Covering Field Goal with 5-man mechanics (NFHS)

[Rick KY]

Kentucky Mechanics:
LOS at or inside B15:
U and BJ under the post
LJ and L at normal wing positions
R with holder & kicker

LOS outside B15:
LJ and BJ under the post
U in normal position, cheating to LJ vacancy
HL in normal wing position
R with holder & kicker

U can protect the snapper from under the post on shorter kicks, and this leaves LJ in better position to rule on plays at the sideline/goal line if the kick goes bad or is a fake.

[DJ_NV]

Up until this year, we always had BJ and U under for Tries, regardless of distance and BJ/LJ under for all FGs. This year, we have changed our mechanics to have BJ and U under for all Tries and FGs regardless of distance.

The philosophy is that (in no particular order--they are all important):
1) there should always be two officials under the posts
2) The intersection of the GL/sideline pylon is extremely important and is uncovered on broken FG plays (which happens a lot in HS).
3) We do not allow our Us to subscribe to the stereotype that they are allowed to be less in shape than the rest of the crew. If an LJ has to bust *** 35 yards to get to the posts, then the U should be able to do it too. (I know that's asking a lot but it is what it is.... )
4) On FGs, count the number of times that you've had a close call at the GL/Sideline intersection compared to the number of times that Roughing the Snapper has been called.
5) The Referee now verbally warns the defensive linemen about RTS as well as the U
6) Most FGs in HS are not that long, therefore the U should still be able to rule on egregious offenders.

Are these philosophies perfect? Of course not, but there's going to be trade-offs in coverage in a 5-man crew no matter what, and so statistically this is what our association feels is best. so far so good....

[Rich]

We send one official back in 4-man only. The LJ is on the endline, wide. The R calls the uprights, the L has the kicker/holder for roughing and the U is in his normal spot.

We treat ANY placekick in 5-person one way:

R with kicker and holder facing the holder's face
U in normal U position (roughing the snapper, line play)
BJ under an upright
L/LJ under an upright with the "open wing" on the R's side

[PSU213]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

We treat ANY placekick in 5-person one way:

R with kicker and holder facing the holder's face
U in normal U position (roughing the snapper, line play)
BJ under an upright
L/LJ under an upright with the "open wing" on the R's side

We do it the same here. Basically, if you, as a wing, are looking at the R's behind (not a pretty sight on our crew as I am sure is the case with just about everyone on here!) you are in the wrong place--that official should be under the post with the BJ.

[Blue37]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

We send one official back in 4-man only. The LJ is on the endline, wide. The R calls the uprights, the L has the kicker/holder for roughing and the U is in his normal spot.

Rich,

We do the same on short kicks (snap inside the 15) with one exception. The LJ does not go all the way to the endline. He can call under/over just fine from a couple of yards deep in the endzone. That gives him the opportunity to help cover his side on a fake/busted play.

If it is a longer kick (snap 15 or out), the LJ has the kick by himself. The R has roughing.

[jaybird]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

We treat ANY placekick in 5-person one way:

R with kicker and holder facing the holder's face
U in normal U position (roughing the snapper, line play)
BJ under an upright
L/LJ under an upright with the "open wing" on the R's side

This is how we cover scoring kicks also. The State (OK) has told all our crews to use this mechanic.

[bisonlj]

We tried to use the new mechanic last year but having to remember which wing goes under the upright depending on both end of field and kicking leg of kicker created too many situations where we didn't get to the upright in time. It's easier to remember the LJ is the one who always goes back and the L can focus on the same thing for every kick.

Mechanics are designed to cover the most likely situations and make sure they are covered. I've been officiating for 8 years now and have had to bust to the sideline as a LJ a great total of TWICE. To adjust your mechanics to cover something that happens very rarely is a bad idea. I understand the philosophy of alternating which wing covers the goal post but it just didn't work for us.

Also, we have the BJ alone on field goals snapped from the 20 or farther out. He has plenty of time to get to a challenge goal post. This type of play is much more likely to have something crazy happen back at the line of scrimmage and having the LJ there can only help.

[Warrenkicker]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

We tried to use the new mechanic last year but having to remember which wing goes under the upright depending on both end of field and kicking leg of kicker created too many situations where we didn't get to the upright in time. It's easier to remember the LJ is the one who always goes back and the L can focus on the same thing for every kick....

Not to criticize your crew but someone is not recognizing the situation early enough if you are having problems moving to these positions. The only time we have ever had an issue was when R didn't recognize which foot the kicker was using so he was on the wrong side of the formation to begin with and when he noticed his problem there was not time to switch us back.

When we have a swinging gate formation we stay in the standard positions and then shift to the goal post when they shift into a standard kicking formation. There is more than enough time to do this if you see what is happening soon enough. Once you do this a few times it is easy to remember which way to shift.