Example of good teamwork

[ljudge]

Tom White and his NFL crew sure takes their shots by fans and the network "rules gurus" but today I saw a nice piece of teamwork that looked very bad but in the end was 100% the right thing to do.

Early in the game (Eagles v. Bengals) the HL called the defense for being in the neutral zone at the snap. I thought he had called the Eagles for an illegal shift because that's what I noticed. It was a very obvious miss by the crew as there were two men moving at the snap. So, they initially went with the HL's call which was probably correct but the obvious shift was missed in the initial call.

Just before the ensuing snap the LJ killed everything and got the crew together. Eventually Tom White said there were two men moving at the snap (which results in a double foul) and put the ball back at the previous spot. It was an obvious miss and we could easily argue that officials at that level should have called the illegal shift and not miss something so simple. OK bleep happens (and they are human after all) but that's not the point.

It clearly looked bad and as you would expect they got a chorus of boos. But in the end the LJ helped get the call correct and did the proper enforcement. I tell my crew that even if it looks bad, let's get it correct and disregard what everybody in the building thinks. It was a nice piece of teamwork by the crew and in the end they would have looked a whole lot worse if they let Philly go unpenalized.

[MJT]

Originally posted by ljudge
I tell my crew that even if it looks bad, let's get it correct and disregard what everybody in the building thinks.

Great post, and the most important thing you stated is the part of your post that I have quoted above!

[Theisey]

If the Line Judge knew there was an offensive foul, why didn't he toss a flag at the snap. Why did he wait as you say, until just before the ensuing snap after initially penalizing the defensive offside?
I know you can't possibly answer that, but this sounds more like poor communications rather than teamwork.

[ljudge]

I hear what you're saying Theisey. He got all 7 officials together. The ONLY thing I thought he could have said in their huddle was something "hey guys I thought I saw 2 guys moving at the snap." I'm guessing that someone had a brain fart and the LJ realized it at the last second and called it to everyone's attention. Just guessing of course. But again being there and seeing it, they really did get it correct in the end. If they had not penalized the Eagles in that situation (and go with the dbl foul) I wouldn't want to be one answer to Mr. Peoria (sp?).

[ljudge]

Boy did I botch the grammar in that last sentence. But I'm sure you know what I meant. The HL did (I'm assuming correctly) call the defensive team (Bengals) for being in the neutral zone. After they enforced the penalty against Cincinnati it was just prior to the snap that the LJ came in and realized there were 2 men moving at the snap and got everyone together. Then White turned the mic on and said two men were moving and put the ball back at the previous spot for a double foul.

[Snake~eyes]

Maybe, the HL threw the Offsides and then LJ assumed he was calling the illegal shift. Then after they walked it out, realized what they did wrong.

[ref18]

I've only seen an NFL rulebook once, but there was this one line that the owner of the book said was interesting, it was like If an official notices an error he should make it known before the next play starts or he will held equally responsible as the person who made the error, in other words, the the LJ did the right thing.

[PSU213]

I'm just a little confused how the LJ could walk in there and forget to report the illegal shift penalty, and then suddely remember it right before the next snap. I guess only he can explain that. But as mentioned, in the end they got it right, which is what really counts.

Finally, did you not expect there to be chorus of boos in Philly?