[Mike Simonds]

Good points!

I do the same thing. I listen to a player's complaint and then watch his opponent for the next one or two plays. If its something marginal I'll warn the opponent but if its a foul that influences the play I'll penalize it. If there is nothing I'll let the defender know what I saw. You are right, the better players will appreciate that we are paying attention.

As a younger official (only 9 years now) I am trying to work on quality rather than quantity when it comes to calling fouls. I am still working on developing good judgement but I noticed that this is something that improves over time...

A friend of mine who is also a coach (and former official) said the same thing: Defensive players have to gain separation from the blocker. He knows that with the agressive use of hands in today's game that officials will not be able to catch some holding so they teach their players not to stand there and dance with their opponents.

Two weeks ago I called defensive holding on an extra point. The defensive tackle held the guard so that the linebacker could shoot through the gap and attempt to block the kick. Now I know why they put that question on the test!

[Edited by Mike Simonds on Oct 21st, 2002 at 09:37 PM]