Coaches, players and fans are\u00a0allowed to panic when a\u00a0play goes awry. Officials, on the\u00a0other hand, must react to broken plays as if they\u2019re routine and they saw it coming all\u00a0along. However, the crew must be\u00a0especially vigilant for fouls during\u00a0those broken plays. Here are some\u00a0examples of what to do when the\u00a0play is executed in a manner not\u00a0written in the playbook.<\/p>\n
With a crew of five,\u00a0there is no \u201cbest\u201d way to cover\u00a0all the possibilities on a field goal\u00a0attempt or kick try. There are two\u00a0mechanics commonly used in prep\u00a0play. One puts the wing official\u00a0who\u2019s facing the referee in his\u00a0normal position while the other\u00a0wing goes under the goalpost with\u00a0the back judge. That leaves the\u00a0referee with responsibility for the\u00a0vacated sideline and goalline. The\u00a0other option leaves both wings in\u00a0their normal positions and puts the\u00a0umpire alone under the post.<\/p>\n
When the holder mishandles\u00a0the snap, many teams use the term\u00a0\u201cFire\u201d to alert their teammates of\u00a0the pending broken play. Officials\u00a0must ensure whatever follows is\u00a0legal or does not cause the ball to\u00a0become dead. Because the rules\u00a0state a runner is down when his\u00a0knee (among other parts of his body\u00a0excluding a hand or foot) touches\u00a0the ground, there is sometimes\u00a0confusion over what a place kick\u00a0holder can do.<\/p>\n
In NFHS play, the holder must\u00a0rise before he may advance, hand\u00a0the ball to another player, kick or\u00a0pass (forward or backward). If the\u00a0holder does any of those things\u00a0while his knee(s) is on the ground,\u00a0the ball is immediately dead. The\u00a0ball remains live if the holder\u00a0rises to catch or recover an errant\u00a0snap and immediately returns his\u00a0knee(s) to the ground and places\u00a0the ball for a kick, or again rises to\u00a0advance, hand, kick or pass. If the\u00a0holder muffs the snap and rises to\u00a0secure the ball, the ball is dead if he\u00a0returns his knee to the ground while\u00a0holding the ball (4-2-2a Exc., Note).<\/p>\n
Under NCAA rules, a place kick\u00a0holder, who at the snap has his\u00a0knee(s) on the ground while there\u00a0is a teammate in kicking position at\u00a0the snap (he doesn\u2019t actually have to\u00a0kick), need not rise before handing\u00a0off, running or passing (4-1-3b Exc.).<\/p>\n
If the holder rises, he may\u00a0re-establish his position as a holder\u00a0as long as:<\/p>\n
There has not been a change of\u00a0team possession,
\nthe ball is behind the neutral\u00a0zone (it doesn\u2019t matter if the ball\u00a0had or hadn\u2019t been beyond the\u00a0neutral zone), and
\na teammate is in position to\u00a0kick.<\/p>\n
If the holder muffs the snap or\u00a0subsequently fumbles the ball, it\u00a0remains live. Team R may legally\u00a0bat the ball while it is in the\u00a0holder\u2019s possession (AR 4-1-3 I).<\/p>\n
Officials must also be observant\u00a0for the illegal kicking of a loose ball.\u00a0A legal place kick requires the ball\u00a0be in a fixed position on the ground\u00a0or on a tee in NFHS only (NFHS\u00a02-24-7; NCAA 2-16-4a). That means\u00a0the holder must have control of the\u00a0ball (NFHS 2-24-4; NCAA 2-16-4a).\u00a0The penalty for an illegal act is\u00a015 yards in NFHS and 10 yards in\u00a0NCAA and is enforced under the\u00a0all-but-one principle (NFHS 9-7-1;\u00a0NCAA 9-4-4).<\/p>\n
The rugby-style punt\u00a0(the punter runs laterally before\u00a0kicking) is commonplace. On some\u00a0teams the kicker has an option to\u00a0keep the ball and run for first-down\u00a0yardage. That play requires the\u00a0referee to make a judgment as to\u00a0roughing if the kicker is contacted,\u00a0but otherwise is a straight-forward\u00a0event.<\/p>\n
The greater challenge occurs\u00a0when the punter muffs the snap or\u00a0the ball goes over his head. When\u00a0that happens, no one including\u00a0the punter knows whether a pass,\u00a0kick or run will eventually result.\u00a0A run presents the least unusual\u00a0possibilities and can be officiated\u00a0the same as a designed running\u00a0play.<\/p>\n
After a bad snap it is not\u00a0reasonably certain a kick will be\u00a0made. That means the defense\u00a0gets the benefit of any doubt as to\u00a0whether or not contact with the\u00a0kicker is avoidable. In some cases,\u00a0the kick will be made as the kicker\u00a0is being contacted; that certainly\u00a0is not a foul. Another scenario is\u00a0when the kick is touched. When\u00a0that happens, ensuing contact is\u00a0likely and should be judged to be\u00a0unavoidable. However, after the\u00a0kick is touched, the defensive player\u00a0may not stop and renew his charge,\u00a0nor may he change direction and\u00a0charge into the kicker. Touching a\u00a0kick is not a license for the\u00a0defense to declare \u201copen season\u201d on\u00a0the kicker.<\/p>\n
A pass presents the greatest\u00a0likelihood of a foul. Intentional\u00a0grounding is a distinct possibility\u00a0and no slack should be given in\u00a0regard to the lack of presence of\u00a0an eligible offensive receiver in the\u00a0area where the pass lands. The odds\u00a0are probably 50-50 that an ineligible\u00a0receiver will go too far downfield\u00a0before the pass is released. Also, confused linemen are apt to hold.<\/p>\n
When the ball is knocked\u00a0loose from a runner and there is\u00a0a clear and immediate recovery,\u00a0it\u2019s usually a simple matter for the\u00a0officials. The \u201cspot\u201d of the fumble\u00a0is beanbagged and possession is\u00a0announced. If the defense recovers,\u00a0the nearest official should signal\u00a0the change of possession and if the\u00a0offense retains the ball, the number\u00a0of the next down is announced. It\u00a0is not necessary to put the beanbag\u00a0on the specific blade of grass where\u00a0possession was lost. All that is needed\u00a0is the yardline. That spot will be\u00a0important only if a foul occurred\u00a0before or during the loose ball.\u00a0Dropping the bag on the appropriate\u00a0yardline will yield a more accurate\u00a0spot than trying to throw it to the\u00a0exact spot.<\/p>\n
The challenge occurs when the\u00a0rolling prolate spheroid is muffed\u00a0several times and a melee for\u00a0recovery ensues. When that happens\u00a0there are several opportunities for\u00a0fouls to occur. Players of either team\u00a0may push or pull in the back when\u00a0trying to reach a loose ball in NFHS\u00a0play, but may only push in the back\u00a0above the waist under NCAA rules\u00a0(NFHS 9-3-5b; NCAA 9-3-6 Exc. 3).\u00a0Officials must be on the lookout for\u00a0holding and other illegal grabbing.\u00a0Also, in NCAA, pulling or pushing\u00a0an opponent off a pile is a foul (9-2-\u00a01a1-k).<\/p>\n
The errant\u00a0toot is the officiating crew\u2019s version\u00a0of \u201cfire.\u201d There is no reason to\u00a0panic. The referee must calmly\u00a0determine when the whistle was\u00a0blown, focusing on the status of\u00a0the ball.<\/p>\n
If the whistle was blown\u00a0while a snap, legal forward pass or\u00a0legal kick was in flight, the down is\u00a0replayed and there are no options\u00a0(NFHS 4-2-3a; NCAA 4-1-2b-3).\u00a0If the whistle is blown while\u00a0the ball is loose after a fumble or\u00a0backward pass, the team last in\u00a0possession can choose to replay the\u00a0down or have the down count at\u00a0the spot where possession was lost\u00a0(NFHS 4-2-3b; NCAA 4-1-2b2).<\/p>\n
The post Calm on Broken Plays<\/a> appeared first on Referee.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Coaches, players and fans are\u00a0allowed to panic when a\u00a0play goes awry. Officials, on the\u00a0other hand, must react to broken plays as if they\u2019re routine and they saw it coming all\u00a0along. However, the crew must be\u00a0especially vigilant for fouls during\u00a0those broken plays. Here are some\u00a0examples of what to do when the\u00a0play is executed in a manner […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1206","articles","type-articles","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}