Football Official

Football Official

Zebra

Somewhere in, NJ

Male, 62

I've officiated football for over 30 years, now in my 26th on the college level. I've worked NCAA playoffs at the Division II and III level. In addition, I've coached at the scholastic level and have been an educator for over 35 years. I have no interest whatsoever in being an NFL official! Ever!

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

514 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on January 23, 2021

Best Rated

Have you ever had a incident where people where throwing trash and things?

Asked by James over 4 years ago

Personally no. From the folks I know and work with in high school and college, never. I some officisls who have worked semi-pro with a lot less organization and mostly no security; they've had some scary moments but never stuff thrown on the field.

A fumble by the offense that goes out of bounds in the field of play is awarded to the offense at the point that it went out of bounds. A fumble out of the endzone by the offense is given to the defense, why?

Asked by Steve in Motown about 5 years ago

Steve, you're asking the same question. I can't answer it any differently. There is consistency in the fact that when the offense puts the ball into their opponents endzone (e.g. punt) it's a touchback. Same here.

A few weeks ago we saw onside kick in which kicker tossed ball 10 feet into air, hit ground, bounced 5-6 feet, and was easily kicked high. NFL later said that was illegal. Was that just the NFL, or was there something in rule book making illegal?

Asked by Jay about 5 years ago

No, it's illegal. An onside kick is a free kick which must be from a tee or by dropkick. A dropkick, by definition, is a ball kicked immediately after hitting the ground, not 3, 4, or 5 feet in the air. A similar mistake was made in a college game a few weeks ago.

On a safety, QB flagged for illegal touch (bad snap & kick ball out instead of trying to recover). Smart play, but ref made the other coach choose to decline the penalty to get safety, No option for safety & apply penalty on freekick, Correct call?

Asked by Paul E Miller over 5 years ago

There was no "illegal touch"; the foul was for illegally kicking the ball. The result of the play - the ball going over the endline because of the kicking - was a safety. You can't have the result of the play and the penalty.

QB in pocket watching receivers. Long hair protrudes from helmet.
A. Unblocked DL grabs by hair and pulls to ground.
B. DL being blocked reaches out for anything and grabs hair, pulls to ground.
Is either illegal?

Asked by JAMES FRANCIS about 5 years ago

Long hair is on the player. He is not being pulled down by the facemask or a helmet opening nor is he being pulled down by grabbing inside the collar (horse collar tackle). There is no foul.

In the Browns vs. Bengals game yesterday, CLE TE appears to come down with catch, but ball is stripped out by CIN player as both go to ground. Eventually ruled an INT. Why wasn't CIN player ruled "down by contact?"

Asked by JLINK8 about 5 years ago

Yiu write there isxa strip as they go to the ground. Meaning no one is down. So if possession changes before they go to the ground and the defender has control once on the ground, you have an INT.

You didn't answer my question. I know what the definition of the play is but my question is why is it presented that way.

Asked by Steve in Motown about 5 years ago

I'm not trying to be snarky here, but that's the rule. I may not agree with some, but the writers of the rules are the ones that put them in place....with the approval of teams in the NFL or the rules committee of the NCAA.