Football
3 Times When You Can Take Back A Flag
Once a flag is thrown, there are circumstances when it can be picked up — disregarded if you will. Except for some very specific...
Now, Later and Never
The idea of a flag being waved off brings to mind an overbearing referee trumping the decision of a younger crewmate. That has happened...
Foul That’s Over the Top
Hurdling is an attempt by a player to jump with one or both feet or knees foremost over an opponent who is contacting the...
Ditch the Dinosaur Mechanics
The semifinal game was sold out. Although the visitors were seeded lower, their playoff performance made them the favorite. The home team held its...
Stay Cool, Calm, Collected and “On” Message
Have you ever heard that phrase "Was it something I said or the way I said it?" How we say something is as important...
A Strong Case for Keeping a Steady Pace
An important part of officiating a solid football game is maintaining a good pace of play: neither too slow nor too fast in getting the ball spotted and...
Snap, Lapse, Perhaps?
It’s impossible to call a perfect game. Even at the higher levels, where every official is graded in every game, a perfect score doesn’t...
Team B Fouls on a Touchdown
Depending on the rules code, a scoring team may or may not have an enforcement option if the opponent commits a foul during the...
Be A Penalty Enforcer
Being an effective penalty enforcer is vitally important, but something officials tend to neglect. Contrary to what some officials seem to think, it is not only a referee-umpire...
Literally Lateral
When San Antonio Trinity University used 15 backward passes to score the winning touchdown on the last play of an October 2008 game against...
First Action May Not Be the Last
A few seasons ago, a game was stopped six times for instant play reviews. Four stops led to reversals of the onfield call. Two of the reversals involved...
The ABCs of A-B-A
T he ABCs of A-B-A A rare and challenging play involves a double change of possession, known as an A-B-A play.
In PlayPic A, the...
Play Time
By Jeffrey Stern
In an effort to ensure a consistent interval play-to-play and game-to-game, the NFHS Football Rules Committee adopted the 40-second play clock beginning...
Free But Not Easy
By George Demetriou
Although every game begins with a kickoff, free kicks occur much less frequently than passing or running plays. Add the fact the...
Swap Meet
By George Demetriou
One of the more common misconceptions in football is that a kick receiver must signal for a fair catch in order to...
It’s a Foul Now or Later (But Not Never)
You observe movement in either line just as the ball is snapped. You know it is a foul, but do you prevent the play...
What Happens When the Neutral Zone Expands?
The neutral zone is one of the basic tenets of a football game. In practical terms it’s the space between the offensive and defensive...
Week In The Life of An SEC Football Official
SEC FOOTBALL OFFICIATING WEEKLY PROCESS
SATURDAY
From the SEC Football Command Center, monitor games as well as internet and social media and note issues for...
Formation Consternation Demands Concentration
Defensive players can align themselves anywhere for scrimmage plays as long as everyone is on the proper side of the neutral zone. There is...
Dead-Ball Officiating in the Side Zone
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...
Flying Flag
On Dec. 19, 1999, Jeff Triplette — in his first year as an NFL referee — was working a game in Cleveland when he...
Football Ground Rules
Whether it’s dry or wet, artificial or natural, the surface on which the game is played can have a marked influence on how the game is played and on...
Don’t Get An ‘Oh, S—!’ Reputation
By Jeffrey Stern
I’m guessing you can fill in the blanks in the title of this post. If you haven’t used the word even once...
Foul Trumps Other Fouls
Several fouls are predicated on the hypothesis that a legal forward pass is or was in progress. As a result, several actions that are...
