JANUARY 25, 2006
I had a question regarding your Walter Jones-false start comment on the Aikman-Buck team's mistakes during the NFC game. The rule you cited (7-3-4) seems very clear and straightforward, without exceptions. But, if it is true that an interior lineman (tackle to tackle) cannot move after taking or simulating a 3-point stance (until the play begins) and therefore cannot "reset", what rule explains the lineman getting in their stances and then freely moving around while their QB calls an audible (e.g. looking back at the QB, pointing at defenders)? — Joe K.
Rule 7-2-5 indicates that “At the snap, all offensive players [except for the one backfield player who may be legally in motion] must be stationary in their positions: a) without any movement of feet, head or arms; and b) without swaying of the body. Note 2 to the same rule indicates that: “Non-abrupt movement of head and shoulders by offensive players prior to the snap is legal. Players must come to a stop before the ball is snapped. If the officials judge the action of the offensive players to be abrupt, a false start foul is to be called.”
Once a lineman has placed his hand on the ground (i.e., assumed a three point stance) or assumed a two point stance that simulates a three point stance, he can not pick up or move the hand that is on or close to the ground. The officials will allow the linemen to turn slowly or point at the defense as long as the movements are not abrupt and as long as the linemen, after such movement, are still for one second (often it is a very quick one second) before the snap.
When in doubt, it is to be considered a false start. The key thing is that the official (usually the Umpire, Head Linesman and Line Judge) must make a judgment call as to whether the movement is considered “non-abrupt” and reflects an effort by the lineman to get or communicate information to and from his teammates or is an “abrupt” planned or inadvertent action associated with the start of a play. In Jones’ case, the movement of his head, arm or body was considered to be the latter and as a result he could not reset.
JANUARY 24, 2006
In the Denver/Pitt game on Sunday Willie Parker was tackled and the tackler fell underneath him and his legs did not hit the ground. His forearm subsequently fell to the ground and the ball came loose. The officials overturned the call ruling him down. It is my understanding that when tackled a player is down if any part of his body touches the ground other than hands or feet? — Randy Z.
Although your understanding of the rule is correct, I am not sure that you (or the Bronco fan) got the play and call correct.
Rule 7-4-1(e) indicates that the runner is considered down and the ball is dead when he “is contacted by a defensive player and he touches the ground with any part of his body except his hands and feet … .”
In the play that you cite, I believe that the original call that was made by the officials on the field was a fumble by Parker and a recovery by the Broncos. When Bill Cowher challenged the call on the field, Terry McAulay, the Referee, correctly ruled that Parker’s forearm had touched the ground while the ball was still in his possession. As the forearm is considered a part of the body other than the hand or foot, the ball was dead at that point in Parker’s possession and there was no fumble. As a result, the Steelers kept the ball.
Had Parker's forearm not touched the ground and the Bronco player was under him or if the ball had come out before his forearm touched the ground, it would/should have been a fumble and the Broncos would have gotten the ball.
This is often a tough call to make, especially around the goal line, as the players’ arms and legs are often intertwined and it is difficult for the officials on the field to determine if a part of the offensive player actually touched the ground before the ball came loose or if he was on top of someone.
Many times this results in the on field call that the player was “down by contact.” In the instance that you cite from Sunday, replay showed its value and McAulay corrected the error that had been made on the field and ruled that Parker was down and the Steelers retained possession.
Our Official also offered up this feedback on the television commentary during the Seattle-Carolina game.
Troy Aikman, who usually demonstrates at least a modicum of knowledge regarding the NFL rules, had a particularly bad day on Sunday during the Seattle – Carolina game. Most noticeably:
On a punt that went into the end zone, he and Joe Buck indicated that one official had called the ball out at the 5-yard line but another official had over-ruled him.
Wrong! The covering official, in this case the Field Judge, was originally stationed (correctly) right at the pylon. When the ball sailed into the end zone and out of bounds, he came out towards the 5 yard line giving the touchback signal. No official can “over rule” another on a play like this and it is the Field Judge’s call all the way.
In the second half, a false start was called on Walter Jones, the Left Offensive Tackle for Seattle. Aikman indicated that given enough time, Jones “could have reset.”
Wrong! Rule 7-3-4 clearly indicates that “when an interior lineman of the offensive team (tackle to tackle) takes or simulates a three point stance and then moves after taking that stance, the offensive team shall be penalized for a false start.” Only a back or wide receiver could “reset” if, in the opinion of the covering official, their initial movement was not sudden and did not “simulate the start of a play.” If it did simulate the start of a play, they also would be called for a false start.
Late in the 4th quarter, Carolina tried an onside kick that squibbed past the first line of the Seattle “Hands team” and was eventually fallen on by a Seattle player. Aikman indicated that it was a good thing that the Seattle player had fallen on the ball or Carolina “could have picked it up and run it in for a touchdown.
Wrong! Rule 6-2-2 states that “If a free kick (i.e., a kick-off) is recovered by the kicking team, the ball is dead. If the recovery is legal (i.e., the ball went at least 10 yards without being touched or was touched and muffed by the receivers before it went 10 yards), the kicking team next puts the ball in play at the spot of the recovery. Carolina would have had it at about the 50 but no score was possible.
Aikman and Buck also made a number of comments about the meetings that the officials had and the time that was being taken to make a call. First, these officials had not worked together during the season as a crew and they wanted to make sure that they understood each other. Secondly, I am told that the noise on the field was so loud that they had to get close together to talk as they could not hear each other otherwise. And thirdly, given the importance of the game, they wanted to make sure that everyone agreed regarding the call.
I am told that one of the major problems was that the clock operator, who is supplied by the home team, was having problems all day as he could not hear the whistle and as a result, there were a number of times where it was uncertain whether the clock had run or stopped at the appropriate time and the officials conferenced to determine what was the correct time.
Ed Hochuli, who is an Attorney and year in and year out is probably the top Referee in the NFL, always wants to make sure that things are correct before proceeding to the next play. Thus, the conferences and the delays.
There were a number of other situations where Buck and Aikman seemed unsure of what was going on but that, as usual, did not stop them from saying something about it. For the Super Bowl, the TV booth will have a direct line to one of the NFL Officiating Supervisors for an explanation of any strange situations. However, the decision to use that line and ask a question rests with the TV crew, not with the league.
JANUARY 23, 2006
On Steve Smith's punt return for a touchdown, why did the officials pick up the flag? It looked like there was a block in the back by #50, but they later decided it wasn't. So what is the ruling for a block in the back? (Question submitted by multiple readers)
Personally, I am not sure what occurred on that call. I have looked at the play a number of times both during the game and afterwards and, unfortunately, the action at the time of the contact is partially blocked in every view that I have seen. Rule 12-1-3 states that no player on offense (i.e., team in possession of the ball) may use his hands “into the back from behind above the waist of an opponent.”
A supplemental note to that rule states that: “… if either hand is on the back, it is a foul. If both hands are on the opponent’s side, it is not a foul.” The area considered to be “the back” is defined as a rectangle extending from the player’s shoulders to his waist the width of the shoulder blades. As best I could tell, although one official threw a flag, one of the other deep officials with a different angle on the play may have told him that: a) contact was not made; b) contact was outside of the rectangle; or c) at the time of the contact, Smith was beyond the block and as such it did not effect the play. During the play-offs, the officials are reminded to only call fouls that they are certain had an impact on the play. So it could have been any one of these reasons.
One thing that it was not is a case of one official “overruling” another. That is nonsense perpetuated by the announcers. Typically, the second official will talk to the official making the original call and tell him what he saw. The Referee will ask both officials how sure they are that the situation resulting in the flag being thrown occurred. Based on their discussion, the official making the original call will then make a decision whether he will pick up his flag and advise the Referee of that decision. The Referee will then announce that the flag is being picked up.
JANUARY 21, 2006
How are the Officials Selected to Work The Play-Offs and Super Bowl
This year, the NFL made some changes to the process for selecting officials to work the play-offs and Super Bowl. During the season, every official is evaluated on every play (typically on film/tape) on Monday by the officiating supervisors. Every official works 16 games (unless they miss an assignment for some reason) and they receive a grade on every play even if they were not involved in the basic action. [This covers situations such as when a deep official may be covering a pass receiver and the quarterback gets sacked. He still gets graded on how he performed his assignment.] Things that are looked at and graded are their positioning/mechanics, their judgment, knowledge of the rules and their interpretations, and their physical appearance and movement. Each official receives a numerical grade for the game and the crew receives a numerical grade for their combined efforts. The officials are notified of their grades and any problems before the following game. At the end of the season, all grades are averaged.
For the first two rounds of the play-offs, the eight crews (out of 17) with the highest average grades are selected. In certain instances, members of the crew during the season may not work the game for a variety of reasons (i.e., First year officials and officials working their first year at a new position are not eligible for the play-offs and certain officials may have been selected for later games so they do not work the first two rounds. In these cases, they are replaced by the highest ranked official from the crews that did not finish in the top eight.]
For the Championship Games and the Super Bowl, the top three individual officials at their position are selected. For the last two years, it was the highest ranked crews with fill-ins due to all of the following caveats. Second and third year officials are not eligible for this tier of assignment. Fourth year officials can work a Championship game if they had previously worked a wild card or first round game but they are not eligible for the Super Bowl. Fifth year officials are eligible to work a Super Bowl if they have previously worked a Championship game.
The crews that are put together for the respective games are not necessarily all 1’s, 2’s and 3’s. As an official can not work the Super Bowl two years in a row, it is possible that some of the highest ranked officials may work a Championship Game and an official ranked second at his position may get to work the Super Bowl. In addition to the seven officials on the field, there are two alternates at each game, typically a Referee or Umpire and an official who works one of the other positions. They will take the place of a game official only if one of the working officials gets hurt or becomes ill.
So if you see an official on the next two Sundays who you feel may have done a poor job in a game involving the Giants, remember that their performance has been carefully scrutinized throughout the season and that they have earned their way to their assignment.
JANUARY 20, 2006
It is my understanding is if a defender looks back for the ball while touching the offensive player when the ball is in the, no flag will be thrown. But what is the call when the defender looks for the ball then turns his head back towards the offensive player, and touches him before the ball get there. – AK
The question that you ask is not a simple one. Rule 8-5(a) indicates that it is pass interference when there is: “contact by a defender who is not playing the ball and such contact restricts the receiver’s opportunity to make the catch.”
Paragraph (d) of the same rule indicates that it is pass interference when the defender extends “an arm across the body of the receiver restricting his ability to catch a pass, regardless of whether the defender is playing the ball.”
Further paragraphs in the same rule indicate that it is NOT pass interference when:
(a) “[there is] limited contact by a defender’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball or neither player is looking for the ball. If there is any question whether contact is incidental, the ruling shall be no interference;” and
(b) “laying a hand on a receiver that does not restrict the receiver in an attempt to catch a pass.”
There are a number of other caveats in the rule book as well addressing what is and what isn’t pass interference, including a determination of whether the ball was in the air at the time of contact and whether the pass is deemed catchable had the contact not occurred.
As a result of all of the above, the answer is that it is a subjective call by the covering official. In the question you pose, if the official feels that the action of the defender restricted the receiver from making the catch, it would be defensive pass interference (spot foul and automatic first down for the offense).
In cases where the defender was not looking back at the time of the contact, this would greatly increase the likelihood that DPI would be called. In all instances, mere "touching" ( to use your word) would not constitute DPI as it would/should be deemeed incidental (even if the defender is not looking back) and there should be no foul.
In the latest Ind-Pit game, the Troy P. interception that was reversed after review was later explained by the league by saying that the ref misinterpreted the rule concerning what constitutes a "catch". Could you explain what part of the rule was misinterpreted, how it was so, and what the proper interpretation is? Thank you. – Joe K.
In the case of the Polamalu play, the situation was not as cut and dried as it may have appeared. Rule 3-7 defines a “catch” as when “a player inbounds secures possession of a pass, kick or fumble in flight.”
The rule further says that to “secure possession,” a player “must have complete control of the ball and have both feet completely on the grounds inbounds or any other part of his body, other than his hands on the ground in bounds. If the player loses the ball while simultaneously touching both feet or any other part of his body to the ground or if there is any doubt that the acts are simultaneous, there is no possession.”
If the receiver is standing up, he must be able to demonstrate that he can perform “an act common to the game of football” (i.e., run, hand-off, pass) for the catch to be ruled complete. When a player hits the ground either in bounds or out of bounds after jumping from in bounds, he must maintain possession of the ball when he comes in contact with the ground.
There is no explicit time limit stated in the rules for how long that possession must be maintained. The referee, Peter Morelli, felt that possession had been lost while part of Polamalu’s body (his knee) was still in contact with the ground, thus the “simultaneous” aspect of the rule was applicable and it was not a catch.
In the opinion of the NFL’s Vice President of Officiating, Mike Pereira, Polamalu had possession for a sufficiently long amount of time and that he only lost control while attempting to get up and advance which he could do as he hadn't been touched by a Colts player. As a result, Pereira felt it should have been ruled a catch and the call on the field should have been upheld.
Personally, I can understand the opinions of both individuals. Had Polamalu been down by contact with a Colt player, he could not have gotten up and the play would have been over at that point and whatever happened afterward would have been moot. As the rule as written is a bit fuzzy, expect a clarification for such a situation to be added to the rules next season.
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