Pylon Mechanics Crew of 5
 

A snaps in their own end of the field.
Option sweep towards L.

A dives towards the pylon and as he leaps and lays out ball in possession hits front of pylon and at aprox same time his foot hits out of bounds a yard or so back.

BJ can't tell where the foot is, and HL can't see where the ball is when he steps out, trailing the play.

We had this happen last night. We've got a playoff game next Thursday, I'm looking for a good pre-game "fix" for this type of play.

BJ should only signal a TD when the wing lets the BJ know that the player was in-bounds. There is no other way to do it. The wing has to make a decision if they got in just like you would determine other forward progress spots. Do your best. Remember there is a reason there are 7 officials at the higher levels.

Peace

I agree with Jeff. If the wing has him OOB, the wing has to spot forward progress. There may be times when the B can "help", but I wouldn't depend on him as a wing.

The "fix" for this issue, if you want to call it that, is 7-person mechanics. ;)

To put it otherwise: 5-person mechanics, like 2-umpire mechanics in baseball, involves a series of compromises in order to have eyes on as many plays as possible. Unfortunately, a few fall in the gaps.

When that happens, we make the best of it. Not much of a fix, I'll grant you, but it should offer some comfort to realize that "making the best of it" here is not a defect of the official(s) but of the system.

+1 to what others have already said.

On a play like this, you need to make sure the BJ doesn't signal anything (touchdown or OOB) without first looking over at the L (or LJ). The last thing you want is the BJ signaling a TD and the wing signaling OOB, because if that happens, you're going to get a tongue-lashing from at least one head coach no matter what final ruling you make.

if I am reading this post correctly, this must have been a pretty long run because A was snapping on their own side of the field and scored a touchdown. In our crew the lineman has OB on this play and the BJ has the goal line. This would require a conference to determine if there was a TD. I would defer to the BJ and tell him that the player was diving when he touched on the X yard line. It's his call if it's a TD. I am not sure how the wing could tell where the ball was if he is properly trailing the play.

So ... you've never seen a 51 yard run? This is EXACTLY what he's talking about. Back judge doesn't know when he was out of bounds, and the trailing and chasing HL can't see if the ball was over. That's kind of the point.

I understand the point but I just don't think there can be anything definitive in a scenario like this. Even if the LJ is on the goal line when the ball crosses, it's a challenge for a single individual to make this call when there are two points to view to determine if and when a player is down. IMHO, you put your heads together and make the best estimate you can based on the comparing of what each of you saw.

The longer the conversation between the B and L lasts, the uglier it will be no matter what call is made. Make the decision quickly. Either he was in or he was out. IMO if it is a bang bang play, I'm going with TD. Unless it is clear and obvious he did not score, that is how I'm going to rule.

It seems to me that since the ball in possession hit the pylon, that should have been an indication to the HL as to when the ball crossed the goal line, even if he was trailing. If the pylon moved before the foot stepped out, then TD; if not, OOB.