Don't bash those that do it until you've tried it. It's not as easy as it looks. I've not fooled with basketball but I've done baseball and football for years. I do believe most officials mess up every game, but I also think most officials try and do the best they can and aren't trying to cheat kids. In football too you have 5 pairs of eyes to watch 22 players on the field, you can't see everything.

What frustrates me the most are calls made by an official on the other side of the field when there is an official standing right next to the play in question and he calls nothing.

Don't bash those that do it until you've tried it. It's not as easy as it looks. I've not fooled with basketball but I've done baseball and football for years. I do believe most officials mess up every game, but I also think most officials try and do the best they can and aren't trying to cheat kids. In football too you have 5 pairs of eyes to watch 22 players on the field, you can't see everything.

 

5 pair of eyes at field level. And there are hundreds of eyes up in the stands or press box with better vantage points for a lot of the action. No doubt it is a very difficult job. Remember the video of the lateral pass that was obviously a lateral with the advantage of seeing it from above? The officials were crucified but neither the line judge or umpire could have easily seen the angle from field level. Missing calls are part of the game. I just really hate it when they make up something that was not there in a key play. That is when people ask - what is going on.

 

The officiating crews are a team when they do a game. And there are the 4 stages of teaming. Forming, storming, norming and performing. If your coming together for the first time an hour before the game you are not going to reach the performing stage as a 'team'. You can see this many times. They just have not worked together and are not familiar with each other's strengths, weaknesses and methods. That has been obvious in some of the games.

What frustrates me the most are calls made by an official on the other side of the field when there is an official standing right next to the play in question and he calls nothing.

 

You are suppose to watch your zone first and foremost, but if you see something in another officials zone it's better to call it than to let it go uncalled.

You are suppose to watch your zone first and foremost, but if you see something in another officials zone it's better to call it than to let it go uncalled.

 

Cmon HT, these are bogus calls. I watch lots of film and see these "out of zone" calls that are terrible. Let the official three feet from the play make the call, not 90 feet away.

What frustrates me the most are calls made by an official on the other side of the field when there is an official standing right next to the play in question and he calls nothing.

 

Those usually don't bother me. My belief there is if you see a penalty, call it. I don't care if you are 30 yards down field. Just make sure you have no doubt it was a penalty. These complaints about "out of zone" calls always get me. I ask the person complaining, "Did the guy clip him?" The answer is usually, "Yes but there is no way that guy saw that/can see that/can call that, etc." Hey, if it's a penalty you can't complain regardless of who calls it.

Those usually don't bother me. My belief there is if you see a penalty, call it. I don't care if you are 30 yards down field. Just make sure you have no doubt it was a penalty. These complaints about "out of zone" calls always get me. I ask the person complaining, "Did the guy clip him?" The answer is usually, "Yes but there is no way that guy saw that/can see that/can call that, etc." Hey, if it's a penalty you can't complain regardless of who calls it.

 

When the film shows it's a bogus call, it bothers me.

When the film shows it's a bogus call, it bothers me.

 

And I would be with you on that one. The film should always show a penalty when a flag was thrown.

Cmon HT, these are bogus calls. I watch lots of film and see these "out of zone" calls that are terrible. Let the official three feet from the play make the call, not 90 feet away.

 

Some of them may very well be, but that doesn't mean they all are. Like I said if you see a penalty, I'm not saying make a penalty up. But I've had a few thrown in my area that I missed and I've thrown some in others areas I've seen. But as already been stated on this by VOR the film should make it obvious what you called when you do that.

Because you've been to them all?

I have seen very few crews/games in NKY. I have seen a pile from EKY and I think we have very solid officiating crews here. I can't speak for the mountains, but our officials here do a solid job.

The officials I have seen this year have been doing a good job of limiting the flags and letting the kids play. They aren't calling the borderline stuff from what I have seen. The only complaint I would have is I have seen some plays where players rushing the QB get past the blocker, get grabbed and yet no holding calls. Outside of that, the officiating I have seen has been very good.

Because you've been to them all?

I have been to them all. Officiating is best in NKY, 2nd is Louisville, and it goes downhill the further you get from those 2 locations.

While a lot of laypeople in the stands do not know some of the common mis-called rules it is amazing the number of officials who do not seem know these.

 

Such as:

- No 'uncatchable' in pass interference. If the ball is out of bounds or 10 yards over the head and there is interference - its interference. Lots of officials resist throwing the flag due to 'uncatchable'.

- No 'out of the pocket'. This is the counter call to above. A pass must be to someone and can not be a throw away to out of bounds even if the QB is outside the tackles. The net of this and the rule above is that all passes are directed to someone or this grounding and if the intended recipient is interfered with its interference regardless where the ball lands.

- FBZs, legal/illegal cut blocks, legal/illegal blocks in the back, chop blocks. To much detail here. But most people in the stands do not know how the FBZ works and when it disintegrates what is legal while it is intact (cut blocking and blocking in the back of players already in FBZ at the start of the play). But when you see lineman cutting standup linebackers that are well outside the the FBZ and blocks in the back on the line long after the FBZ is gone you wonder if any of the officials know what the rules around the FBZ are.

These are all interesting insights. I have watched a lot of high school sports over the last ten years and I have seen officials who I thought were calling fairly and those who were just terrible, but seldom did I see any that I thought were cheating. I have known of officials who carry vendettas against certain coaching staffs and I worked with one football ref who told me his goal for one particular season was to go 11 weeks without pulling his flag out of his pocket.

 

But, in spite of all of that, I have rarely seen a contest of any kind where I felt the referees made the difference in the outcome. It happens occasionally, but the best team usually wins.

While a lot of laypeople in the stands do not know some of the common mis-called rules it is amazing the number of officials who do not seem know these.

 

Such as:

- No 'uncatchable' in pass interference. If the ball is out of bounds or 10 yards over the head and there is interference - its interference. Lots of officials resist throwing the flag due to 'uncatchable'.

- No 'out of the pocket'. This is the counter call to above. A pass must be to someone and can not be a throw away to out of bounds even if the QB is outside the tackles. The net of this and the rule above is that all passes are directed to someone or this grounding and if the intended recipient is interfered with its interference regardless where the ball lands.

- FBZs, legal/illegal cut blocks, legal/illegal blocks in the back, chop blocks. To much detail here. But most people in the stands do not know how the FBZ works and when it disintegrates what is legal while it is intact (cut blocking and blocking in the back of players already in FBZ at the start of the play). But when you see lineman cutting standup linebackers that are well outside the the FBZ and blocks in the back on the line long after the FBZ is gone you wonder if any of the officials know what the rules around the FBZ are.

 

A couple of others that I hear fans saying were missed calls:

 

Illegal man downfield on a punt. There is no wait until the ball is kicked rule before linemen can take off. That's a pro rule.

Same with a screen pass. In high school the linemen can be downfield as long as the pass is behind the LOS (I think).