Weekly post a few days late.

[Mike Simonds]

Well, I'm sorry I'm a few days late but here is my first weekly post.

A couple of weeks ago there was an interesting play in a high school game I was watching. Here is a brief synopsis of the play: long pass down the middle of the field, defensive pass interference, interception, block in the back by the intercepting team, runner goes out of bounds, late hit on runner out of bounds by the passing team.

Here is how the crew handled it which I thought was a good job: There were multiple fouls by B on the play: the first, DPI was a loose ball foul, and the second, IBITB, was after the change in possession. Therefore A has to make a choice about which foul to accept. If they accept the penalty for the IBITB by B, then B gets to keep the ball after assessment of the penalty. If they accept the penalty for the DPI, then the yardage is marked off from the previous spot and results in an automatic first down for A. The third option for A is to decline both fouls by B and take the results of the play: B's ball. The dead-ball foul by A is then marked off no matter which of the three options are selected.

The referee is one of the best in the state. However, we cannot put all the responsibility on the referee's shoulders: Each crew member has equal duties to ensure that the penalties are handled correctly.

I'm trying to always report penalties the same way to the referee: status of the ball, description of foul, offending team, player number, location. Let the referee take all of this information in and let him verbalize how the crew is going to handle it after getting the captain's attention. This is an area where the referee may not know what was going on down-field so every official involved needs to get together and get the whole play right.

[waltjp]

Good points. I know my R's first question to me, espeicially when he's thrown a flag on a pass play, is "what happened with the pass?" In general, I try to remind him of the clock status, complete/incomplete, down and distance, etc. And all that when I'm not throwing a holding penalty and then reporting the number of the player who was held!

[Theisey]

While your breakdown of the options is accurate, the WH based on all the input from the affected officials should say he will present this single option to team-A.

That being "You will want to accept the DPI; 15 yards and a 1st down. In addition, we will mark off 15 more yards for the team-B late hit foul".
Some might say it's two options, but keep it as simple as possible for the fouled team.
Wouldn't even consider telling team-A about the options where they loose the ball.

[MJT]

Originally posted by Theisey
While your breakdown of the options is accurate, the WH based on all the input from the affected officials should say he will present this single option to team-A.

That being "You will want to accept the DPI; 15 yards and a 1st down. In addition, we will mark off 15 more yards for the team-B late hit foul".
Some might say it's two options, but keep it as simple as possible for the fouled team.
Wouldn't even consider telling team-A about the options where they loose the ball.

I think it is a good idea to mention to the captains that there is 2 fouls on the opponents, and "this" is their best option to take. I like what you said to them, I just think you want to let them know there are other fouls, and what they are. We can make it VERY obvious what is best for them, but should tell them all the penalties and options.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: While the best option for A is obvious in this play, the real issue in Mike's post is the mechanics used to relay the pertinent information to the referee. And I'll add one other thing. In a complicated play/penalty situation like this, it's also a good idea for the official(s) who report the situation to the R to stand close by while he gives the options to the captain. Because of the complexity in the play, the R might not be able to precisely remember all the WHOs, WHATs, WHENs, and WHEREs. Having the reporting officials nearby might prevent a flawed explanation to the captains and a resulting bad choice by the offended team..

[Bob Mc]

Originally posted by Bob M.
REPLY: While the best option for A is obvious in this play, the real issue in Mike's post is the mechanics used to relay the pertinent information to the referee. And I'll add one other thing. In a complicated play/penalty situation like this, it's also a good idea for the official(s) who report the situation to the R to stand close by while he gives the options to the captain. Because of the complexity in the play, the R might not be able to precisely remember all the WHOs, WHATs, WHENs, and WHEREs. Having the reporting officials nearby might prevent a flawed explanation to the captains and a resulting bad choice by the offended team..

Hey, I know over the years from listening to coaches the we R's don't know anything and now you're suggesting we don't have a memory either?

Actually that is a very good point, Bob.

[cdnRef]

I agree with what's been said here. It always looks better if the decision arrives from a team discussion. Considering at least one, if not both, side officials are going to have to talk to a bench and the umpire is going to have to walk off the penalty, I see no problem calling the whole crew in, getting the chain of events straight, then figuring out what the options are.

Everybody from the coaches to the crowd expects the penalty application to take a few minutes when there are flags all over the place coming at different times in the play. Oblige them

As far as explaining these types of complex applications, when talking to the captains I will always turn to the 'A' captain and say, "I'll work with the assumption you'd like to keep the ball". When finished I'll say to the 'B' captain, "the reason you don't get an option to keep the ball is because the PI came before the interception". I've found this approach eliminates much of the possible confusion with the players.

[Jim S]

Originally posted by Theisey
While your breakdown of the options is accurate, the WH based on all the input from the affected officials should say he will present this single option to team-A.

That being "You will want to accept the DPI; 15 yards and a 1st down. In addition, we will mark off 15 more yards for the team-B late hit foul".
Some might say it's two options, but keep it as simple as possible for the fouled team.
Wouldn't even consider telling team-A about the options where they loose the ball.

Team A late hit.

I wouldn't even talk to A about the late hit. Just tell them if they accept the pass interference call they will get the ball back with a first down.

I do try to sort calls like tis out ith the calling official AND the umpire. Read it back to the calling official and tell the option to the umpire for his agreement.

[Edited by Jim S on Dec 15th, 2004 at 04:08 PM]