Question for the white hats.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by sloth

As a first year referee, I wanted to bounch this off some more seasoned officials.

I have a long run by A that goes for a score. While the runner was somewhere between the 10 and goal line; I see that around the 40 yard line (approx. 30 yards behind the ball carrier) an A lineman give a decleating block (completely clean) against a B player that was jogging. Obviously, I threw the flag. I applied it as a dead ball persoanl foul. I know that by the rule book, if it was a live ball foul we're bringing it back to the spot of the foul.

Any other referees in that situation willing to squint and make a live ball personal foul a dead ball personal foul...provided that the foul has no bearing on the play and the foul is imminant within a second or two?

They chewed me out here as a fan a few months ago for even suggesting that in doubtful cases (where it's a difficult call whether the foul or TD occurred 1st) the presumption of a dead ball foul should be made. And even after one poster who is an official said his association says to lean toward dead ball foul.

My argument was that, first of all it frequently would be a difficult timing call for the official with coverage, second that looking away to see if the ball was still alive distracts one from watching for whether the fouled player retaliates, and third that for the same type of foul, the spot of the foul varies the enforcement spot enormously. The danger to or ill will engendered in the player of B would've been exactly the same had the foul been 30 or 70 yards behind the ball, and the danger or insult to the player of B was the foul's only effect, so why should there effectively be a 40 yard difference in the penalties?

Robert