Illegal motion or shift?

[ajmc]

Mike, I don't want to go where you're trying to take this discussion. If you don't understand what I'm suggesting, perhaps with time it will come, then again, maybe not.

I'm not suggesting anyone, "make anything up" or do anything, "contrary to rule" as opposed to simply suggesting there are different ways, preventive ways, to deal with some situations that don't require a flag, EVERY time. We ALL agree "for the most part, the rule book and/or the case book do give us a very good idea of what is expected of us", however common sense and judgment also pay a considerable part of the expectation of how we apply that knowledge.

What flexibility may be deemed applicable to the application of a particular circumstance does not automatically mean it must be applied to all other circumstances. If you're going to put words in my mouth, it works better if they're my words rather than what you think I meant to say. I never said, "(I) would NOT flag this if the defense reacts", which makes no sense.

The original point was simply that even appropriate movement subject to seemingly slight adjustment, may change something from appropriate to inappropriate, or illegal and could possibly be either intentional or unintentional.

[MD Longhorn]

OK, first - I must admit the typo. You said you would not flag this if the defense DOES NOT react. Typing too fast - completely my bad.

I'm not trying to take this anywhere. I'm merely making the point that the offensive actions MUST be judged on their own, and with consistency, WITHOUT input from what the defense does - to do otherwise puts the defense at an unintended disadvantage. The movement is either a foul or not, judged on it's own.

[bisonlj]

How about this situation?

Team A lineman has a slight twitch before the ball is snapped but it by itself is not something you are gonig to flag. You might talk to him and remind him he is to remain set but if you flagged that everytime you saw it, you'd have flags all night. Good judgment does come into play in several situations during a game.

Now let's say you determine that exact same twitch is what caused a B player to encroach. Would you penalize B for encroachment or would you penalize A for a false start?

[asdf]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

How about this situation?

Team A lineman has a slight twitch before the ball is snapped but it by itself is not something you are gonig to flag. You might talk to him and remind him he is to remain set but if you flagged that everytime you saw it, you'd have flags all night. Good judgment does come into play in several situations during a game.

Now let's say you determine that exact same twitch is what caused a B player to encroach. Would you penalize B for encroachment or would you penalize A for a false start?

Passing on the first situation and penalizing A on the second is damn good officiating in my opinion.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by asdf

Passing on the first situation and penalizing A on the second is damn good officiating in my opinion.

I rest my case.

[asdf]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

I rest my case.

Stick to softball.

You are the perfect robot for that sport...

"Must do only what the book says"....

"Must not use my god given common sense to help make a judgement"....

"Must keep my body stiff and rigid while on the field"....

i hope you really don't officiate this way. Your games must take over three hours to complete.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by asdf

Stick to softball.

You are the perfect robot for that sport...

"Must do only what the book says"....

"Must not use my god given common sense to help make a judgement"....

"Must keep my body stiff and rigid while on the field"....

It is not being a robot, it is applying the rules consistently. Simply calling something common sense doesn't make it so. It is not common sense to intentionally rule on the same exact action differently between instances, which is what you are advocating. It is not common sense to insist that the defense must risk penalty to have penalties called correctly on the offense.

It's not about "must only do what the book says" - it's about fairness and objectivity.