Coverage During Kicks
 

Guys

I don't officiate football and I have never played football, and I'm really asking this from a fan's perspective.

My question is this:

Who has what responsibilities for penalties during kickoff returns (and I suppose punts, too).

Only asking because of the penalty I saw get flagged from over 60 yards away on a block that was IMO in the side, not in the back.

Thanks. And trying to be as honest as I can to myself on this play, but it definitely made me angry.

Each official is responsibile for his area. Officials aren't going to be able to run as fast as players, at any level. So there will always be offiicals bringing up the rear and looking for such. In trailing a long play, you pick up the players behind the ball and any such fouls. If there was no need for the block, such as it being a cheap shot, it would make no difference whether the block was from the side or not.

REPLY: A lot also depends on what level of football and how many officials are being used. In youth football, four officials is the norm. In HS, generally five officials work. In the vast majority of college games and in all NFL games, there are seven officials. As a general rule, the fewer officials on the field the more 'compromises' they need to make in coverage. Also, you're likely to see flags coming from further distances where an official's primary area of coverage is vastly more extensive than in an NFL game where seven sets of eyes are dividing the field up into smaller chunks.

Also, in lower levels of football, your officials--just like the players--tend to be less experienced and just beginning to learn how to officiate. And for what it's worth, one of the most common officiating mistakes, especially for newer guys, is not seeing the whole play. That is a primary reason for mistakes of the kind you mention--block in the back vs. the side. Since we didn't see the play you cited, we certainly can't comment on that specific call.

Commenting on the work of on-field officials after the fact without any evidence is something we should not do. I know at work someone will ask me about a play they saw at some game last weekend and ask my opinion. Surely, they cannot expect me to know everything surrounding the play to be able to comment with intelligence.

I will say officials call penalties that have a material affect on the play or affect the safety of players. In the case you cited where you believed there was legal contact there may well have been in the judgement of the official making the call as you say 60 yards from the play unnecessary roughness which affects the safety of the participant.

REPLY: I didn't read the original post as saying that the alleged foul took place 60 yards from the play, but rather that the official calling it was approx. 60 yards away from the foul. No question that if the foul occurred that far behind the play, a flag would be warranted. My answer above was to address why an official might need to make a "long-distance" call.

[QUOTE=sseltser]

Only asking because of the penalty I saw get flagged from over 60 yards away on a block that was IMO in the side, not in the back.
QUOTE]

I want to meet the guy who can nail a spot from 60 yards and find out how he trains. I can hit with good accuracy at 25 maybe 30 yards.

Thanks for the help.

To clarify:

This was the NFL (Cle, Buf) and the flag came from the SJ or FJ on a foul that occurred around the R20 yard line (if they named the correct player in the foul). He flagged it by throwing it where he was and when the R went to talk to him, he picked up the flag and then threw it to the approximate spot.

Since he was one of deep wings, it definitely wasn't behind the play. In fact, when I rewinded the TV, this player was only involved in one block and it was around the 20, which is where I came up with 60 yards away.

For what its worth, I was just angry that Buffalo lost and came on here which I know annoys everybody on this forum (as well as me when its on the basketball forum). But I was also curious as to who gets which areas.

I've also never seen somebody have to throw their flag to the spot after the play. I've seen them readjust the location after the play, but never have to actually make the throw because it was so far away.

Often the flag is thrown to land at the spot of enforcement for that foul. At other times the foul is thrown to land at the point of foul, which often is a spot of enforcement.

I don't think that your view of the block is annoying - NFL officials get calls wrong each week. The NFL Total Access/Official Review threads will show NFL video with such plays. There is a very high degree of certainty that the official was correct, but still....

As for areas, the simple explanation for Canadian 7-person mechanic for KO returns is that initially the deep wings have the first two players from the sidelines (1 and 2), the restraining line wings have the next two (3 and 4), and the kicking line officials have the next players in (5 and 6). When the ball carrier is established, we use zone coverages, and surrounding officials have blocking with further officials picking up the crap away from the play.