6-Man Mechanics

[Patton]

While reading through the thread on "Number of officials for each state", I see many of you use 6-man mechanics at times. I assume that the mechanics are the same as 7-man without the backjudge...is this correct? If so, what are some of the responsibilities of the side and field judge during kickoff, field goals, punts, etc.

[Mike Simonds]

We used to use 6 man for HS varsity. Since the NFHS does not have a 6 man mechanics manual, we adopted the CCA 6 man mechanics book. Now we only use 6 man for the semi-pro league.

I believe that 6 man is similar to 7 man without the back judge but the reason the 7th official was added was to give better coverage on scrimmage kicks and pass plays across the middle. The back judge in a 7 man crew is mainly responsible for the tight end and he can pick-up some good calls like holding by the tight-end or if the tight-end is being held on a pass play.

In 6 man the FJ and SJ line-up on the restraining lines for free kicks. On scrimmage downs they are mainly responsible for the widest eligible receiver on their side of the field. They count the defense and signal each other. When we use 6 man we tell the FJ and SJ to line-up 20 yards from the line of scrimmage and to use fade mechanics: i.e. the HL and LJ will always mark forward progress and the SJ and FJ will fade back (i.e. keep running backwards) until they reach the goal-line (HL and LJ stop at 2 yard line).

Team A snaps the ball from 5 yards or in to B's goal: The FJ and SJ line-up at the end line. More than 5 yards then the FJ and SJ take the goal line but have to be prepared to hustle back to cover the end line.

On field goals and tries they are under the goal posts. On punts one of them is about 5 yards behind the kick receiver and one of them is about 5 yards in front to rule on the fair catch signal, etc.

Most of us agree that its more fun to work in a 5 man crew unless there is a lot of passing and then its a joy to be in a 6 or 7 man crew.

[Mike Simonds]

One more thing: we tell our BJ, FJ and SJ to hold their keys and their man, then go to zone, then go to ball as the play progresses.

In a 7 man crew, you can hold your initial key a bit longer.

In 5 and 6 man, there will be more zone and ball coverage as you have to drop your keys if the ball goes away from them.

[LAREF]

MIKE, IN YOUR SIX MAN MECHANICS DOES YOUR TWO FIELD JUDGE/SIDE JUDGES WORK ON THE SIDELINES?

IN LOUISIANA THEY MAKE THE BJ AND FJ WORK ON THE HASH MARKS WORKING FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
ON KICKOFFS THE UMPIRE HAS THE KICKER-SIMILAR TO COLLEGE. THE FIELD JUDGE HAS THE KICKING TEAM'S RESTRAINING LINE AND THE BACK JUDGE IS ON THE HOME SIDE ABOUT THE 25-30 YARDLINE. ON PUNTS THE BJ IS BEHIND THE RECEIVER AND HAS 2/3 OF THE FIELD FOR THE RECEIVER/CATCH. THE FJ IS IN FRONT OF THE RECEIVER AND HAS BLOCKING ISSUES UNLESS THE BALL IN HIS ZONE AND HE TAKES THE RECEIVER.

[Theisey]

Originally posted by LAREF
..
IN LOUISIANA THEY MAKE THE BJ AND FJ WORK ON THE HASH MARKS WORKING FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
..

Not that it matters to me, but why are they calling the SJ a BJ down your way?

What really matters is do these to officials (S/F) ever get to the sidelines to cover the goal line at the pylon?
I can see them easily getting beat even with a 20 yard head start. Starting on the in-bounds lines seems to me to be way to far out on the field.

Old CCA mechanics used to have S/F start at the numbers unless they had a receiver outside the numbers. Then that was changed back to the sidelines at all times. Feels much better to start at that spot.

[LAREF]

ACTUALLY THE POSITIONS ARE LISTED AS BJ AND FJ. THEY NEVER WORK THE SIDELINES. HL AND LJ HAVE SIDELINE RESPONSIBILITY END LINE TO END LINE.
I CAN'T SAY THAT I TOTALLY AGREE WITH OUR MECHANIC (BUT THAT'S WHAT THE STATE PUTS OUT) BECAUSE IT DID CAUSE A PROBLEM IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS ON A SIDELINE RULING.

[Mike Simonds]

In our 6 man mechanics all 4 wings are instructed to start on the sidelines. Its easier to move forward rather than backwards.

I know that the deep middle is not as well covered... Actually, I prefer a good five man crew or a seven man crew. Six man is good for sideline calls between the H-F and L-S but the middle third of the field is often a gray area behind the U especially on deep patterns.

[LAREF]

I agree totally that 5 or 7 is better because of the lack of middle coverage with a 6 man working on the sides. I am not really advocating 6 in the middle as well because it leaves a lot for the wing men to handle.
But even with 5 you would have trouble with sideline plays downfield. It happened to me two weeks ago where the HL got caught up and blocked out in traffic (with the QB rolling at him) and the QB heaved one down the sideline. The DB made one heck of catch for a possible interception.