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Originally Posted by hawkishowl20
No, but I didn't realize so many officials are so cavalier about counting on time. I was simply saying it takes less than 1 second to count offense in formation. Let me save you a post because I know you will say “You’re an official and you don’t know you count the offense before they get in formation.” I am curious what would cause you to not count in time specifically?
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In a situation where there's a hurry-up offense, the officials might be working hard to get the ball spotted. I know for a fact I didn't have a count last night on a few plays (before the snap) since we were working four and I was spotting the ball before signaling the RFP and getting out of the way so they could run the next play.
Punt situations, where subs are off and on too quickly -- I may count 12, but I'm not throwing my flag until I recount 12. If I don't get through a second count, I'll make sure to get it during/after the play, but then we have IP, not IS.
The penalty is not having 12 on the field prior to the snap -- it's the 12th coming on and his substitute not leaving in a timely manner. If the snap occurs before we can determine if a substitute left, then there's little we can do.
Serious question, now. Do you officiate? I absolutely will not work a game with 3 officials anymore (life's too short, IMO), but I'm guessing your games are played with 3. Do you think 3 guys, working to get a ball spotted, working to make sure the chains are right, etc. are going to be able to leisurely count the players on every play in order to overcome the teams' inability to put 12 on the field? I would do the best I could, but not feel at all guilty if I didn't get the count before the snap and had to penalize IP. Wouldn't affect my sleep.