Gentlemen, the 5 yard facemask foul has become a scapegoat for us as officials.
I am so tired of seeing officials who do not have the gonads to make the personal foul call when the mask is grabbed and the runner's head is turned or twisted. That's a 15 yard foul. It was not the intent of the rule to allow a 5 yard foul to be called in that situation. The intent was to have the incidental facemask called, as officials were hesitant to throw a 15 yarder, for simply inadvertantly grabbing the mask. Instead, officials are using the 5 yarder as a crutch for the 15 yarder, to penalize the offending team but "too harshly," even though the head is being twisted.
It's bull$hit and I'm tired of seeing it.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox now!
Sat Nov 27, 2004, 02:23pm
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