Touchdown Signals

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by SNG10

So, if the knee was down, but no one(on the crew) had the ball at the time, and the U has it in, we'll have to go with the td, correct ?

How can you say the knee was down if no one saw it down?

If either wing does not have it down and they can't see the ball or knee and the U has it in the EZ, then we have a TD. But the U will not raise his hands. He will communicate to the wings that it is in and they make the decision to signal a TD. He should NEVER raise his hands for the TD signal. He will communicate verbally, either in a conference with the wings or in the procedure I've described below.

Our crew will use this procedure: If the U sees the ball in the EZ he says after the ball is dead, "I've got the ball." He will NOT grab his whistle or use any visible signal that the coaches or pressbox can see. Upon hearing him say that, the wings will either signal TD or be marking a spot. Therefore, there will be no contradictory signal that can get the crew in trouble. The last thing we want is for a coach to see him grab his whistle and a wing marking a spot that is short of the GL. If he doesn't say that, then he saw that the ball wasn't in or he didn't see it at all.

[waltjp]

Al, my interpretation of 'mirroring signals' applies to an official giving the same signal as another, regardless of whether he saw the play or not. If anyone disagrees I'm sure they'll correct me.

Now you're off on a tangent about 'one size fits all' officiating and 'standard mechanics'. To be honest, I don't have the slightest clue of what your point is.

To review - official should not mirror signals. (See definition above)

If your responsibilities call for you to cover the goal line and you see the ball is in, signal as such.

There are occasions when 2 officials will share this responsibility. In that case they should make eye contact and signal accordingly. This is not mirroring.

No other officials should signal. First, it's not their responsibility. Second, if they're watching something they shouldn't be watching they're in danger of missing something they should be watching.

[SNG10]

Originally Posted by Forksref

How can you say the knee was down if no one saw it down?

If either wing does not have it down and they can't see the ball or knee and the U has it in the EZ, then we have a TD. But the U will not raise his hands. He will communicate to the wings that it is in and they make the decision to signal a TD. He should NEVER raise his hands for the TD signal. He will communicate verbally, either in a conference with the wings or in the procedure I've described below.

Our crew will use this procedure: If the U sees the ball in the EZ he says after the ball is dead, "I've got the ball." He will NOT grab his whistle or use any visible signal that the coaches or pressbox can see. Upon hearing him say that, the wings will either signal TD or be marking a spot. Therefore, there will be no contradictory signal that can get the crew in trouble. The last thing we want is for a coach to see him grab his whistle and a wing marking a spot that is short of the GL. If he doesn't say that, then he saw that the ball wasn't in or he didn't see it at all.

You saw the knee down but not the position of the ball at the time(poorly worded on my part).

[Admiral]

Originally Posted by Forksref

How can you say the knee was down if no one saw it down?

If either wing does not have it down and they can't see the ball or knee and the U has it in the EZ, then we have a TD. But the U will not raise his hands. He will communicate to the wings that it is in and they make the decision to signal a TD. He should NEVER raise his hands for the TD signal. He will communicate verbally, either in a conference with the wings or in the procedure I've described below.

This is exactly what happened. The U was certain the ball was in the EZ before the knee touched. The HL could not see the ball cross the goal line because his view was obstructed. When the HL crashed in, the U told him he had the ball in the EZ. HL continued to hold his spot, and called him down.

Originally Posted by Forksref

Our crew will use this procedure: If the U sees the ball in the EZ he says after the ball is dead, "I've got the ball." He will NOT grab his whistle or use any visible signal that the coaches or pressbox can see. Upon hearing him say that, the wings will either signal TD or be marking a spot. Therefore, there will be no contradictory signal that can get the crew in trouble. The last thing we want is for a coach to see him grab his whistle and a wing marking a spot that is short of the GL. If he doesn't say that, then he saw that the ball wasn't in or he didn't see it at all.

Our crew uses this same procedure.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by Admiral

This is exactly what happened. The U was certain the ball was in the EZ before the knee touched. The HL could not see the ball cross the goal line because his view was obstructed. When the HL crashed in, the U told him he had the ball in the EZ. HL continued to hold his spot, and called him down.

It's absolutely your HL's call to accept the U's "advise" or not. I just don't understand why he wouldn't if he had no idea where the ball was and the U apparently did. This is not a "who should signal" problem. It appears instead to be an inability to accept help when needed problem by your HL.