Personal confession time from a few games in my 17 years of officiating:
- A runner fumbled and a half-dozen players scrambled to recover the ball. I clearly saw an offensive player with possession on the bottom of the growing pile, and then he was covered. When the players removed themselves from the heap, a player from the defensive team triumphantly held up the ball. He raced to his sideline, his teammates and coaches congratulated him, and the fans yelled their approval. Unfortunately, I did not step in and rule the offensive player had recovered the ball and that the ball had been “stolen” at the bottom of the pile. I thought I would be vilified for overturning what looked like a turnover. So, I kept my mouth shut. I was not courageous.
- On fourth down and short yardage, one of the offensive linemen surged forward a split-second before the snap. My eyes saw the foul, my brain comprehended something was wrong, but I brain-locked and didn’t blow the whistle and throw my flag. A second later, I figured it was too late and I let the play go (a first down run). I was not courageous.
- During a pass play, a defender stuck his hand under the blocker’s face mask and shoved his head up and back. The resulting leverage allowed him to move around the blocker and sack the quarterback. I saw the illegal use of hands and the resulting unfair advantage, but again, my body didn’t respond to what my brain was communicating. While the quarterback was being sacked, my brain was saying, “Well that wasn’t fair,” but I decided it would look silly if I tossed a “late” flag. So, I let the play stand. I was not courageous.
- A runner’s forward progress was stopped, and then the ball came loose. A defender picked up the ball and raced down the field. The crowd roared and the coaches and players on the defender’s sideline celebrated. I decided it would look really bad if I killed the play late and returned the ball to the end of the run (where forward progress ended), so I let the play go. I was not courageous.
I’m sure if I spent more time, I would remember more examples of when I decided to take the easy road to appear “conventional.”
Here’s the bottom line: We need to get it right, even if it makes us look awkward or uncertain. I think I’m not alone when I confess sometimes I observe a play and I don’t process what is happening fast enough to make a timely and confident call. If that ever happens to you, don’t be afraid to make a late (but correct) call. Make sure you “sell” the call with your voice. Be prepared to tell the coach, “It took me a while to [throw the flag, make the ruling, blow the whistle], but it was the correct call.
Realize there is a statute of limitations for correcting a call. There will be a “too late.”
In the first example, it would not be correct to rule the offensive player had recovered the fumble after an interval of multiple seconds.
In the second example, throwing the flag after the runner was downed beyond the line to gain would not be correct.
In the third example, throwing the flag after the quarterback was sacked would not be correct.
In the fourth example, it is okay to kill the clock (give a strong “tweet, tweet, tweet whistle) even if the defender is 20 yards down the field. It’s not okay to wait until the defender is in the end zone after an 80-yard run to decide the original runner’s forward progress was stopped and the ball was dead.
We only get a few seconds to come to our senses and make the correct call. But we must have the courage to make the right call when our mouth and hands catch up to our brain.
Quiz
Read the quiz stem and then choose the best answer(s).
A12 runs for a first down. The referee signals first down and the chains start to move but are not set. The umpire spots the ball and backs away to his position. Team A’s head coach is then flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
- It will be 1/10 after enforcing the penalty
- It will be 1/25 after enforcing the penalty
Review Rule 3-6-1b