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I'm a backjudge on a five man crew and I love it!
You are out in the middle of the field, you can talk out loud to yourself and people won't think you're crazy. I always say to myself the down and distance, who my key is, etc.
The B is should be the EXPERT on kicking rules! On punts it's all you (with some help from the LJ in a five man crew). If white is punting, and red is receiving, I say to myself before the snap, "First touching white, hot potato red." That reminds me that if white touches it first, we have a first-touching situation, and if red touches first it we have a live ball! On punts hold your beanbag in your hand and hold your whistle in your other hand. Bag the catch/touching/etc. If you have a foul, you can get your flag in plenty of time. HOLD YOUR WHISTLE. I killed a muff and denied a kicking team recovery one time after the receiver signalled a fair catch and I hit the whistle when it touched the ball, then muffed it. I have never done that again.
On kickoffs ask the kicker if he plans to kick it deep or onside. Develop a DISCREET signal you can use with your fellow officials to tip them off to an onside kick. That question helped our crew cover a suprise onside kick to start the second half of a game one time. If you don't want to develop a crew signal, at least YOU will know it's coming.
Participate in dead ball action. Relay the ball in on gains over five yards. If a run goes to a side zone, pinch toward that side zone (but don't get burned if the runner cuts to the middle), and help clean up dead ball action. The B's head should be on a swivel after the ball is dead looking for nonsense. The B can best spot trouble and clean it up, or flag it if necessary. If a play goes out of bounds hustle over to the sideline (especially if in the bench area) and help observe. You may go out of bounds yourself or cover the wing's spot while he wades into the bench area. Discuss this with your crew. A good B can really help of keeping a situation under control.
I line up 20 yards deep (sometimes deeper depending on the situation) and start moving back at the snap, even if its a running play. I'm not the fastest guy in the world and I don't want to get beaten to the goal-line! This may require you to pivot and turn your head over your shoulder. I've seen college and NFL deep officials do this.
Some guys say the B is in a rocking chair all game, but you can make this position an active and integral part of any crew and any level of play.
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