Roughing the Passer

[Reffing Rev.]

White hats of the world,

This season I've called a lot more Roughing than in past seasons, I moved to a new location, different schools and all that, well tonight I was working a make-up game from earlier in the season filling in with a crew I've never worked before. They told me I was too protective of the QB, or too quick to call roughing. So here is the question...

A few years ago at a camp one of the clinicians said he used a little trick to help judge Roughing, I've used it ever since. He basically said as an R he keeps the whistle in his mouth as long as the QB has the ball. On a run play he drops it pretty quick, on a pass play he would drop the whistle at release and say, "Balls away, balls away" Then any contact after he said it twice was too late, flag, and of course before that any obvious "renewed charge" etc. would still get a flag.

Does anyone else use this?
Does anyone else have a "trick" to help them?