I have been an umpire for 23 years. throughout those years the toughest mechanic has been to remember the ineligibles during a scrimmage kick. With the numbering exception it is possible that all K players have eligible pass receivers numbers. I have talked to other umps to see what their techniques are, and have been given a variety of answers. The two most common are 1) remember the eligibles and 2) remember the ineligibles between the ends. Both of these are difficult. If a busted play occurs an ineligible going downfield or touching the ball might get lost. I have two possible mechanics that might help. First, (these assume a five man crew) the wings look in and remember the player on the end of the tight formation. The problem with this is that the LJ goes downfield at the snap and the L has to go in the backfied on a missed snap. Second, the Referee remembers the two players on the end of the tight formation. If they have eligible numbers then he can disregard them. If they are covered up and a busted play occurs, and if a pass is thrown, he simply asked what number caught the pass. If it isn't on of his numbers and the ump has no flag, then no foul. If it is one of his then he throws a late flag. The only flaw is that on of his numbers goes downfield and no pass is thrown to him, and he goes undetected, but that might happen currently. In both mechanics the ump is releived of two players during the play. This will usually be neccessary only on punts since on try's and field goal attempts the big linemen are in for blocking. Let me get some input and see if this is worth pursuing.
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