Football
Take a Number
What's in a number? You'd be surprised how some NFL officials wound up with their uniform numbers, and the history behind those identifying digits.
On...
Police the Pile
How does the runner usually react when he’s been tackled? The norm in college and pro football is that runners lay patiently after they...
Coordination, Communication Key to Measurements
One of the oldest sports clichés is that football is “a game of inches.” When a measurement is involved, it might be a fraction...
Onfield Meetings – Short, Simple & Complete
Much has been written and said about the importance of perception in officiating. Image is everything, as the saying goes and that is true not only of...
Before The Flag
No one likes to see a lot of flags thrown. They interrupt the flow of the game and can seem to make it drag...
Before, During or After the Play When to Throw the Flag Determined by Foul...
All team A players are set before a snap. Then two backs go in motion. Both are still moving just before it appears the...
Ballhandling Makes Your Crew Look Sharp
It was the championship game for the local semi-pro league with a crew of six officials. A pass was intercepted and the down ended...
When to Throw Flags, When Not to (and When to Pick ’em Up)
The idea of a flag being waved off brings to mind an overbearing referee trumping the decision of a younger crewmate. That has happened on occasion but picking...
No Chain Of Fools
In the vast majority of games, the officiating crew is handed a chain crew not of their selection. In fact, at some schools no...
Calm on Broken Plays
Coaches, players and fans are allowed to panic when a play goes awry. Officials, on the other hand, must react to broken plays as if they're routine...
No-Huddle? No Hurry
The key word for officials is accommodation. You can’t deter a team from setting its own pace in a game. Teams have a right...
Ball-Watching Afflicts Veterans and Newer Officials Alike
Two huge mistakes that officials can make are ball-watching and officiating air. The former means watching the runner to the exclusion of what’s happening around him. The latter means focusing...
Judgment Necessary at Line of Scrimmage
Judgments are a large part of football officiating. All rules require some degree of judgment. Perhaps the simplest application is determining whether a team has too many players on...
Yawner? Blowout? Guess Again
Iremember sitting at the breakfast table on the morning of a late-season game between two cellar-dwellers. One official, a garrulous person whose normal speaking...
The Best Games Include These Three Elements
Safe, fair and fun.That phrase — that triangle, if you will — contains the ingredients to the best game you’ll ever have. And there...
The Game Of The Century – Notre Dame vs. Michigan State 1966
In a game that featured number one against number two — Notre Dame vs. Michigan State — college football fans were highly anticipating which...
Three of the Toughest Judgment Calls
In most seasons, false starts are the most frequently occurring fouls and arguably the foul that requires the second least amount of judgment (calling...
Forward Thinking on Backward Passes
I created a list of words and expressions commonly used by fans, coaches, announcers and sometimes by officials. However, nothing in my list appears...
Foul and Fumble? A Formula for Flaws
Change of possession. Foul in the end zone. Fumble forward and out of bounds.
That’s a lot of action on a single play. And it...
Critical Rules for Umpires to Know
The umpire is in charge of the line of scrimmage and all the action that takes place in and around it. There are some...
Tips to Help Sideline Officials Look Sharp
When I was a deep official, I would catch flak from my linesman and line judge crewmates. They told me they do most of...
Hey Ref! Doncha Know The Rules?
I
t’s a question all officials hear at some point in their careers. Unfortunately, fans yelling it from the stands are usually unaware the game...
Intentional Groundrules
Intentional grounding is likely the rule that requires the most judgment. Any rule that requires an official to determine “intent” is prone to inconsistent...
Now You’re Talking
What to Say to Whom and When to Say It
Assuming a basic knowledge of football rules and mechanics, communication is arguably the greatest single...
