Two Scenarios from Last Night

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Suudy...your WH needs a refresher course. He's really wrong on both plays.

Monte...I don't agree with your premise about Team A "...unduly prolonging the game." The game was prolonged by the officials' mistake of recognizing the non-existant TO. If they had ignored the request as they should have, Team A would have most likely 'earned' their DOG or rushed to get the play off. It's really all on the officials in this one.

Mike...no specific Fed techniques to hold the snap until it's clear who's leaving...at least not yet. Apparently, not a problem area.

waltjp...is your WH retiring this year...or are you?

[MJT]

So, Bob are you going to just wind the clock when you know they didn't have any TO's left but you granted them one and leave it at that? Why doesn't the NF have a rule against calling a TO when you don't have one like in BB. It seems like it would be a good rule change because in the heat of the battle, an officials error by granting a TO they don't have should not give them a timing advantage.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by MJT

So, Bob are you going to just wind the clock when you know they didn't have any TO's left but you granted them one and leave it at that? Why doesn't the NF have a rule against calling a TO when you don't have one like in BB. It seems like it would be a good rule change because in the heat of the battle, an officials error by granting a TO they don't have should not give them a timing advantage.

At one time ISTR either NCAA or NFL (maybe both) having such a rule, but I actually prefer leaving it on the officials to not grant the request. If they put one over on the officials intentionally or accidentally and get granted a stoppage, I think all you should do is correct that error ASAP without a penalty. Players, substitutes, and partisans of various kinds may distract officials during a game with claims of various sorts, and you don't penalize those, do you? The only exception I know of is feigning injury.

Would you want to penalize a request for a measurement based on your guess that the captain requesting it didn't really believe it was necessary?

Robert

[Bob M.]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

...Would you want to penalize a request for a measurement based on your guess that the captain requesting it didn't really believe it was necessary?

REPLY: My only concern during potential measurement situations is whether I believe it's necessary. If a captain requests one and I don't feel it's necessary, he doesn't get it. I wouldn't 'penalize' his request; I just wouldn't grant it. That way, I don't need to consider any possible ulterior motives in his asking for it.

[andy1033]

The only time you let a team call a timeout when they have not left, is when the coach wants an interperation. So you must know what the request is for.

[wisref2]

1 - you can't penalize a team because the officials made a mistake. The rule covers this - look it up in the casebook, maybe it's covered there (granting TO when none are available).

2 - The rule says nothing about breaking the huddle with 12. It states that it is a violation for a replaced player to not leave immediately (NF, about 3-5 seconds).

Tell your WH that if he wants to make up his own rules, he should go create his own league.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Not sure that would be a good rule Monte. Consider...if you had such a rule, then a team could gain an advantage (time) by fouling when distance is of no consequence. That is, by fouling, a team could trade an insignificant five yards for a much more valuable stopped clock.

[MJT]

Originally Posted by Bob M.

REPLY: Not sure that would be a good rule Monte. Consider...if you had such a rule, then a team could gain an advantage (time) by fouling when distance is of no consequence. That is, by fouling, a team could trade an insignificant five yards for a much more valuable stopped clock.

I hear you there, Bob, but it would be nice to ding them for something!

[Suudy]

Thanks for all the responses. It is only this one WH that I've worked with (we rotate crews every week) that has done this. But what really got me on the DOG for being out of timeouts was that the rest of the crew disagreed with me. I know it is in the NFHS Rules by Topic book, and I plan to show it to him at our next meeting.

Again, I feel for the teams that get the wrong rulings during the season, then go to the playoffs and get the correct ruling. I've been in post-season situations where the coach is asking me why something is being called when it wasn't called all season. That's my biggest frustration.

[FeetBallRef]

Originally Posted by Suudy

...Again, I feel for the teams that get the wrong rulings during the season, then go to the playoffs and get the correct ruling. I've been in post-season situations where the coach is asking me why something is being called when it wasn't called all season. That's my biggest frustration.

The lack of consistent rules knowledge at the HS level is one of the biggest problems that we face. There doesn't appear to be a method to get that problem fixed either.

HS officials just don't appear to care enough to learn the rules.