NFL Continues Adjusting Umpire Positioning Two Day Before Games Start Counting
by Brad Wells on Sep 7, 2010 3:09 PM EDT
in 2010 Colts News
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PrintMore follies from the NFL league office as they continue to fumble their way through the embarrassing umpire rules changes. Two days before the Vikings are to visit the Saints for the start of the 2010 regular season, the league decided to make yet another change to the umpire positioning rule. PFT explains:
Today the league office sent all 32 teams a memo explaining that the umpire will now be 12 yards from the line of scrimmage, not 15 yards. In theory, that means it shouldn't take the umpire quite as long to spot the ball before each play, get back into position during the play, and then go spot the ball again as soon as the play ends.
The league also said the head linesman or line judge will signal when a snap can occur, and the quarterback can then call for the snap as soon as he sees that signal. And now umpires will move back to the old position on the defensive side of the field during the last two minutes of the first half, the last five minutes of the second half and any time a team is at or inside the defense's 5-yard line.
PFT then goes on to say that teams like the Colts and Saints, who run no-huddle, up-tempo offenses, are still going to be affected by these rules changes regardless of whatever tweaking the league office does to shoehorn them into practice.
I'm almost numb to the stupidity the NFL is engaging in with this rule. A fat, over weight, slow umpire can now do more to slow the Colts and Saints than an NFL defense can.
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Ha ha ha
Any bets that 2 hours before the game they decide to make it 11 yards one foot and four inches?
Well
It’s at least an improvement, but its still a band-aid. The way it needs to be done is allowing the head linesman or line judge be the one who can set the ball and signal the play start….
The Ump doesn’t need to be the only one doing it.
AND, you are still giving the defense an unfair advantage of being able to substitute or make changes that are NOT subject to the play clock….
Signaling when the snap can occur is stupid
If Peyton is the last man in the the backfield, he knows when the umpire got behind him, and when the RB is the last man, he can say OK or something.
It's unbelievable...
they’re still sticking to their insane logic of putting the ump in harm’s way for a portion of the game. That’s like not enforcing speeding laws when you’re within two miles of your home address. How stupid. DevilsReject has a good point too.
Quick update!!!!!!!
Here’s the rule change from Wish TV 8
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/sports/colts_and_nfl/nfl-again-tweaks-positioning-of-umpires
All 32 teams were told in a memo from the league Tuesday that the umpire will now position himself 12 yards from the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped instead of approximately 15 yards, which was used during the preseason.
Also, the head linesman or line judge can signal when the ball can be snapped instead of having quarterbacks checking with referees. And the umpire must only be beyond the deepest running back — not established in position — before the ball can be snapped.
Umpires also will move to the middle of the defense, their old position, during the final two minutes of the first half, the final five minutes of the game and when the offense is at, or inside, the opponent’s 5-yard line.
Still a band-aid, but this looks to be a much better alternative…..
STILL Inconsistent
It’s like this:
You’re at the pool and the lifeguard says “everyone out the pool it’s full of piranhas [that can survive chlorine, I guess]…it’s unsafe to be in the pool!!!!!!!” So, even though everyone was having a great time before the pirhanas, they get out of the pool because they don’t want to be in what’s reported to be an unsafe situation, obviously. But now everyone’s standing around bored and looking at their feet. Sensing the lack of excitement, the lifeguard announces it will be okay to go back into the pool for around 7 minutes of open swim – but only 7 minutes, because, you know, the pool’s full of piranhas. Oh yeah, and if things don’t work out, that’s okay, they’ll tweak that policy as they go.
Yeah, it makes that much sense. And now to add insult to injury the AP is reporting that an offending team may or may not receive a discretionary warning? Discretionary? How much more inconsistent can this thing get? Really, folks, is there another safety-related, penalizing rule in football that’s as inconsistent as this??
"My goal is to be the person my dog seems to think I am."
"I'm all lost in the supermarket/ I can no longer shop happily/ I came in here for the special offer/ A guaranteed personaility."
You're right.
It’s very inconsistent. Two of league’s goals should be to cut down on judgment calls and increase the safety of game. Having seven minutes where this is less of an emphasis doesn’t add up for me. They even removed the discretionary aspect of the face mask penalty by eliminating the 5 yd incidental face mask.
Reducing the risk makes sense.
There are other safety rules that have exceptions: you can block a defender in the back or below the knees in the “free block zone” near the line of scrimmage. Part of that is because those tend to be more dangerous in the open field, but its also because offenses need to be able to do those things at the line.
But more importantly, its the nature of the risk. A ref behind the D-line isn’t at that much risk from any individual play, but the one-in-a-thousand chance comes up a few times over the course of a season. Removing the risk from 90% of the plays should reduce the injuries by 90%. Its kind of like playing an injured player for a playoff game or a big regular season matchup when he’d be resting if it was a less important game. The risk of re-injury may be the same, but the benefits of taking the risk are greater.
by ex-Viking fan on Sep 7, 2010 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
A concussion in the last minute of the game is just as harmful as one in the first minute
Said that in another post and it’s still true.
"My goal is to be the person my dog seems to think I am."
"I'm all lost in the supermarket/ I can no longer shop happily/ I came in here for the special offer/ A guaranteed personaility."
Or...
to use the example above: You can be eaten by piranha in the first minute, or in the last – you’re still eaten.
"My goal is to be the person my dog seems to think I am."
"I'm all lost in the supermarket/ I can no longer shop happily/ I came in here for the special offer/ A guaranteed personaility."
Is is unsafe to be in the poo
You got that right brother!
Why does umpire have to be in position before allowing a snap?
Why would there be a danger to an umpire who was still in the offensive backfield at the snap? There is a huge difference between the dangers behind the D-line and those behind the O-line. The area behind the D-line has lots of players from both teams trying to hit each other as hard as possible. The offense is trying to create confusion, and there are players from both teams moving at full speed through the area as soon as the ball is snapped. But the offensive backfield is quite different. Usually the only guys running anything like full speed are the QB and an RB, and they aren’t going to be quite up to speed yet. The rest of the offense is trying to keep any defensive players from joining them. Put another way, how many injuries do you think you’d get from collisions with Peyton Manning going back to pass, or with Joseph Addai running for a handoff?
Also, the offense controls the snap, and they are obviously going to avoid snapping it when there is a risk of a collision in the backfield. If they want to snap quickly, they could run plays that don’t require someone to run near the umpire. If they want something else, then they can just wait a few seconds.
i know we disagree often,
but i fully agree with you on this one. the nfl is being stupid stupid stupid. just go back to the old rule already! the actual season is no time to experiment with something as important as this. if its not perfected by now, just let it go.
"I throw him four wide ones then try to pick him off first base." - Preacher Roe on Stan Musial
i almost can't think about this rule...
without screaming. the piranha example was apt, but even worse is that the lifeguard has to keep checking his watch. 2 minutes 1st half, 5 minutes 2nd half? wtf? i can’t wait to take a shot every time the umpire can’t remember where he’s supposed to go between 2nd quarter 2:10-1:50 remaining and 4th quarter 5:10-4:50 remaining. or was that 2:40-5:15… crap…
Isn't it Anthony Gonzalez's fault?
"Born to do it, even though all my friends are looking at me like 'Who knew it?'"
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