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While there is some judgement on virtually all calls, this one is easy. This one is a simple "daylight" call. If you're looking down the line and don't see "daylight" between the receiver "in the backfield" and the back end (excluding legs and feet) of the players who are legally on the line, then he's not in the backfield. As we know he's also not legally on the line (head must be breaking the line thru snapper's waist for that).
On this play IMO the receiver was in "no man's land", but regardless, he was not in the backfield, and the call was clearly correct.
I don't believe that many non-officials understand the interplay of the 3 sections of the rules defining who's on the line and who's in the backfield. Most think that if you're not on the line then you have to be in the backfield, and that's just not the case. They don't understand the no-man's land area where you're neither on the line or in the backfield.
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"It's easy to get the players, Getting 'em to play together, that's the hard part." - Casey Stengel
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