The Refs

HurricaneJacket

HurricaneJacket

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Gray Fox said:
I officiate HS football in Georgia. I didn’t (couldn’t) see the game so can’t comment on any of the calls.

I will say after “officiating” from the stands like everyone else, and now on-field as an official, it’s 10x harder from field level. The play unfolds much faster on field and up close in comparison to the stands or in front of your HD big screen with frame by frame replay.

Officials, even at the HS level, are held accountable by their association, supervisors, etc, both by at-game evaluators along with game film that is reviewed/scrutinized extensively. My college official associates tell me they have to take rules and case-play tests every week, are mandated to watch x hours of film in prep for their game, zoom meetings during the week w the crew, 3-4 hour pregame mtg, and prob other prep I’m not aware of. Then attend off-season camps in the spring/summer. They are graded and rated every week which can result in promotions to higher level games or demotions back down to high school. I promise every college official spends plenty of time on his or her craft or they simply wouldn’t be put on the field. All of the officials I know take their mistakes very seriously - and no mistake gets overlooked by the evaluators. No one is officiating any sport for the money I assure you.

And like someone said, the number of officials has been dwindling. Avg age HS ref is near 50 yo, which is not a good sign as you need youth in the system for future officials. Getting blistered by fans/parents/coaches/msg boards doesn’t help recruiting and retaining new officials.

That said I still yell at the refs at my kid’s games. It’s hard not to but am trying to break that habit.

If anyone is interested to officiate, we’re hiring :)
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Got a hiring link?
 
THWG

THWG

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ramblinwreckguru said:
Regarding the Running into the Kicker penalty, why would CGC decline the penalty? Shouldn't he have either accepted it and re kicked or accepted from the end of the kick? It ended up being a non penalty.
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You can't accept it from the end of the kick, so I guess he was happy with the punt and didn't want to risk anything bad happening on a re-kick.
 
Jmonty71

Jmonty71

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I have asked myself, for years, whether refs take money to lean one way or another, in games. I see way too many games where one team gets called for the slightest thing and another one can do anything short of performing an atomic elbow to the QBs head. This spills over into all sports. I have watch many games where I am left scratching my head.
 
4shotB

4shotB

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Jmonty71 said:
I have asked myself, for years, whether refs take money to lean one way or another, in games. I see way too many games where one team gets called for the slightest thing and another one can do anything short of performing an atomic elbow to the QBs head. This spills over into all sports. I have watch many games where I am left scratching my head.
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In basketball, this is known and accepted as just the way it is and, as a player and coach, it is expected that you adapt your play to the refs on a game to game basis. In football, this strategy is not as employed and I am not sure why. If the refs are allowing offensive holding and/or pass interference, then I say rather than expect the refs to adjust, let the team and players adjust accordingly. I think it is impossible to standardize things, especially when there is room for interpretation of the rules.
 

lv20gt

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RhoChi said:
Forward progress not reviewable?

Then what happened in OT vs miami last year to give us the win. They literally review the runners forward progress??
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There are two aspects of forward progress. Whether it was stopped and where it was reached. Whether forward progress was stopped can't be reviewed. If the ball reached a certain point when the progress was stopped can be.

Against Miami, the WR caught the ball at the 4, was hit immediately, his elbow hit at the 5, and he lunged to the 4. My guess is that the line judge saw the elbow hit, as it was right in front of him, then relayed that information to the head judge, so the call was the receiver was down by forward progress and they reviewed where that forward progress was (not if it was stopped or not). They came back and the call stood as called on the field with the ball at the 4 (not overturned from being down at the 3 which is what many people first thought the call was).

The issue in that situation is the refs didn't make it clear what the call on the field was and it was reviewed instantly. The announcers assumed it was marked at the 3 and the first down gained. At home, the broadcast went to replay immediately, and then it was reviewed before ever showing the spot. I think people assumed that the call on the field was it was marked at the 3 and a first down given, but I don't think they ever signaled a first down, and it would have been a clear first down if they got to the 3.
 

Deleted member 2897

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One of my more favorite calls ever by a Ref: "#69 was giving him the business"

 
jojatk

jojatk

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AlabamaBuzz said:
Although I don't like it as a rule, I believe the "ball spinning" is looked at right now like spiking the ball - the refs have been told to call it. Also, if that is true, then our players should be told, and hopefullly have, about this celebration emphasis among the refs.
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Yeah I'm sure the kids have been told things they shouldn't do. But, if you're like me, then every now and then when you're really excited about something you just did or that just happened you forget in the heat of the moment. For example, when there are kids around I try extra hard to watch my language (which isn't terrible to begin with but I try anyway). And every now and then, in my excitement, I'll say something and then belatedly remember that there's a kid a few feet away. Thinking of how I sometimes react doesn't make me OK with getting that penalty. It just puts it into perspective for me.
 
Milwaukee

Milwaukee

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THWG said:
The refs made a mistake then. I saw the same play in the Iowa-Nebraska game on Friday and the rules expert said you could only re-kick and not add on to the end of the kick.
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Correct. The officials made a mistake with their initial announcement then the tv announcers corrected it. At that point Collins didn’t want the backup punter out there for another attempt.
 
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