[BulldogMcC]

When I call a game I try to evaluate whether throwing a flag is appropriate.

1) Is it a safety issue?
2) Is it at the point of attack?
3) Did one team gain an unfair advantage?
4) Is it a stadium call?

If the answer to any question is yes, then I drop the flag. If the answer is not yes, I may drop the flag, but more than likely would not.

In your offered scenerios, if I felt the far side DE was encroaching, I would not drop the flag if I had an opposing wing. I would have held my flag and spoken with him about it during downs at the next opportunity. In the second case I would have thrown it as it was relevant to the play. That said, I am a little suspicious of where you were watching on a sweep to the far sideline. Your area of responisiblity is to watch the neutral zone blocking to the far tackle and observe action on the linebackers and backside pursuit. I think it would be hard to be focusing on your keys and see a hold at the point of attack on an end run to the opposite sideline.

Having read your post, my gut instinct is the second crew is the better crew because they wanted to get the call right while the first crew was more concerned with how they looked. Granted, that is based on their reactions to one play each.