Dead-Ball Foul Sequence/Mechanics
 

What's the correct sequence for signaling a dead-ball foul? (Specifically, I'm thinking about presnap fouls as opposed to late hits or fouls after the play.)

i.e., do you throw the flag first, then whistle, then signal to stop the clock?

Just trying to get a feel for which is the most important, then what comes second, etc.

I'm sure after a little time this will all happen pretty quickly (and hopefully become second nature), but as a new official I want to be sure of my priorities.

Dead ball foul
 

Whistle, Flag, signal

Good question. It is good you are thinking about these types of things.

On a dead-ball foul, the first priority is to shut it down with a good, strong whistle. This helps prevent extracurricular activities such as dead ball personal fouls and the like.

What I was taught and have since put into practice is to have the whistle in your mouth before the ball is snapped. This way, if you have a dead ball foul, you can hit the whistle immediately. If there's no foul, spit the whistle out once the ball is snapped.

As you're blowing your whistle, toss your flag straight up in the air, high enough to be seen but don't send it into lower earth orbit. Once the flag has been tossed, and while the whistle is still blowing, give the stop the clock signal.

Depending upon the foul, you may need to confer with other officials to determine if you had encroachment vs false start, etc. Be sure of what the call is and then have somebody report it to the referee. Don't be afraid to take the time to discuss it and be on the same page as a crew about the call.

Be sure to check your local mechanics, they may want something done a little differently here but that is the jist of how I do it.

Whistle first - it should be in your mouth already. The most important thing is to make sure play stops.

In theory, kill the clock is the next most important thing. In practice, I find it's easiest to grab my flag on the way by as my hands move up to stop the clock.

Also, for pre-snap fouls, get in the habit of tossing your flag to the side of the offending team. It tips your partners off so that they can start herding players in the correct direction while you're reporting the foul.

Canadian Mechanic
 

CANADIAN MECHANIC:

For pre-snap fouls: With whistle in mouth already: Whistle and clock simultaneously. Throw the flag. In that order, always.

For pre-snap fouls: WithOUT whistle in mouth already: Whistle, then clock. Throw the flag. In that order, always.

The whistle first prevents other illegal action.

I've never been a big fan of whistle in the mouth unless you intend to blow on it. I just don't like the potential for problems that causes. So, while I agree with the sequence of whistle-flag-signal, I don't start any play with my whistle in. Since I'm right handed, I do start with my whistle in my left hand so I can get it up right away if needed leaving my right hand free to toss. The split second necessary to do that will make no difference in keeping the play dead, but can make a huge difference in making sure I avoid an IW.

You're not a basketball official, are you? :p

This is why I keep the whistle in my mouth only until the snap.

Basketball? bleh.....all credit to the guys who do it. But for me, basketball ranks one very small step above soccer. BLEH!

Whistle in, drop it at the snap.

Whistle first, always. If time is critical, stop the clock first. If not, flag then whistle, grabbing your flag and tossing it as you begin the signal.

Not a big fan of whistle in your mouth as it is too easy (especially for newer officials) to remember to spit it out at the snap. That will eventually lead to an IW "as sure as eggs is eggs", and an IW is about the worst thing we can do as officials.

I don't want to get into a fingerwhistle / wrist lanyard / neck lanyard arguement about their pro's and con's as those have been many and varied over the years on our forums, but what I would say is that I don't feel I suffer a time delay in raising my finger whistle to my mouth to kill a play pre-snap.

Equally before I got a finger whistle, I would hold my lanyard whistle in my non-flag throwing hand (but away from my mouth) pre-snap and drop it at the snap.

I'll whistle and flag pretty much simultaneously and then stop the clock. In 25 years I've never had anyone complain about time running off the clock due to the time it took to get the whistle to my lips. Whereas I've seen lots of grief from coaches about IW's.