Siding with Your Sidelines

[Green]

You’re working a game and the coaches on the Line Judge’s sideline are fairly calm but every now and then, they complain about something. At the end of the game it seems like the LJ had a tendency to side with the team at his back. You’ve worked other games with this same official and in those games he showed the same tendency. During the game, when to coaches complained, he throw a flag at the time or a couple of downs later. His calls weren’t blatantly in favor of the team but when the pressure was on, the calls when their way.

After the ratings, the Line Judge learned he was not rated all that high and doesn’t quite understand why. The coaches didn’t seem to complain all that much during the season, so why not a higher rating?

If the ratings could talk Between-the-Lines, they might say something like this. This official makes calls in our favor and he can also be talked into a call. We know, if we can talk him into a call, when he’s on the other side of the field, they can too.

Coaches want the feeling that their interest is being protected, regardless of what position the official is working, and have little use for an official who has a tendency to side with the other team.

Any thoughts?

[Edited by Green on Sep 7th, 2004 at 05:54 PM]