake from the chain crewman and stretch the chains so the Referee can rule on whether the front of the ball is beyond the line to gain.

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Ohio Gold Book mechanic:  *LJ will then step on the chain to secure it after the chain has been placed correctly. 

That's to prevent the U from pulling the front stake too far.

[refjeff]

I'm going to pile on.

It was 4th down.  The HL wound the clock.  Every official should be stopping the clock.

Why is the R running to the dead ball spot?   Stay back, dead ball officiate, let the rest of the crew do their jobs.

[CalhounLJ]

Ohio Gold Book mechanic:  *LJ will then step on the chain to secure it after the chain has been placed correctly. 

That's to prevent the U from pulling the front stake too far.

Retweet


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[ElvisLives]

An assessment I read elsewhere indicated that the LTG was the B12 from the B22.  The LTG was reached on the initial spot and the U pulled on the chains too hard when he took the front stake, thus pulling the chains forward.  The R got HACKED on the sloppy mechanics by the crew and just reset the ball instead of making them re-set the chains properly and remeasuring.  Still a poor job by the R but not the conspiracy to commit malfeasance some have suggested.  True or not, I don't know.

That's the problem. All anybody can go by is what was seen.
I was very tough in my previous post, because of what this looked like. No. None of us had any idea of what was going through the R's head when he did this. But our reaction was no different than any player, coach, fan, or uninterested observer. The referee moved the ball forward to GIVE Team A a first down. That's what the entire world saw. No amount of explanation of "bad chain placement" or anything else is going to change what was seen by the entire world. The perception by the entire world was that the R was helping Team A. And, in the eyes of almost every human on this planet, perception is reality.
There is no evidence in the video of any misplacement of the chain. From the video, no one can tell where the LTG was, other than the forward stake, itself. All anyone sees is the ball short of the front stake, and then the R pushes the ball forward and awards Team A a first down. What should anybody conclude from all of that?

Was this just a case of poor measurement mechanics? Well, maybe. We can only hope so. But that's not what the world saw. The world saw a game official consciously, and, apparently, deliberately, assist one team. And that can't be tolerated.

If, in fact, the chains were misaligned, then, for God's sake, re-align the chains, and measure again. Better yet, be sure they are properly aligned before observing the measurement to begin with. I doubt you will ever convince anyone on the defensive side of the ball (players, coaches, fans) that this action by the R was "on the up and up."

[CalhounLJ]

That's the problem. All anybody can go by is what was seen.
I was very tough in my previous post, because of what this looked like. No. None of us had any idea of what was going through the R's head when he did this. But our reaction was no different than any player, coach, fan, or uninterested observer. The referee moved the ball forward to GIVE Team A a first down. That's what the entire world saw. No amount of explanation of "bad chain placement" or anything else is going to change what was seen by the entire world. The perception by the entire world was that the R was helping Team A. And, in the eyes of almost every human on this planet, perception is reality.
There is no evidence in the video of any misplacement of the chain. From the video, no one can tell where the LTG was, other than the forward stake, itself. All anyone sees is the ball short of the front stake, and then the R pushes the ball forward and awards Team A a first down. What should anybody conclude from all of that?

Was this just a case of poor measurement mechanics? Well, maybe. We can only hope so. But that's not what the world saw. The world saw a game official consciously, and, apparently, deliberately, assist one team. And that can't be tolerated.

If, in fact, the chains were misaligned, then, for God's sake, re-align the chains, and measure again. Better yet, be sure they are properly aligned before observing the measurement to begin with. I doubt you will ever convince anyone on the defensive side of the ball (players, coaches, fans) that this action by the R was "on the up and up."

Agree. No explanation in the world will justify moving the BALL forward during the measurement.


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[ncwingman]

After seeing this play pop up in another context, I started thinking about what should have been done by the rest of the crew in this situation and I don't know what the best answer is.

If you're the SJ or LJ who may be involved in the measurement mechanics, but not directly responsible for the R moving the stick and ball to where he wants them to be -- how do you step in to "fix" this to make things right? What's the right mechanic to stand up to your white hat making an egregious error in judgement like that?

What should have happened is irrelevant once what *did* happen occurred. How do you move forward as a crew?

[CalhounLJ]

By the time the WH Did what he did, the train wreck had already happened. I’m not sure what anyone could have done to clean that up. But I’m certainly having a talk with him on the ride home.


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[Ia-Ref]

Video from JOMBOY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXtaGDjGoQ

Note:  Do not listen to the commentary.
At 0:38 the ball is snapped on 1st down at about the 22.
If the center did what centers do, move the ball up slightly, the nose of the ball that was set on the edge of the 22 now may have been moved up slightly.
We do not know.
After 4th down, the ball was on the 12.  This may have achieved a new series for A.
The mechanics definatly led to more questions.