rough weekend for officials

[sm_bbcoach]

Big time mistakes in 2 games that I saw thisd weekend.

#1 Critical series. Indiana had just scored against Purdue and had huge momentum. The pooch kick the ball. Recivere signals for fair catch, ball hits his chest, drops to ground and then a scrum with IU getting the ball....... BUT there was an IW blown by an official they IDed as a back official when it hit his chest. Re-kick according to the rules...."IW during a loose ball". This morning, Joe Tiller(Purdue's coach) still did understand why they re-kicked it. It killed IU's suprise kicki and took the wind out of their sails. Purdue pervailed for the win. Incidently, the radio announcer claimed "that he had never in his 15 years of calling games seen such a debacle. A whistle after the reciver touched it should be ignored, and IU given the ball" (this from a Purdue announcer)

#2 Seattle vs Balt. A Tiem out signaled for during a penalty play. Clock stopped as officials confer. Decide to pick up the flag ( not sure why but irrelevant). Flag was on a run play clock to begin on the ready. Officials did NOT charge BALT with a TO and did not wind the clok on the ready, in a sence giving Balt what they wanted, a stopped clock. Balt in a sence was given 4 TO's.

NFL has already claimed that it was a human mnistake. Although it was an IW, the NCAA guys did have the correct call and ruling. Pleae, a moment of silence fopr our brothers in striped this past weekend.

[SWFLguy]

**IT happens !!!!!!!!!!!
welcome to the wacky world of
football officiating !
we all love it !

[Snake~eyes]

Originally posted by sm_bbcoach
#2 Seattle vs Balt. A Tiem out signaled for during a penalty play. Clock stopped as officials confer. Decide to pick up the flag ( not sure why but irrelevant). Flag was on a run play clock to begin on the ready. Officials did NOT charge BALT with a TO and did not wind the clok on the ready, in a sence giving Balt what they wanted, a stopped clock. Balt in a sence was given 4 TO's.

NFL has already claimed that it was a human mnistake.

I have to commend the Seattle's coach, he said that this adminstration mistake was not the reason they lost, anyone watching the game, they were up pretty well. He did not blame it on the officials and I thought that was great.



As for what happened, linesman threw a flag for illegal formation because he had an ineligible player(by number) lined up on the end of the line but the player reported to the referee, so they waved the flag off.

Baltimore wasn't given a timeout and the WH just didn't wind the clock on the RFP.

[PSU213]

Originally posted by sm_bbcoach
#1 Critical series. Indiana had just scored against Purdue and had huge momentum. The pooch kick the ball. Recivere signals for fair catch, ball hits his chest, drops to ground and then a scrum with IU getting the ball....... BUT there was an IW blown by an official they IDed as a back official when it hit his chest. Re-kick according to the rules...."IW during a loose ball". This morning, Joe Tiller(Purdue's coach) still did understand why they re-kicked it. It killed IU's suprise kicki and took the wind out of their sails. Purdue pervailed for the win. Incidently, the radio announcer claimed "that he had never in his 15 years of calling games seen such a debacle. A whistle after the reciver touched it should be ignored, and IU given the ball" (this from a Purdue announcer)

How could you just ignore such a whistle considering several players probably slowed down or stopped after hearing it (then again, what do you expect coming from announcers)? IW's are never good, but if they happen there is a specific procedure to deal with them, and you follow it, move on, and hope it doesn't happen again.

But speaking of the Big 10 and IW's it brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. Amongst the other officiating "issues" present during the Ohio State-Penn State game, there was a punt where the PSU receiver signaled a fair catch; ball bounces off his chest; BJ blows his whistle; PSU player the falls on the the loose ball just after the whistle had blown (but clearly after said whistle). There was no replay of the down and no explanation from the referee, but during the TV time out that followed the officals spent the entire time writing things down. Did anyone else see this play? Was it handled correctly? Any idea what they were writing down? I was at the game, so I was also wondering if they discussed it on the TV broadcast?

[Edited by PSU213 on Nov 25th, 2003 at 01:11 PM]

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Bill, I didn't see the play you're referring to in the OSU-PSU game, but the NCAA rule on IWs is very similar to the Federation rule and in the case of a kick, it's identical. If the timing of the muff, whistle, and recovery is as you describe, it should technically have been a replay. The crew probably felt that R's recovery was so soon after the whistle that there could have been no other outcome on the play had the whistle not sounded. Not trying to excuse their ruling, just thinking out loud about what might have been going through their minds.

And, (picture me rising onto my soap box) let me reiterate a comment I made when a similar faux pas occurred during the Alabama-Kentucky earlier this season. These officials are working at a level higher than I am and I respect them greatly. BUT...there is absolutley, positively NO VALID REASON for being in a hurry to blow the whistle after R signals for a fair catch. You don't need to protect him with the whistle. His signal already provides that. Everyone in the stadium, all of his opponents, potentially millions watching on TV, even the announcers know that the ball will become dead when the receiver catches it. A quick whistle can only cause problems (as observed in this thread). Keep the 'bleepin' whistle out of your mouth. Only blow it when the receiver sets the ball down or turns to toss it to you! Don't be in such a hurry to kill the ball and protect the guy! There's no reason for it. OK...I'm off of my soap box...for now!

[Axe Man]

sm_bbcoach...you should have learned by now to never listen to the Purdue announcers. They wouldn't know a rule if it hit them in the face. I have lived in Lafayette for 4 years now and they cry more than any announcers that I have heard. This with the fact that I worked in broadcasting years ago before I got into officiating.

And Tiller is no better. He already cost officials trying to work into the Big Ten last year on the Wake Forest game.

I actually was watching the game when they had the IW. The funny thing is that Tiller looked more pissed off than DeNardo. And the IW allowed Purdue to keep the ball. Just goes to show how high salaries don't always bring intellegent coaches.