Field Goal Responsibilities

[bisonlj]

The mechanics books very clearly states that the proper mechanic is for the wing official to the back of the R covers one upright and the other is covered by the BJ. It also now states this is the mechanic regardless of kick distance (used to allow for only the BJ on kicks snapped outside the 20 or 25. Anything else is going against the manual.

That being said, I prefer to have the LJ always cover an upright. Juggling back and forth can lead to delays. If you wait until the back of the R is facing you, it is already too late to get back without delaying the game. Even if both teams have RFK (most common), you still have to hesitate to remmber which end you have and which quarter you are in. If the LJ always has it then there is no hesitation.

Other comments about covering the chains/down box are also valid. This official is then always working the LOS on kicks and can provide more consistency. I think the best mechanics always work to the most common expectation. In 8 years of officiating I think I can remember 2 or 3 kicks that resulted in challenging my LJ sideline so to have a difficult mechanic to handle something that happens less than 1% of the time is not worthwhile.

For those of you with the U going back to the upright I hope you reconsider it quickly. There is too much the U has to watch on scrimmage kicks that will be lost as soon as he has to look up to the upright. Nobody else has the ability to watch the stuff the U normally has a on a scrimmage kick and this will lead to problems.