Rule 1, The Forgotten Rule

[ljudge]

Originally Posted by waltjp

I thought Andy Reid told us he'd speak to Donovan about his chin strap.

Coach Reid did say that didn't he? I wished I knew exactly what Andy was thinking when he was asked that question in the Q&A part of our meeting.

Imagine if that was really said to a player. I'd love to be a fly on the wall if it was Parcells saying that to T.O.

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by ljudge

Coach Reid did say that didn't he? I wished I knew exactly what Andy was thinking when he was asked that question in the Q&A part of our meeting.

Imagine if that was really said to a player. I'd love to be a fly on the wall if it was Parcells saying that to T.O.

As I recall, after stating that he doesn't pay much attention to McNabb's chin strap Reid sarcastically added, "I'll mention it to him."

[NickelDeuce]

OK, You're in the Sugar Bowl, Brady Quinn steps up to snap the ball with one buckle not snapped. Don't forget now there's millions of people watching the game and a lot of them watching him. The ball is snapped and the play is over. You go up and say "Hey Donovan buckle your strap this isn't the NFL." He does not. What now? Stop the game? Give ND a time out? Physically buckle it for him?

Say he does buckle it and then two plays later it's unbuckled again? Same thing, another time out, stop the game, physically buckle it?

College games are different than HS games. You stop a Sugar Bowl game or make a team take a Time out because of a chin strap you will have serious problems.

[JasonTX]

Originally Posted by NickelDeuce

OK, You're in the Sugar Bowl, Brady Quinn steps up to snap the ball with one buckle not snapped. Don't forget now there's millions of people watching the game and a lot of them watching him. The ball is snapped and the play is over. You go up and say "Hey Donovan buckle your strap this isn't the NFL." He does not. What now? Stop the game? Give ND a time out? Physically buckle it for him?

Say he does buckle it and then two plays later it's unbuckled again? Same thing, another time out, stop the game, physically buckle it?

College games are different than HS games. You stop a Sugar Bowl game or make a team take a Time out because of a chin strap you will have serious problems.

Unfortunately you are correct. What's unfortuate about it is we have a rule that supports us to charge the timeout but we all know that we'd be up a well known creek without a paddle if we enforced it. If the NCAA wants this to be taken care of then they need to do so in the offseason and then let teams know this will be a point of emphasis and then start enforcing it in game 1. Waiting until the Sugar Bowl is a bit too late to do so.

[bisonlj]

My problem is I usually don't pay too much attention to a lot of the equipment rules during a game unless someone points it out to me. I'm not looking at chin straps or mouth pieces or knee pads or tucked jerseys. I probably should but I don't. I've got too many other things to worry about and remember.

Maybe as I become a better official I can allow those sorts of things to become more of a priority. I agree this makes it hard for the next crew who tries to enforce it. I usually address it if I see it, I just don't look for it that often.

[Rick KY]

Bisonlj, looking for equipment fouls is not the highest priority, except where safety is the reason for the rule. Know which rules are for safety and which are for fashion. Watch for the safety rules violations during every dead ball. Other rules you can enforce with verbal commands during timeouts, change of possession and other extended stoppages. If you see it, correct it before the next snap/kick.

[Jim D]

Almost all of these problems can be eliminated during pregame warm ups and the coin flip. Rather than standing around joking and telling war stories, look over the players. This is the time to get rid of jewelry, bicep straps, illegal towels, etc. Once that's done, you've done away with 99% of the problems. Most coaches even seem to appreciate it when we tell the kids to get rid of the goofy stuff. You hear, "I've been telling 'em to get rid of that junk", etc.

Doing the game, clean up any remaining problems with verbal warnings and only flag if the player refuses to respond or if saftey related and the play is about to start. After timeouts, on kickoffs, etc. remind them that chin straps and mouthpieces need to be in.

It's pretty easy to do and may help your rating if your being evaluated.