starting on a yard line

[PSU213]

Since hearing some NFL officials speak 2 years ago we have gone with the theory of always having 1st and 10 start on a yard line in a non-critical spot on the field (eg., after a change of possession, start on the 32 rather than 31.75). My first question, do other officials do this (just for the record, I think this is great on a well marked field)? Watching the NFL or major college, I see them do this all the time now.

My second question...if you do this, what is your procedure on measurements? It seems, at times, our referee says something like "they are short of the yard line, it's 3rd down," while other times he'll say "let's measure to be sure," and afterward he admits that he knew it was short, but he measured just for the sake of appearance. Just today I saw a Big 10 crew not measure when the spot was inches short of the 10 yard line (the line they knew was the LTG). I knew it was short based on the line, but someone who didn't realize that they use the yard line for reference may not known how they could tell it was short from across the field. Just wondering how other people in the same situations do this.

[JugglingReferee]

Yes, this is done in various (but not necessarily all) Canadian leagues that I do.

[MJT]

We do it all the time on COP. We will not measure if we are sure we started on a line, and will tell the coach why we are not. They rarely have a problem with it.

[JugglingReferee]

The thing about this mechanic is that no matter how you cut it, you are either taking away earned yardage or giving away unearned yardage.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

The thing about this mechanic is that no matter how you cut it, you are either taking away earned yardage or giving away unearned yardage.

No, you're not.

You maybe taking away earned inches or giving away earned inches but there's is no yardage involved.

Once the ball is snapped, inches in one direction or another is not going to matter a bit. Greater discrepanices are mistakenly made when spotting the ball and moving the ball from the side zones. Spotting the football is not an exact science. There are always going to be inches gained and inches lost.

[Ed Hickland]

This is a great mechanic on a well marked field between the 20s. Inside the 20s every blade of grass or carpet fiber counts.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

No, you're not.

You maybe taking away earned inches or giving away earned inches but there's is no yardage involved.

Once the ball is snapped, inches in one direction or another is not going to matter a bit. Greater discrepanices are mistakenly made when spotting the ball and moving the ball from the side zones. Spotting the football is not an exact science. There are always going to be inches gained and inches lost.

Yup. We do it all the time. Not only on COP situations, but on first downs when we can get away with it, too, on well-marked fields.