[BulldogMcC]

As the U, I will blow it dead if

1) I clearly see it in player possession
2) I clearly see that the player in possession is down
3) I have not heard a whistle from my wings or R.

While I say I never talk to the pile, I have. We had a game two weeks ago in a very dark stadium. The wings & R could not see the ball on many of the dive plays and we were very slow on our whistles. What happened many times is the wings held a spot where they thought the ball carrier was down and I would start digging in the pile 7-9 players to make sure the ball was still there. Once I or the R saw the ball somewhere in the pile, I don't care who had it, it was A's ball where my wings were marking it. Much like if no one sees a touchdown, it is short, if no one sees a fumble, it aint. They can wrestle the ball all they want in the pile but I will not award it to B unless I or one of the other officials have seen a live ball come loose. While I was digging, I was tapping players on the shoulder telling them to get off the pile. I never said the play was over or it was done. Both coaches understood why we did what we did because they hate IW as much as we do.