Roughing the Kicker

[ljudge]

First, we don't have "unnecessary roughness" (NFL) but I know what you mean. I had a similar play last Friday night and left the hankie in the pocket all together. It depends, in part, how he "sets himself." You need to judge the reasonableness of whether a kick can be made. I had the punter scramble and just as he approached the sideline kicked the ball at the last second then was contacted. The coach wanted roughing the kicker and I mentioned that it wasn't reasonable a kick would be made and the assistant agreed and told him as such. But, remember, the player who kicks is now a potential tackler of the return man so be careful about even calling a PF. I guess you gotta see it to say how you would really rule on this.