SAN DIEGO COUNTY FOOTBALL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION - THE WEEKLY BULL - September. 14, 2022 Zoom Meeting This Week – We will all be meeting via Zoom this week. 1st and 2nd year officials will be receiving a zoom invitation from your instructors and you are to log in and participate with your class via zoom. All certified officials are invited to participate in the Crew Chief Zoom Meeting using the following zoom invitation. Following the Crew Chief Zoom Meeting, all crews can meet on their own. PS. Lead instructors will include those officials from your class that are not currently working on a crew. These officials are important members and are filling in regularly and deserve quality instruction! Crew meetings may take place at any time, just not during the Crew Chief Zoom Meeting. Crew Chief Zoom Meeting Wednesday, September 14, 6:00 PM Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83612468012?pwd=cmhYcVVVNzlFL2lhU1NjeU41aXgrUT09 Meeting ID: 836 1246 8012 Passcode: 614272 One tap mobile +16694449171 Meeting Agenda – Attendance, Bull; Calibration; Instructional Video; Sharing of Plays and Situations. Once again, if your crew and class attend the Crew Chief Zoom Meeting, we will have covered the Bull, Calibration, and Instructional Video. By doing it this way, all you have to do is clarify and questions from the meeting and look at your own weekly cut ups and begin your preparation for this week’s games. Attendance Report – All attendance sheets have been shared with instructors and crew chiefs via google docs. Please enter your crew’s attendance plus all test scores directly onto those forms. If you have trouble, you can continue to email me your attendance. Payment from Metro Conference Schools – The District was having trouble with Arbiter Pay so there was a delay in getting out payments. We hear they have it fixed. Illegal Blindside Block – Although this is a blocking foul, it was written into the personal foul section of the rule book Rule 9-4-3n, so please remember an illegal blindside block is a 15 yard penalty. New Ball Rule – Remember this new rule does not give permission for the punter to bring in his favorite “special ball” to punt on 4th down. It now clarifies that the referee, or any other game official, may order the ball changed between downs. Game official…Not the punter! This made our requesting new ball be brought in following long incompletions, compatible with the rule book. It wasn’t before because it said referee only, and said it had to be inclement weather. Get Your Count Completed Early in the Pre-Snap Routine - We all agree the importance of a pre-snap concentration routine in preparing for each play and consistent officiating. Without question counting players is a must, every play. It should be done as early as possible, and consistently signaling to your crew mate. Try to count offensive team in huddle if they are a team that huddles. Defensive team can be counted shortly after players separate depending on the result of the play and after each official’s ball handling responsibilities. Be aware of substitutions. Counting early and confirming with your fellow official allows you (and your crewmate) to move thru the balance of the pre snap preparation for the next play. Nothing worse then standing like a statue and wondering if your crewmate is going to count this play. Here’s a basic dead ball and pre-snap routine: Pre-Snap Preparation What is your pre-snap routine? It’s different for each position…have you developed your own? Have you borrowed one from someone else? Pre-Snap begins with the previous dead ball period. Be a great dead ball official! Don’t be in a hurry to chase the ball. Make sure you’ve completed your dead ball officiating. Know the status of the clock. The crew must check the clock during each dead ball period and know how to correct any timing errors…especially at the end of half and game! Know your ball mechanics for returning the ball or obtaining a new ball when you’re ready. Observe substitutions Count offense or defense and signal early in the pre-snap Know & think down &distance Move to proper position for snap (based upon formation?) Recognize formations and strengths of formations Identify your key(s) – number(s) – location in formation Know team tendencies Identify where the best players are in the formation Look for mismatches You are ready for the snap!! Simultaneous Possession – Rule 4-2-2c The ball becomes dead and the down is ended when any forward pass is simultaneously caught by opposing players. Be slow, and patient with this call as most times by the time the players are down by rule, one of the players will have taken control of the ball. UNS vs Personal Foul – I have heard that there is sentiment among certain crew chiefs that illegal personal contact fouls as in 9-4 are being penalized as UNS in order to "send a message" and have the player at risk of being ejected. Please do not do this. If a player is ejected, then I will not be able to support the ejection by rule. If a player is a constant challenge, then any personal foul can be elevated to flagrant if there is a risk to the opponent of severe injury. It’s possible the second personal foul by the player is deemed flagrant. From Tom Ables - Make sure Arbiter Calendars are up to date. If you're not available, block it Mike Downing - has to be the early favorite for the Skull based upon the duration of the Lincoln-Mater Dei game. It went beyond the 3-hour time slot! Put that man on TV and he gets as much air time as possible. Nathan Weiss – A victim of the same game…crushed by the All-American RB from Lincoln and two defenders from Mater Dei. Needless to say, Nate is healing well but may have broken some ribs. Get well Nathan! Disconcerting Act – LB threatens the offensive line several times in an intimidating way as the offense is in punt formation. This is a relatively new foul. Dead ball foul and a 5-yard penalty. Do you know the signal? It’s the old Illegal Equipment signal. Unintentional Contact on the Sideline – If there is unintentional contact between a nonplayer (coach) and a game official in the restricted area, the 15-yard penalty is enforced from the succeeding spot. If a TD was scored then the offended team may choose to enforce the penalty on the try, or on the subsequent kickoff. Tips for Head Linesmen - Always check the chains! Recently a HL, during the pre-game instructions to the chain crew, checked the length of the chains and discovered they were two lengths too long. A plastic zip tie was used to make the adjustment prior to the start of the game. Do you carry a zip tie in your pocket? Inbounds Spot Following a Free Kick – Team A can only designate the lateral position of the snap following a touchback. The inbounds spot for a free kick out of bounds when the penalty is accepted is the nearest hash mark (4-3-5). Week #5 – We are almost half-way through the season already. Make every snap count because it will be over before you know it. Illegal Motion - There are only three illegal motion penalties: Motion is toward opponent’s goal line Two players in motion at the snap (if one stops then it would be illegal shift) Player in motion who was on the LOS when he started and who is not 5-yards behind his LOS at the snap The Clock is a Crew Mechanic – Here are just two examples of when an official is the primary official on the crew for monitoring the clock: Time Out - If you award a time out you are the primary official to be sure clock is stopped and the correct time if it doesn’t stop right away. Penalty - If you call a foul, you are the primary official to be sure clock is stopped and the correct time if it doesn’t stop. You may be the ONLY official on the crew that has knowledge of the instant a time out or foul has been called! Flags and Penalty Enforcements - During all Penalty Enforcements; leave the flag(s) on the ground until the penalty has been marched off/enforced. Multiple fouls for the same foul; match the flags, one on top of the other, this excludes Dead Ball line of scrimmage fouls. The Back Judge should be involved in the coverage of flags. Get in and out of Penalty Enforcements, cleanly and efficiently. Inadvertent Whistles – If during legal forward pass, snap is in flight, or during a legal kick – replay the down. If the ball is in player possession, that team has the choice of possession at the dead ball spot, or replay the down. Same two options for the team last in possession if following a backward pass, fumble or illegal forward pass or illegal kick. Accepted penalties take precedence over an IW Eye Black & Rolled Up Pants – One single stroke under the eye. No face paint. Always check the back of the pants at the back of the knees. Many times the player will roll up the back of the pant at the back of the knee so the pants will keep rising up. When you fix during the pre-game, notice if the back is rolled up. I learned this trick from Mater Dei in Santa Ana. Please keep enforcing this in pregame. Anniversary Awards – If you are celebrating an anniversary of service to SDCFOA, we want to recognize you at the banquet this year. If your first year of service is 2003, 1993, or 1983, we want to present you with a “Years of Service” award this year. Please contact Rick Christensen directly at ref.rick85@gmail.com with your information no later than October 7, 2022. Nominations for CA State Playoffs – Congratulations to the following officials who have been nominated to work at State Championship Game. I will publish who has been selected from the amazing group in early October. Referee: Mike Andrews, Rick Christensen; Umpire: Jay Drewry, Andre Coleman; Flanks: Justin Joseph, Terry Bernard, Mike Duggan, Mike Lemieux; Deep Flanks: Glenn Inigo, Derrick Vassar, George Conley BJ: Parker Anderson, Blair Havens.
