Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Welpe
As a new official, this has been a good read, especially since I will be working primarily at LJ and HL this year.
I had scrimmages last weekend, and while I felt I understood the mechanics pretty well, I felt shaky on my coverage during passing plays and what I was supposed to be looking at. I have gotten some good advice from officials in my association but do you folks have any tips for pass coverage in four man mechanics?
|
Watch the players. You need to know roughly when/where the ball is coming, but mostly watch the players. Keep a wide enough angle so that you can see action around the primary receiver.
Up through the HS level, receivers will often show you if they expect the ball or not - if they start sprinting at the snap, you'd better get on your horse, too. You need to go with the deepest man on your side, but you don't need to be stride-for-stride with him. In fact, you NEVER want to be even with a receiver when the ball arrives - it will make it much harder to see what's going on. Try to keep the deep man within 10 yards and stay wide until the ball is thrown, then if the pass is toward the middle of the field, you can start moving in as you proceed downfield.
If you've got twins or trips to your side, and the pass is to one of the short receivers, try to be still when the ball arrives so that you get the best look possible at the play. You're going to be ahead of the play, so once the catch is made, treat it like a normal run play: stay wide and let the runner go by you.
If there appear to be no receivers on your side of the field on a pass play, look for someone crossing from the opposite side - you may still need to bust downfield to make a call on a deep ball. If not, you can watch some of the backside blocking, especially if the QB is rolling out to the opposite side. (Make sure any flag you throw is for a foul that materially affects the play or for a safety foul.)