Being A Back Judge

[jaybird]

I am a H and I can tell you that our B was great when it came to plays ending in a side zone or OOB. He would be there almost as soon as the play ended and help with ball relay or seperating guys on the sideline/team area.

We have a system where the B counts the defense with the wing official whose team is on defense. This worked well. We also do not chase down footballs from incomplete passes in the deep side zones. The L or H will get a new ball relayed in and have the ballboy(person) retrieve the loose ball.

This "rocking chair" position can be physically demanding, especially with all the passing that teams try. Our B has shared with us more than once how tired/sore his legs would be but actually was not complaining as he didn't have to put up with near the crap that us sideline guys did. There were games where his biggest challenge was battling boredom.

[TXMike]

The B is the guy on the field who is best poised to save everyone else's butt. On most plays he has few direct "threats" to worry about so he can help some with multiple "threats" facing other guys. This is especially true once the ball becomes dead. One issue that some new B's sometimes have is that they are so intent on getting up to participate in the ball relay, an important task, that they do not let their eyes continually dart around to get looks at everything that is going in. This is similar to the flank who is so intent on getting the dead ball spot that he burns a hole in the grass looking at the spot. As the B runs in to get in the relay he cannot afford to focus on ball boys and/or where the ball happens to be laying or rolling.

The joke is always about how the back judge just sits back in the rocking chair and watches the game. The concept that B is a great position to see a game from is true even if the inference that we have little to do is not true.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: One thing I'm always concerned with in observing B's is how they respond when the play ends in a sidezone close to or outside the sideline. Too many go rushing over there focused on nothing else but getting to the dead ball spot. Generally, that's not necessasry. There's a different sense of urgency when players go into a team box downfield from the previous spot. But under other circumstances there's no real need to rush over there. Move over cautiously, keeping your head on a swivel watching the activity ahead of the dead ball spot. And then scan back toward the middle of the field especially looking for the block coming from the weak side WR against the safety. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen a questionable block of this sort missed. Even in this, the weak side wing needs to move into the field of play and watch for this stuff.

[Forksref]

Good point on being the EXPERT on the kicking game. Know the fundamentals of the rules such as when a kick ends, who can advance the ball, a fumble, a muff, ball breaking the plane of the endzone, etc.

BJ can be really active by helping relay the ball to the U. Also, BJ will "clean up" the plays by being a good dead ball official. When I was a BJ I had more late hit calls than anyone else on the crew. Watch the action in front of the runner on running plays. On passing plays when there is a foul, you must tell the R WHEN the foul occurred. This will affect the enforcement of the penalty. Communicate with the wings during pre-game as to what your coverages are. Also, at what scrimmage line you move from the GL to the endline.

I suggest a white bean bag because in deep grass on Friday nights, you have to retrieve it and get to the other side of the ball pretty quick after the play is over.

BJ is a great position and a lot of fun. Your perspective will allow you to see the holes open up on the running game and you can read the QB and go to the ball on passes. At times it will approach boredom but there will be several crucial calls during the game where you must be ready. Watch film of passing plays and visualize in your mind what is interference and what is incidental. Preparation is the key.

Have fun with it!

[HLin NC]

Speaking as a wingman, what I like from a BJ is to hear you. When I'm marking the OOB spot and I've got my back turned, its reassuring to hear that BJ talking to the players or even me as he approaches the sideline to help clean up the action off the ball.

Speaking as an occasional back-up BJ- I feel as if my arse is hanging outside my britches. After looking at the field from the side, its weird to be back there with all that "territory".

[SWFLguy]

I've been a U for most of my career (38 years). When I was working on a 4 man crew, I'd hear things going on behinds me and of course by the time I could turn to look ,whatever happened was over. Then as we went to 5 man crews I was very pleased to realize that the BJ literally "had my back" !!
A good back judge can really keep a game flowing too as it has been mentioned.

[OverAndBack]

I moved in from the wing to back judge last season and fell in love with the position.

Actually, the first time I did it (the season prior to last), I was bored out of my skull because it was a freshman game (why we had five guys, I'll never know) and neither team threw the ball more than a couple of times all game and it was a blowout besides.

But I found that I had a great view of everything, I enjoyed the hell out of not being able to hear coaches (or at least being able to pretend I didn't hear coaches) and learning the position was a fun challenge.

Another benefit is that you can talk to yourself out there and not seem too psycho (like if you're on the line talking to yourself). I always remind myself of what side the tight end is on, if he's eligible (by not being covered up - sometimes the angle is tough, but you can see by the yard lines if there's a flanker on his side or an end that would cover him and make him ineligible), what his number is in case he DOES go downfield and catch a pass. I'd shade a little bit to the strong side, and check off my keys one by one.

I also had a Ready Ref, which I loved.

Good advice above. Don't come up too quickly. Don't get beat deep. Make sure everybody knows when you have the goal line or the end line. I always remind the punt returner (at least the first time) that if he wants a fair catch, to make sure to give me a good signal, not some halfhearted wave.

Dead ball officiating is very important, as has been mentioned. And your calls are going to be more visible than those from the rest of your crew. The pass interference call is the one that every fan and coach thinks they can make easily and no matter if you throw the flag or not, no matter if you call OPI or DPI, half of the folks not in stripes are going to be pissed at you. As was mentioned, contact isn't always interference and interference isn't always defensive.

And I can't agree enough with the notion of holding your whistle. Keep that damn thing out of your mouth on kicks. I had the fair-catch, muff, whistle scenario happen to me. Never again.

All in all, I like being a back judge. But when I moved to Arizona, I found that they only have five man crews on varsity games (did I hear that correctly?), so no back judge unless it's on Friday nights.