10 players on offense, Illegal formation

[jTheUmp]

Yeah, we do a similar thing... R & U count offense, BJ and LJ count defense.

I'm not asking for advice on how to get the count done. And yes, I know I should've gotten the count quicker. In this case, my count wasn't as quick as I'd have liked because Team A came out directly from the sideline into their offensive formation, so counting the huddle wasn't an option.

My question: throw the flag myself and get confirmation after the play (and wave the flag off if necessary), or wait till after the play ends, confer with the other officials, and then throw the flag (if necessary)?

Either way is gonna look bad, I'm just not sure which one looks "less bad"

As it turned out, Team A ran a sweep that ended up losing a yard anyway, so it's a rather moot point; but still...

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

My question: throw the flag myself and get confirmation after the play (and wave the flag off if necessary), or wait till after the play ends, confer with the other officials, and then throw the flag (if necessary)?

Either way is gonna look bad, I'm just not sure which one looks "less bad"

I don't think it looks bad if you get it right. LM (or whoever) should have had the flag, but perhaps the ball was snapped before he could get a signal from LJ.

Who's going to complain, the A coach? "Coach, if you don't want that flag, get 7 players on the line."

Proper mechanics are designed to get the right eyes looking in the right place most of the time, so that we get the right call. If you get the right call in an unusual situation using non-standard mechanics, so be it.

[jTheUmp]

Sounds about right.

Part of the issue was that this wasn't my normal crew (new white-hat, normal LJ was working HL, normal HL was working BJ, and a scratch subsitute official working LJ). Had it been my normal crew, we would've gotten it without a problem.

Filed away for future reference.