Illegal Forward Pass

[dumbref]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

In all my years of officiating I have never heard of the R having this call. He's probably 4-5 yards BEHIND the QB while the U at a minimum (and the HL or LJ if they are on the LOS reading a scramble) have a perfect view of this. The ultimate responsibility is the U on a 5-man crew.

In a crew of five, (excluding any GL procedures) I feel the wing's first responsibilty has to be the receivers and should not come back toward the LOS until they are certain the QB is beyond the LOS - so I do not expect help from them. The U can help if the QB is between him and the box - but to the LJ side he has no reference point. I know he steps up on pass, but it is guess as to whether he is exactly on the line.

I agree with MikeL - R needs to take charge just as he describes. The old days of R staying in the middle of the field and never moving is over. He has to be mobile enough to cover this play!

I made a huge assumption on this play - I am assuming the original read was pass - not option. After re-reading the post, I could not tell.

[MNBlue]

Originally Posted by dumbref

I made a huge assumption on this play - I am assuming the original read was pass - not option. After re-reading the post, I could not tell.

Correct. It was pass all the way. QB chose to run - to the LJ side -when receivers were covered. As he approached the line, a receiver opened up, so he threw.

I was probably 5-8 yards behind the QB when he released the ball.

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by dumbref

In a crew of five, (excluding any GL procedures) I feel the wing's first responsibilty has to be the receivers and should not come back toward the LOS until they are certain the QB is beyond the LOS - so I do not expect help from them. The U can help if the QB is between him and the box - but to the LJ side he has no reference point. I know he steps up on pass, but it is guess as to whether he is exactly on the line.

When I was a LJ, I would drift down 5-10 yards with the receivers as my primary key. If when looking quickly to the backfield I see the QB scrambling my way, I would drift back toward the LOS while still watching my receivers. The reason I did that was I had forward progress if the QB was tackled. In doing that it could be possible for me to help with IFP/LOS.

If the U gets to the LOS, it doesn't matter if he's looking toward the box side or the press box side, he's still on the LOS. If nothing else, his responsibility is the LOS while the Rs responsibility is protecting the QB. The U is also either on the LOS or very near while the R is at least 3-5 yards behind the LOS so I don't understand any circumstance where the R has a better view of this play than the U. It's also the basics of everything I've been taught for a U to cover the LOS for ineligible downfield and IFP. I'm very surprised to hear other states use a completely different mechanic.

[daggo66]

In answer to the original poster, this sounds like something the should be discussed and determined in your next pre-game.