The Dreaded Inadvertant Whistle

[jemiller]

We actually have late whistles because we want to make sure that we see leather in possession and the player down before blowing the whistle. Always with whistle in hand to make sure that you have a bit of time before blowing a play dead. I'd rather be a little late than a little early...IMHO Jim

[Texas Aggie]

the coaches were on him for having a slow whistle.

"Coach, that's one thing we won't even discuss. We will be slow and even get slower. Because if we blow one early, you're going to be the first one in our face if it went against you."

Shut down any talk of slow whistles. And preach it to your crew.

[GoodwillRef]

In area of Wisconsin we have had more and more teams going back to the option and we preach hard if you don't see the ball, and don't guess, then don't blow your whistle. You must trust the other members of the crew. We should never let a coach(es) influence the way we officiate the game, easier said than done I know. If the coaches are getting to you then that is the time when we need to shut them down. The game is hard enough without 10 other yahoos yelling at you every play!

[Rich]

Originally Posted by GoodwillRef

In area of Wisconsin we have had more and more teams going back to the option and we preach hard if you don't see the ball, and don't guess, then don't blow your whistle. You must trust the other members of the crew. We should never let a coach(es) influence the way we officiate the game, easier said than done I know. If the coaches are getting to you then that is the time when we need to shut them down. The game is hard enough without 10 other yahoos yelling at you every play!

I know what you mean about the option. Seems like every other week we have a team that runs it and we've had the best option team I've seen at least 10 times the last 5 years. In the coach's meeting, the head coach always mentions other crew's IW and reminds us he's got an option team. Although the last time he didn't, so maybe he recognized the crew. Or something.

I've had at least a dozen instances of following the QB as he moves with the ball then losing the football only to see another player with it 15 yards downfield. Since my whistle is nowhere near my mouth (and as the WH I very, very rarely blow my whistle except to mark the ball RFP) all I do is laugh when this happens and then tell my wings that they had great whistle control afterwards.

[Robert Goodman]

From what I've seen on coaching Web sites, expect to see even more hand-or-keep options in years to come. Plus play series where handing or keeping isn't an option, but can be hard to detect even from the referee's perspective, like fly series, full spin, and double dive -- and R has a better view of them than any other official would. A few are teaching handoff techniques that keep the ball really close to the vest, and a considerable number are using the "layered" technique wherein actually carrying the ball and pantomiming it look identical. Even hiding who's getting the snap may be getting more common.

[GoodwillRef]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

I know what you mean about the option. Seems like every other week we have a team that runs it and we've had the best option team I've seen at least 10 times the last 5 years. In the coach's meeting, the head coach always mentions other crew's IW and reminds us he's got an option team. Although the last time he didn't, so maybe he recognized the crew. Or something.

I've had at least a dozen instances of following the QB as he moves with the ball then losing the football only to see another player with it 15 yards downfield. Since my whistle is nowhere near my mouth (and as the WH I very, very rarely blow my whistle except to mark the ball RFP) all I do is laugh when this happens and then tell my wings that they had great whistle control afterwards.

We usually have 8-10 plays where we don't have a whistle at all.