Thread: Lazy Umpire
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Old Fri Sep 21, 2012, 10:05am
jTheUmp jTheUmp is offline
TODO: creative title here
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 1,250
I was the same way when I first started as umpire.

Tricks:
1) read your keys... the center, especially, will tell you almost immediately once you get a feel for it (took me about half a season).
2) don't worry about it too much... you won't always get there, and that's not a problem in most cases (see #3)
3) as part of your pre-snap routine, tell yourself where the LOS is ("3rd and 4 at the 17"... that way, if you don't get to the LOS, you'll still have a point of reference for things like ineligibles downfield and illegal forward pass.

I find it's most important on bootlegs and waggles to get to the LOS, because those are often the plays where a lineman will wander downfield or the QB will be beyond the LOS when he throws the ball. And these types of plays give you plenty of time to get there. For other types of passes, it's not usually an issue.
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