Quote:
Originally Posted by SC Official
Timers aren't looking for our hand. When the ball goes OOB they know the clock is supposed to stop, regardless of whether they hear the whistle or not. If I put my hand up on an OOB and don't blow my whistle, my hand being up is not causing the timer to stop/not stop the clock.
While we're on this subject, chopping is pointless most of the time, too. When I used to run clocks in my pre-officiating days, I was never looking for an official's chop; I was looking for the ball to be touched.
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The mechanic IMO has little or nothing to do with what the timer is watching. The issue is that officials will probably be pointing the wrong way a lot if you take this away. I know we try to make things because we understand how it is done and have been doing it for some time, but remember NF mechanics are for officials all level of officials. That means the first year guy that has a hard time blowing their damn whistle. We cannot come at this only from the perspective of what we have been doing for over 10 years and the NCAA who has very experienced and trained officials doing the very same thing. As a clinician for my state, I can tell you this might not be earth-shattering of a mechanic, but it helps eliminate some basic issue on basic plays.
Peace