Sugar Bowl Safety

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Mike L

I'd need to ask because the wing official is giving no indication of what he has. He's wandered off the progress spot and he's not giving a safety signal well after the player is down. And if he's looking for help from me on a spot with this play, we have some serious problems.

As for the whistle, I still can't understand why, if you have progress stopped you would not blow the whistle. What does that accomplish other than open you up to a lot of problems? Problems like this play, problems like the ball suddenly coming out of there and a scramble for it, problems like the ball carrier getting hammered by a bunch of players because you have failed to do your job of indicating the play is over. Yeah, there are plays that are "over" with or without a whistle, but I can't see how you can possibly say that on a play that involves YOUR judgement whether it's over or not. It's YOUR judgement. So how are players supposed to know by YOUR judgement the play is over if you fail to indicate that? It could easily go either way as has been indicated on this play and the opinions here. It has nothing to do with whistles in the mouth or so-called quick whistles. It has everything to do with doing one of our primary jobs. There is a very lamentable trend within the officiating community of this "my whistle does not end the play, the play does" being used for not doing one of our jobs that manages the game. We ARE expected to have whistles at the end of plays. We should have whistles at the end of plays. Some plays, it cant' be done because we don't know if that runner in the middle of the pile still has the ball. But that doesn't mean on plays where we clearly must make a ruling, and can see the status of the ball, we get to be lazy and try to pass off our responsibilities.

If you would stop trying to tell me what to do maybe you would understand. The whistle has nothing to do with why or what I will rule. If I do not see leather (which could have been the case here) I am not blowing the whistle at all until I find leather or rule that the player securely has the ball. I will not blow the whistle until then. I have had 2 IW in 15 years and both of them for when I tried to "stop everything" and one time a player did not have a ball secure on a fumble and the other a player was fighting for yards. The only time the whistle comes in play when players and coaches want to claim they should not be flagged for something because the whistle was blown in their opinion. And at the end of the day your claim has nothing to do with this play. If the officials had his forward progress ruled in the field of play then that is what would have happened, their whistle I am sure would not have been blown anyway where that place was ruled. And I know the whistle is not in my hand or mouth during plays. So when I blow it might vary as I have to grab it before I can put air in that little device. Also you need to look at the football fundamentals; the whistle is a tool not a deciding factor to make decisions.

Peace