mechanic for a fair catch

[Bob M.]

Originally posted by ljudge
kentref, good question. I asked about this last season when I moved over to Referee. Our position representative told me he offers the full range of choices when the ball is at or inside K's 30 which would be a 40-yard field goal if R elects to free kick. Some officials are of the opinion that a coach should know this rule and when to ask for a free kick with the opinion that the R was "helping" the receiving team in this situation by informing the coach of this rule. I disagree with this and like what my rep told me. I would give the entire explanation when inside K's 30 and I would tell the captain if he accepted the penalty I would then give him the choice to snap or free kick the ball. And, I would give the choice to the captain. The only time I recall not going to a player is I have the wings go to the coach of the receiving team when a kickoff is OOB. Our org does that as a practice.

REPLY: Joe...in my humble opinion, I don't think it's appropriate for an official to offer the captain a choice of snap or free kick in this situation. Our job is to offer him the options associated with the penalty. In the case of KCI that amounts to (1) decline the penalty and take the result of the play, (2) penalize K 15 yards from the previous spot and replay the down, or (3) accept an awarded fair catch at the spot of the foul. Once the captain makes that choice, I believe it's up to the coach to decide what he wants to do next. He needs to decide how he next wants to put the ball in play. Yes, the rule is somewhat esoteric, but I don't believe it's our duty to help the coach decide what to do on the field once we've completed the penalty. Just my humble opinion.

Now that said, I would inform a captain if his acceptance of a penalty would extend the period, even though the coach should know that too. But I believe that is different than telling a coach his options for putting the ball in play after a penalty is accepted. I guess I could be accused of talking out of both sides of my mouth. Oh well...