In your opinions, what is a reasonable amount of time we as coaches should expect the ball to be marked in?

Every ref is different on this one I realize. What I am asking is very specific though. I am not talking about how long should it take the referees to get the ball back to the spot for the marking. What I am asking is this....

After the spot has been made, both teams are in their respective huddles, how long should the White Cap take to start the 25 second clock?

I have been on both sides of this one. When we are loosing and have no timeouts two weeks ago we counted 35 seconds (total) on three consecutive downs that the white cap just arbitrarily waisted. My team was literally lined up on defense right in front of him as he stood over the ball with the offense huddled up, and he waited about ten seconds just standing there before he marked it ready for play. We got the ball back with 12 seconds left in the game, and should have had at least 20 or 25 at the least with a possible 35 or 40.

Is there a standard for this?

Last week however, we won for the very same reason and the other sideline was going berzerk. I would just like to know what to expect.

I do realize the savvy referee not marking the ball ready for play say at the end of the quarter or half unless he absolutely has to, i am talking about the normal flow. It seems the white cap should never just stand there waiting....am I wrong on this one....(i am wrong a good bit)

REPLY:
The referee should mark the ball ready for play when the ball is spotted and all officials are ready for the next down to start; that is after the necessary communication about down and distance and clock status is given to all officials.

My crew has two exceptions to the RFP rule:

In a blowout with the winning team in posession and the clock running, if delaying the RFP by a couple of seconds will keep the winning team from needing to run a play at the end of a Quarter or Half, the Referee will sometime delay until the clock is at 25 seconds or below.

If a team is running a hurry-up, the Referee will sometimes delay the RFP to count the offense.

Haven't been any complaints when we've worked games! :)

You must also be aware that the chains or the down box needs to be set prior to the ready.

Most referees have a rhythm to their ready whistle. As long as the Referee is consistent throughout the game, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

To answer your question about how long though, this process usually takes about 10-15 seconds on average. Variables are what happened on the previous play, such as run, complete pass, incomplete pass, yardage gained and how far we advanded, new series or not, etc.

Personally, my crew tries to set a rhythm where the ball is marked ready for play within 7 seconds after a running play and 12 after a pass.

Most coaches know our rhythm is quick and adapt to it. This does produce a problem for teams where the QB runs to the sideline to get the play. But a 25-second violation later they get it.

On a first down it will depend upon how fast the box can be in place. Once the stake of the box hits the ground, the whistle blows.

In the normal course of a game the only time I can find it reasonably necessary for a delay is a quick repair of equipment like to snap a chin strap.

However, just yesterday I had a problem with a ball boy not clearing the field on a few occasions requiring a delay.

To sum it up, a referee normally sets a rhythm and it should be consistent during the entire game.

We had a problem with this at a playoff game last year. We work teams that we don't normally see during the regular season. When I went to have my pregame conference with the ball boys, I found that there were <B>12</B> of them. Yeah, that was a red flag that I missed! Anyway, these kids were running all over the field every time we nedded a ball.

To shortended a long story - we don't allow ball boys to come onto the field. They toss the ball in and we relay it.

How do other areas handle this?

I am the Linesman on our crew. When I have a really good ballboy, as I did recently in a mudbath-game I let them come right on the field. The best ones always seem to be coaches kids that really seem to love the game. It would be interesting to know how many grow up to be quarterbacks. I've never had the problem of having too many, thanks for the warning. Normally I have to hunt him down after a long (punt or interception) change of posession.
Good ball boys are a blessing for wing officials.

Here's something that has worked well for me. During my pregame, I always tell the ballboys this:

"When we have a punt or kick off, always go downfield where the receivers are before the kick. It doesn't matter if your team is kicking or receiving, go downfield. Most returns aren't very long. We're either going to need your team's ball, or we going to throw your team's ball off to you. Go downfield."

When the visitors gain possession, our BJ or umpire usually gets the ball from the visiting team's ball boy, freeing up the linesman. Also, on most long interceptions, our umpire gets the ball from the ball boy. That allows the LM to get the chains moving and the LJ and BJ to handle the players until we're ready to play.

In a five man crew, we have found that it is just not very efficient to keep the ball boys on the sidelines all night long. It is fine if every play ends on their side of the field, but when the play ends on the opponents' sideline, it just takes too much time to try to ferry balls in and out back across the field.

All of the above situations are taken into consideration, but a couple of years ago, we had a clinic from Bobby Gaston, commissioner for the SEC. He mentioned that their refs try to be consistent and mark it between 12-14 seconds.

Since then, that's what I've done and it has worked well. I don't have many delays and to me, if it's marked too quick and you have delays, in reality, it just delays the game! Why do we want to rush anyone?

This average works for just about all situations but we do take into account the score, the chains, long plays etc.! If it's a runaway, I'll manage the clock accordingly. If the offense is in a hurry because of needing to put the ball in play to win the game and the defense (and crew) is ready, I don't care if it's just 5 seconds, I'll mark it! If the defense is taking their sweet time getting on their side of the ball and everyone's ready, and if I feel they're taking too long, I'll stop the clock and then mark it ready with a wind, once everyone is ready. I don't call a penalty, it's just my discretion!

Just some thoughts!

To me that is the key. Consistency. I will tell a coach he has about 30-35 seconds after the last play to snap it for the next one. Most of the time that is enough but sometimes a coach and QB will start out taking a long time between plays.

I like to warn the QB of excessive time once and then it is up to him to make 25 seconds, especially, since it is really about 30-35 seconds.

My crew does not speed up in a hurry-up but the umpire remains over the ball until the ready. I would say we don't slow down for a blow out but that is not true. Just suffice it to say we intentionally correctly spot the ball with a deliberate method. Oh! it takes longer?

Just a random thought on the subject.

The NFL has a 40 second clock. That is from the time the previous play has been blown dead. That allows 15 seconds for resetting the ball, moving the chains, etc. That seems like a fair amount of time, as applied to our situation.

I have enjoyed the discussion here, as a hope-to-be-one-day varsity referee.