"Ed Hochuli out of control"

When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought:

RAAHHHHRRR! HOCHULI SMASH PUNY HUMANS!

(I'm a little strange.)

I agree with Jugs. The "by rule" verbage shouldn't be used except in situations, like exceptions, where the enforcement isn't obvious. An example is offensive holding in the end zone, being, "by rule", a safety. In the majority of cases, the "by rule" verbage will be used to explain enforcements and not fouls. But I could see it being used in rare cases. For example (NCAA), "while the pass was uncatchable, the defender was flagged for his hit on the receiver after a pass was clearly uncathcable; by rule, that is a personal foul."

But I'm not going to be too harsh. As a litigation attorney myself, I've probably overdescribed things before.

By saying "The defender contacted the quarterback, causing him to fall to the ground. By rule, this is a personal foul." Ed is saying that anytime a defender contacts the QB and the QB falls to the ground, it's a PF. I don't think that is the case so he missued the phrase here.

He should only use "by rule" when an action leaves no judgement at all in deciding what happened,i.e., "The kicking team recovered the ball. By rule, the ball is dead where recovered."

A lawyer was a little wordy?

Shocking.

;)

What are you guys doing Sunday?

exactly!

Hoch is taking this WH to the next level of officiating, educating the millions who do not know the rules. An explanation goes very far. I understand what you guys are saying about "by rule" and maybe that is too much for us but not for folks who do not follow the game as closely as us.

Also, our HS coaches watch these games and get the understanding of nfl, ncaa rules to bring to the game on Friday night. Uncatchable pass, outside of the tackle, reporting enelgible number, lineman left before the punt, that kind of stuff that make us look bad on a Friday night in front of the fans that Hock is educating.

Wouldn't it be better then to say, "By NFL rule..." :D :D

The thing is, IMO: anybody with part of a brain should be smart enough to realize that the rulesets for a professional league and amateur level are going to be different. (It's just way-out-there for it not to be.) So watching the NFL for rules for Friday night is not a good idea. As for the NCAA, I dunno...

Not a very good idea for NCAA either...

While I can agree that perhaps Ed overused the word "by rule", suggesting that because of this he is out of control is, well, out of control.

Ed is still one of the very best R's on the mike.

Off his case --- please.!!!
Hoc got to the top by visceral introspection of his behavior, industrious study and physical culture. He knows what he said & it won't happen again. Even after 30 years, professional thises & thats get verbose, and in his case --- tautologic. Relax; he's human; if this is the level of mistake that is manifested by any of us commenting on his, then we'd be pretty damn good!

Yes, I agree. It's all very, what was it, tutol... toato... totalo... ehh! What he said!

Hock should include the following disclaimer with each penalty announcement: "This rule interpertation is not necessarily the same interpretation you may experience on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons, therefore please understand that this interpretation is subject to various interpretations of the variety of officials serving in the various football games that require rule interpretation.

I went to a HS game in NJ, and they announced after the sportsmanship rules, that 'this game is played by rules established by the NFHS,and these rules may differ from those at the collegiate or professional level..' It has been awhile since I had been to see a HS game,so this kind of stunned me....they do this anywhere else?

Does this imply Joe Thiesman does not know the rules?

All,

That is, appearantly, the concensus.
He has no room for apologia. I didn't know the rules until I became an official ... and I've played ball from 2nd grade through collech.

No choice ... no democracy!

Ed was on the NFL network last night. The league dinged him on the RTP call -- at least the one against Detroit that he said involved helmet to helmet contact.

It was a great program. Something all of us should watch. It is amazing the amount of work those guys do on a weekly basis. Crazy! He seems like such a cool guy.

After watching it, I thought the league's stance on the RTP was accurate. I also thought Ed's reaction and description of it later with his crew was exactly right. Things happen so fast, even at the lower levels, where something happens and our mind subconsciously fills in the missing pieces. Tell us what we saw when it might not have happened like that.

Did you see the amount of time and effort those guys at the league office put in too? It is amazing how much time and effort it requires!!

This program is something all fans should be required to see. It would give them a new-found appreciation for the work these guys do.