More Great Announcing - ( Video)

[TXMike]

Some people insist on resisting change. It's clear to me a rather radical move in how we go about calling these safety related situations is now in process. You can get on board with that move or join the guys who thought denying players water to toughen them up was a good idea over there in the obsolete section.

You are right on the mark pointing out the "radical move" that is afoot.  We see it in several different areas of the game.  The changes, accompanied with all the hoopla and emphasis on them, has caused some guys (IMHO) to start flagging things when they even appear to be a bit too rough.   It has players like a college QB screaming at me for not "protecting him like a QB is supposed to be protected" when he got slobberknocked right after letting go of the pitch on an option play.   This is a violent game, made more so by the increasing weight and speed (and skills) of the participants.  If folks smarter than me decide they want to cut certain things out of the game, I am not going to ignore that but they need to make it clear by their writing and teaching what it is they want out.  When you publish written materials and make comments over the top of video plays that seem to clearly indicate there are times when an act is legal, it is a bit unfair to expect us to then arbitrairily decide it really is not legal, even at those times.

[Mike L]

Banker 7 TXMike,

all I'm telling you is exactly what I'm hearing while watching supervisor review videos from a major college conference and from the guys actually working that conference regarding calls that are not being made that they are insisting must be made. You can argue all you want about 'activist judges' or 'slippery slopes' or whatever, but the bottom line is you can insist on calling it the way you feel the book reads or you can call it the way the guys in charge want it called. I suggest telling your boss he's wrong and you are not going to call it that way is not the best way to continue getting the opportunity to make any calls. It is clear to me the powers that be are insisting these unsafe hits are going to be removed from the game and we are responsible for helping that happen. Buy into it or not, it's up to you.

[zebra99]

FYI - our supervisor has instructed us to throw for HCT if the "last" act is jerking down immediately to the ground by the horse collar regardless of how long the tackler might have been riding the runner.  He believes it's the quick jerk down buckling the knees which is the safety aspect of the rule.  He says it doesn't make any sense to absolve the exact same potentially injurious act that the rule is designed to prevent just because the tackler was in contact for awhile then takes in down in that manner.

On the other hand if the action which brings the runner down is not a jerk but a "process" then no foul.

Makes sense to me.