• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Switzer Fair Catch?

Neurodeac said:
I take it TheReff only refs basketball? One of the few times he criticizes a ref's call, it favors UNC. Closet hole fan?
Click to expand...

I used to referee high school football also but that was years ago from early 80's to early 90's when I got heavy into college basketball & had to give up something with kids starting to grow up. But I do keep up with all the rules from Referee Magazine and our high school basketball assignor is an ACC football official and one of the guys I will see tonight at the meeting is a top notch ACC official who had the Sugar Bowl 2 years ago when OK beat Bama. I will ask him what their tape sessions this week said about the UNC/Switzer fair catch, if anything. He was at Miami last week for VT/Miami, but they have review & tape sessions from all the ACC games on Monday/Tuesday.
 
"ARTICLE 3. An invalid signal is any waving signal by a player of Team B that does not meet the requirements of a valid signal (Rule 6-5-3)."

"An invalid fair catch signal is when the player signaling for a fair catch does not fully extend his arm above his head. If the players arm is flexed, an invalid fair catch penalty will be called and the ball will be marked down at the spot of the invalid fair catch and then assessed a five yard penalty."
Click to expand...

TheReff said:
But I do keep up with all the rules from Referee Magazine
Click to expand...

Must have missed a page.

But, I am interested in what you find out.
 
Jamison2Carter said:
I couldn't tell whether he intended to fake a fair catch call when he moved his arm or whether it was a movement without the intent to game the system, but it was the correct call either way. He had his arm halfway up his chest and he would have gotten knocked the fuck out if the refs hadn't called the play dead.
Click to expand...

I don't think it was the whistle that kept him from getting killed - it was the 2 or 3 Wake guys that could have hit him 0.0001 seconds after he caught that ball that pulled up at the last second after his illegal fair catch motion. And it wasn't like he juked those guys out to get past them; they pulled up and didn't pursue him. It's not all that hard to "return" a punt, when you fake the first set of defenders into not going after you, and then have the second set of defenders quit on the play because of two separate whistles.
 
Neurodeac said:
Must have missed a page.

But, I am interested in what you find out.
Click to expand...

I try & keep up with the pertinent stuff like men's & women's college basketball & college football, stuff that I would attend or might want to discuss on here. They give a great synopsis of all the rule changes when they come out & get announced, plus give you the reasons from the NCAA committee as to why they were doing it. They will also tell you what they might be experimenting on in the coming season [6 fouls in a game in the pre-season NIT & other exhibitions and games like that for this season]--that is where they get their data for the coming seasons to determine if they want to bring in a new rule like the arc in the lane or extending the 3-point line like they have done. It is not always changed, but usually when it is experimented on, it is coming so this year on the 6 fouls they want to see if games get rougher and if there are more fouls per game than on average if they were to allow 6 fouls like the NBA.

Then of course since I am also still deeply involved with high school basketball, I read & study all that stuff as I am now an observer for our local high school association, headed by the ACC football official. I do not get into looking at any of the soccer, volleyball or much baseball stuff, except some of the MLB baseball rules things. Can't say I have ever done any of those except a little high school & JV baseball years ago in the late 70's & early 80's.
 
Neurodeac said:
Must have missed a page.

But, I am interested in what you find out.
Click to expand...

Here is what I found out last night--the call on the field was correct. The invalid fair catch signal was slight, as it was just put up briefly around the waist & below the shoulders, so that is why it was invalid. The only thing the officials should have done differently was to have all come in with whistles and killed the play immediately. That way Switzer would not have run all the way down the field.

What I also found out that was real interesting is what a punt returner CAN do that is legal, and difficult for the back judge & other officials looking at that part of the play: He can put his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun or lights, but it can't be waived in any manner--hand has to go straight to the eyes. If it doesn't, the play is to be killed and punt return is over. Also the punt returner can point out to his blockers who to block--what makes this difficult is that his point must be made at shoulder level or below, so as to not be confused with a fair catch signal. If there is any confusion, they are to blow that dead and consider it a fair catch.

So that is what I found out. I hope that helps.
 
bojanglefunk said:
FIFY
Click to expand...

Yes, like I said, they made the correct call. Anything made below the waist, no matter how quick is considered invalid. I did not think it was enough to be anything when I saw it live on TV and ran it back several times. But they now consider anything to be a move as a signal, all for safety, or for the purposes of deceit by a punt returner trying to get the defense to quit on their tackling.
 
I was at the Raleigh Sports Club today and a 'hole' mockingly demonstrated what a fair catch signal looks like. They seem to think that they were 'wronged' in the call. That would also seem to say they had rather Wake had treated the play like an ordinary fielding of a punt. They seem to prefer to complain than to realize how they would have felt if our guys had laid Swi... out, maybe for the season. We could have. We were fair sports and acted on the side of good play and sportsmanship, non injury. While their guy acted in poor sportsmanship and an " I'll outfox you " with a dick action. I hope their future opponents saw that and if a 'clear' signal not made, lay him out big time.
 
raldeac said:
I was at the Raleigh Sports Club today and a 'hole' mockingly demonstrated what a fair catch signal looks like. They seem to think that they were 'wronged' in the call. That would also seem to say they had rather Wake had treated the play like an ordinary fielding of a punt. They seem to prefer to complain than to realize how they would have felt if our guys had laid Swi... out, maybe for the season. We could have. We were fair sports and acted on the side of good play and sportsmanship, non injury. While their guy acted in poor sportsmanship and an " I'll outfox you " with a dick action. I hope their future opponents saw that and if a 'clear' signal not made, lay him out big time.
Click to expand...

Of course they would think that and we would also if that had happened to us and we appeared to run back a punt for a TD. In the 1979 Tangerine Bowl season we had a punt return that went for a TD blown back by an inadvertent whistle for some reason. We went crazy but we were the away team in Kenan. Hard to make much of an effect. Of course we didn't score after that but we did go on to win against a great Lawrence Taylor team, 24-19. I knew then from being a young football official how much refs hated to have an inadvertent whistle, but you and the teams hate it even worse when it causes a team to miss a TD. And in football, unlike basketball, the big moments are really big. In basketball it is usually only 2 points missed on a breakaway, but it football it is 7 points.
 
I watched the video and agree with the announcers. He never moved. There was no legal fair catch or illegal fair catch.

We should have tackled him. A bad call went our way for a change and fortunately the league is too embarrassed to admit it knowing so many bad calls have gone against us over the years.

Let's hit him next time.
 
How far in the Red does somebody have to be before we determine who the parody is? Or has it already been revealed?
 
I know the refs eventually got the play right, but we should have knocked the living shit out of him. Watson was right there and should have absolutely decleated him.

If he wants to run bush league bullshit with his hands and the refs aren't sure enough to stop him, then the defense needs to take it into their own hands. Knock his lights out, give him a concussion and then he won't run that BS anymore. Or if he does then he can wait a month or two to do it.
 
Clearly he was upset that he didn't do anything to signal anything and the Carolina coaches were upset too. The call went our way for a change.

Too bad we didn't hit him.
 
TheReff said:
Of course they would think that and we would also if that had happened to us and we appeared to run back a punt for a TD. In the 1979 Tangerine Bowl season we had a punt return that went for a TD blown back by an inadvertent whistle for some reason. We went crazy but we were the away team in Kenan. Hard to make much of an effect. Of course we didn't score after that but we did go on to win against a great Lawrence Taylor team, 24-19. I knew then from being a young football official how much refs hated to have an inadvertent whistle, but you and the teams hate it even worse when it causes a team to miss a TD. And in football, unlike basketball, the big moments are really big. In basketball it is usually only 2 points missed on a breakaway, but it football it is 7 points.
Click to expand...

I was at that game, and also at Kenan in 2005 when Mike Zeglinski ran one back for a TD in a Deacon win. I'm sure this is a Haas, but IIRC after graduation Zegelinksi hung around Winston to run the White Horse Pub, which eventually led to Ziggy's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top