At least one FBS group worked on having the R identify slots & wingbacks that are OUTSIDE (restricted) by pointing to the back in question, followed by a quick wrist wave to the outside. In this exercise, the wings were paying attention, so the conccept worked. In scrimmages so far, we haven't seen any slot backs that have been questionable, so it is hard to say, at this time, if this will work in real life.
Things that have been noticed so far are that:
- the R can easily identify numbers of players within the TB - something he'll probably need to do, in case a wing or downfield guy gets a flag down for a BBW by one of those backfield guys.
-The R has a difficult time knowing where a motion man is at the snap. The R is trying to keep his field of vision open for false starts, substitutions, etc. To know where a motion man is at the snap requires a significant amount of 'focus,' which is not a good thing for the R before the snap. Even if he does focus, he is so far off boresight that he really can't judge with certainty if the motion man is to the left, right, or dead behind the snapper at the snap. This may be something that the B should tackle, since he doesn't have quite as many pre-snap issues as others, and can be in a great position to rule on the motion man's position at the snap.