|
I attended an NCAA D-1 game last night where the umpire would hatch (I think that's the correct term) the ball long after the referee blew the ball ready for play. Numerous times he would physically hold the center and nose guard at arms length while seconds wound off the play clock. Most of the time only four or five seconds but I noticed at least once when the play clock reached 17 seconds.
The worst case was on a punt when the kicking team waited to take the field. They ran on when the play clock was down to about 15 seconds. The umpire was still hatching the ball with 4 seconds left and the center had still not been able to get in his stance. The kicking team ended up calling a time out.
A lot of times this umpire would not get set in a stationary position over the ball. He would move around, turn around, move back and forth, etc. within a 1/2 yard or so of the ball - most times with his arms extended to hold the players back. It seemed to be a problem for both the offensive and defensive lines to get into position and get set because this guy was moving around in their midst.
I saw one head coach question the linesman a few times about it and the officials had a conference immediately after one of those complaints but nothing changed. It seemed to cause more problems for the team that ran a no huddle offense.
There were 29 total penalties and more flags thrown but penalties were declined or the flag was waived off. I don't think officiating favored one team more than the other but it just seemed like this crew could never really get in sync. There were numerous long conferences after flags (numerous times after whistles for simple offsides or procedure) and lots of discussion during media time outs. I have never attended a game where an officiating crew seemed so much a part of the game. Although I'm sure poor discipline by the players was a large part of that.
I wondered if the Umpires mechanics were the most noticeable indication of a crew that was generally inexperienced? Or were his mechanics correct?
|