New England at Jacksonville
 

I happened to catch the last few minutes of this game, and saw that there was only 1 official watching on a FG/PAT instead of the normal 2 (the U and SJ/FJ). Did the crew only have 6 officials, or were they just using different mechanics?

Umpire Garth Felice--I believe was his name-- got hit in the neck with a pass. He walked off the field but was taken to the hospital for observation. All this will lead to the increased talk around the league that we should change the mechanics for U's. Either further back or somewhere else.

Increased talk around the league??? I have never heard to much about moving the umpire. Ya, he gets taken out on pick plays now and then, and certainly gets stepped on and run into often, but he is in the best position to see holding and will never be moved. It is a great place to work and I'm sure the die hard U's would have it no other way!

What are the pros and cons of putting the U behind the offense back with the R? I have a friend who coaches the secondary at Houston and he thinks it's a good idea as receivers sometimes use the U to get open. Of course the receivers coach at Houston probably feels differently.

I think part of the problem is that when U reads pass, he often has to bust *** to the LOS for several responsibilities. If he could stay back, he could react a little better and maybe avoid more collisions on running plays. But there isn't anyone else, under the current mechanics, that can rule on things like ineligibles downfield and pass beyond the LOS (which might have been missed last night in Dallas/Philly).

We might need to rethink some mechanics.

Garcia at the 10, right? Looked OK, but barely.

No, what was missed was Trent Cole getting bear-hugged by Julius Jones on the play where Cole was called (rightly so) for roughing-the-passer.

Without seeing the play, the NFL doesn't want this call. One of the major things they consider when throwing a hold is "Did it have an effect on the play?" Clearly, the hold didn't bother Cole any, since he got to the QB anyway. Thus, no flag.

The only time the umpire rules of whether the ball is beyond or behind the line on a forward pass is when the ball is snapped at the 5 yard line or closer. The LJ rules on this the rest of the time.

The Umpire can see holding behind the offense just as well as he can behind the defense. I don't know what the problem was when they experimented with this a few years ago. I'll try to find out. I think it was a "Presence in the Middle" situation.

That misses the point. If Julius Jones had not held Cole for a solid couple of seconds he would have gotten to the QB before he released the ball. It did not appear "fair" to let an obvious hold go and then call the late hit (RTP), when without the holding, Cole would have almost certainly had a sack.

The bear hug almost certainly CAUSED the blow to the head. Without the bearhug it would've been an EASY sack. I have heard this philosophy before and it seems almost silly. If the QB dodges the rusher, will the U throw in a late flag?

Right, brain fart. Somehow I was thinking that RTP was called when the sack had been successful anyway, but of course that can't happen... :rolleyes: