Sugar Bowl Safety

[Hooah30]

Originally Posted by mbyron

100% official's judgment. The covering official judged that the back broke free of the tackler in the EZ.

No rule was misapplied in the play. If you want to argue judgment, I'm sure you can find a fan site to entertain you.

If I hadn't been coaching and officiating high school football for almost 20 years perhaps a fan site would be more proper... Since I don't officiate or coach college, I thought and still do think my question has merit.

I am anxious for you to answer my question... When is forward progress stopped. Do you people really expect a player to give himself up?

Keep in my mind the following two things...
1. Giving yourself up is not a natural instinct... Youth football to the pros... Giving up in that situation is to allow the defenders to collapse you... Ever had that happen? I thought that is why officials carried whistles... If not why not just let every play end with a person on the ground or out of play then spot the ball accordingly?

2. Given that there was no indication that the play became dead, should the back assume he was spotted outside the end zone?

The point I am stuck on is officials judgement... That is an easy out but there has to be some basis for that judgement and the answer that as long as the runner is fighting for yards is not the right answer. It simply is not. At some point an official must decide when a player's progress has been halted. If 5 yards of being driven backwards is not enough, pray tell what is? Is it 6, 7, 50 yards?