Really, No Holding Call!!!!!

[Rich]

It's easier to see the jersey grab in the replay (the second time they show the play), I'll grant that.

What bigjohn doesn't seem to grasp is that it's not simply a matter of seeing a jersey grab and throwing a flag. First of all, who's (in a 5-man crew) going to see this?

Furthermore, it's a split-second judgment in deciding if the grab/restrict affected the play. And that's not a clear-cut decision, either. Although I'm leaning towards what bisonlj said in his post above mine.

So much easier officiating from the sidelines, or so we're told every week.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Rich

So much easier officiating from the sidelines, or so we're told every week.

Almost as easy as officiating from Bristol, CT.

[Texas Aggie]

#70 reaches out and grabs the jersey up near the left shoulder of the defender, spins him, and takes him down.

After the word, jersey, you are 100% wrong. The defender was not restricted, and was going down anyway.

At this point in the game, you have to MAKE IT BIG, or ignore it. Call that on my crew and you won't be working in the playoffs with us.

[JasonTX]

A hold is one where EVERYONE agrees it's a hold. It's those that cause your jaw to drop on what a player does. Did I say it has to be HUGE? If 100 people view a play and 99 think it's a hold. Guess what, it's not. I want my holding calls to have all 100 agree it's a hold. That's how big in needs to be. If you follow that philosophy you will achieve a great deal of consistency in your calls.

[BuckeyeRef]

I have to agree with RadioBlue on this one. It looks to me like #70 pulled the jersey at the shoulder and twisted the defender away from the QB preventing him from making a play. Had I seen it I would have flagged it.

That being said, Bison is correct about who is going to see this one. This is a pretty long play with 22 players spread across the field. The LM, LJ and BJ are all focused on the players downfield and the R has to decide if the QB was down or not. I would be hardpressed to blame anyone if this call were missed.

[kdf5]

A big time hold that had absolutely no effect on the play. A good no call.

[RadioBlue]

Originally Posted by kdf5

A big time hold that had absolutely no effect on the play. A good no call.

Not sure I can agree with the statement. Perhaps the blocker could've just stayed with the block and not grabbed the jersey. But he didn't ... and there's probably a reason why he didn't. That hold created space and opportunity. If that gets seen (and 95% of the time it probably doesn't in 5-man), it's gotta get a flag IMO.