He stole my call

[Scratch85]

The thread about who has first shot at a call reminded me of this. About a week ago, in the post game (3-whistle) discussion between my partners and me, one partner had a concern about having calls taken away from him in his PCA.

The calls that commonly lead to a "who's call is it" situation occur mostly in the lane and involve the C and the L. And less frequently involve the T and anyone else. The calls my partner was questioning were the ones in the lane. We've all had them and we all agree the most important thing is getting the call correct. We all also agree and pregame, no quick preliminaries on a double whistle. So it wasn't a big deal just a conversation. But a phrase that my partner used really got me thinking.

My partner used the often used phrase, "I wanted to see the whole play through." He made the statement while trying to decide if his whistle was too slow or if his partners' whistles were too quick. He and I call together a lot and the other official was somewhat the odd man out. I know that he was really inferring that his partners' whistles were too quick but just let the conversaton take its' course. It was amicable and all is fine.

After all that rambling here is my opinion. I understand seeing the whole play through. But I only see it as means of making certain how the penalty for the violation is applied. My opinion is that when the violation occurs, you blow your whistle immediately and then see the play through its' entirety and make any judgement(s) needed.

I am with this partner tomorrow night. I am looking for thoughts, opinions and experiences concerning a "patient whistle" and "if its' in your PCA, go get it. Don't delay". I am planning to pregame it extensivley tomorrow.