And You Think YOUR Game Had ...
- Thread starter Jref
- Start date
Why don't you give us your call first? What do you think should be the result of this play? What would be fair to both teams?
And please, don't say shoot the ref. We would still have to figure out what to do in the game with one less official.
That is the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. If the ref thought the play was dead, why spot the ball at the one? Must have been a brain fart. Give the defense a safety.
i'm not sure what this ruling is in football, but in soccer, we would tell them to keep playing. i've had a ball bounce off me and go in the goal, i had to give the team the point.
Throw my bean bag cause I could have sworn I heard an inadvertant whistle which killed the play. :biggrin:
Well, that's one option. However, we just don't know what would have happened had the Referee not caught the ball. It's also possible that the defense would have fallen on the ball in the EZ, resulting in a TD. So that's not the choice I would have made.
Football rules provide that a ball which touches (or is touched by) an official who is completely in the field of play is a live ball, and the touching is ignored. So, the correct decision would be that it is the offense's ball where the QB fell on it, with the down counted. A "rub of the green" play, for you golfers out there.
What many people miss on this play is that there should have been a flag on the play against the offense for illegal motion, since the QB was moving forward when the ball was snapped. Honestly though, I don't know that I would have thought to catch that on the field.
The root cause of the problem in the play was the non-standard pre-snap positioning of the Referee, almost directly in line with the snapper. The preferred position is outside the tackle (or tight end) on the wide side of the field. It appears that he had his eyes on the QB (one of his pre-snap "keys") and the ball took him by surprise. He should have just let it go to the ground and allow play to continue.
Invoking the inadvertant whistle rule and replaying the down from the previous spot removes any consequences to the offense for their screw-up, which is unfair to the defense.
Incidentally, despite this fiasco, the officiating crew was chosen to work a state final game in Kentucky. Obviously, this was an experienced crew who had a "one-in-a-million" play happen to them. Hopefully, this play didn't have an effect on the outcome of the game.
Looks like they used the inadvertent whistle rule. Being that it occured during a loose ball the ball is placed at the previous spot, replay the down.
I answered above that I would have used inadvertent whistle mechanics (if I were at umpire). However, if I were the "white hat" who caught the ball I would call it a safety, since I was standing in the end zone and I am a part of the field.
Just hope and pray I am never in a crew, let alone the white hat, and this should happen. I feel sorry for the linesman, I'm sure he got an ear full.
I answered above that I would have used inadvertent whistle mechanics (if I were at umpire). However, if I were the "white hat" who caught the ball I would call it a safety, since I was standing in the end zone and I am a part of the field.
Just hope and pray I am never in a crew, let alone the white hat, and this should happen. I feel sorry for the linesman, I'm sure he got an ear full.
It appears to me the "white hat" was not in the end zone but on the 1 or 2 yard line. Therefore, I don't think it should be a safety. Since you can't be certain of where the ball would have ended up, I would have marked it down where the QB fell on it. I'd have handled it the same as if the ball had been snapped over the QB's head and hit me in the chest, leg, head, where ever.
Since I'm going to catch grief no matter what, I'd put the ball down, blow my whistle to start the 25 second clock and move on. Later, I'd buy all the guys a beer and we'd have a good laugh. In my 20+ years as a softball official, I've got lots of these kinds of stories! All you can do is move on.
Since I'm going to catch grief no matter what, I'd put the ball down, blow my whistle to start the 25 second clock and move on. Later, I'd buy all the guys a beer and we'd have a good laugh. In my 20+ years as a softball official, I've got lots of these kinds of stories! All you can do is move on.
I think that you are correct. Just before the end of the clip you can see the white cap face the pressbox and hold his right hand out toward the box. That is the signal for an inadvertent whistle. If a whistle was sounded while the ball was loose, you simply replay the down.
Unfortunately, you cannot hear a whistle on the clip so we don't know for sure when, or if, a whistle sounded. You can see the white cap begin to signal for the clock to stop just a split second after the QB got on the ball. If the whistle sounded as he began his signal, it would have been after the play was over (QB with possession down on the ground ends the play). If the whistle sounded before then, you my well have an inadvertent whistle.
Quite frankly, it looks like the crew took the easy way out. With what happened, the offense did not suffer any consequence for its mistake.
And then some!
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