Quote:
Originally Posted by umpirebob71
How do you get the exact spot to place the ball? The way I see it, the only way is to use a tape to measure where to spot it. Maybe that isn't important in the Chicago area, but in northeast Ohio, it is.
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When recording the yardline, we also note how far the point of the ball is from the next hash. It's not exact, but I don't think the location changes any more than when the umpire spots the ball on an inbounds spot based on the foot of a wingman in the side zones.
If it's close to the line to gain, we'll use the chains to measure the exact spot, similar to moving the ball from a side zone to the inbounds spot after a measurement.
This reminds me of a funny scene from a preseason scrimmage about a month ago. The only lines on the field were the boundary lines, goal lines, 20s and 50. Yet, the format called for regular series-based possessions. Once, it was close enough to require a measurement. Fortunately, the ball was very close to the 20. The referee noted that the point was exactly one foot length from the 20. He then ran over to the sideline, noted the line to gain was half the length of his foot from the 20, and signaled first down for team B. It was the most unique measurement I've seen.