Could not have said it better!

[ajmc]

Originally Posted by kenref1

It sounds like the coaching staff just lost track of the downs. In 28 years, I have seen it all the time, especially in lower level games. I personally don't think they were trying to intimidate your crew. Football is a emotional game and they just over reacted.

Sometimes "knowing you're absolutely correct" isn't quite enough. Depending on the extent to which the sideline was complaining, momentarily stopping the game and visibly conferring with crewmates to confirm the down, will silence (and satisfy) confused sideline personnel (without a word being spoken).