Here is an article in today's Cedar Rapids Gazette ("Miss a Day, Miss a Lot") on officiating changes for 2015:
Scott Dochterman, The Gazette
July 21, 2015 | 11:31 am
CHICAGO — Player safety remains a primary focus for football officials, who will provide Big Ten quarterbacks with double coverage this fall.
One year after increasing the number of officials to eight, Big Ten crews have streamlined responsibilities for officials. The newest official, called the center judge, lines up alongside the deepest back and will watch the left tackle. The referee will cover the right tackle. Both, however, will slide their eyes toward the quarterback.
“We’ve asked the center judges this year to participate more in roughing the passer,” referee John O’Neill said. “Before that, that was the domain of the referee. Now, we’ve got an additional set of eyes on the quarterback.”
At the start of each play, the center judge and referee will view their assigned tackles. If it’s a passing play, they quickly will shift their focus to the quarterback.
“If I’m balancing between the tackle and that guy coming, I can help with that,” O’Neill said. “If you’re going to miss one, miss the hold, not miss the roughing the passer or targeting. With the benefit of the eighth man, the second man in the backfield with me that’s going to help with targeting.”
Bill Carollo, the Big Ten’s supervisor of officials, says targeting is “our most important call” with regard to player safety. Officials, coaches and administrators previously elected to make targeting reviewable so the call is accurate and players aren’t unjustly tossed. They’ve also streamlined their philosophies for calling targeting.
“We’ll just use the quarterbacks’ example,” Carollo said. “If it’s close, we’re not just throwing the flag. We want to make sure he’s defenseless. Put him in a category.
“In the second category, it has to deal with the crown or the very top of the helmet. That doesn’t have to hit him above the shoulders. It’s to protect me (the defender). If I don’t see my target, if I don’t have my head up, wrap up and try to move my head to the side, that gets our attention. It doesn’t always get the flag, but it gets our attention. If I launch or leave my feet ... you’re not a player if you leave your feet. You lose all your leverage, all your power, everything. They don’t want you to leave their feet.”
There are concerns that two officials in the backfield could overly scrutinize defenders hitting on the quarterback. But it’s possible that two officials watching a play from two different angles could prevent unwarranted roughing the passer penalties.
“That’s the part where the center judge is going to help us out with the most,” O’Neill said. “If we get into that situation, where he’s coming and then all the sudden his head disappears, I lose that perspective as to where was that head. Now if you’ve got the center judge who can focus on that, our accuracy level is going to go up a lot.”
Low hits with force will be considered penalties this year. Carollo said the emphasis on avoiding high hits forced defenders to target knees. The level of force is up to the official’s discretion. It also matters where the contact took place.
“We’re really looking at the classic pocket position passer where he’s stationary, not the one where he’s rolling out, a run-pass option,” said first-year Big Ten referee Don Willard. “Targeting with low hits, what we’re able to do from my standpoint is expand that of vision a little bit and officiate the defense more. Same thing with the deep guys. Where they might have focused on catch-no catch, now they can see that defender coming and so you get, you widen that out, was he being blocked? Was he off balance? Or did he intentionally target and go low so that you can make that determination on whether or not he fouled.”
“If he army crawls (to the quarterback), that’s not going to get called.”
Scott Dochterman, The Gazette
July 21, 2015 | 11:31 am
CHICAGO — Player safety remains a primary focus for football officials, who will provide Big Ten quarterbacks with double coverage this fall.
One year after increasing the number of officials to eight, Big Ten crews have streamlined responsibilities for officials. The newest official, called the center judge, lines up alongside the deepest back and will watch the left tackle. The referee will cover the right tackle. Both, however, will slide their eyes toward the quarterback.
“We’ve asked the center judges this year to participate more in roughing the passer,” referee John O’Neill said. “Before that, that was the domain of the referee. Now, we’ve got an additional set of eyes on the quarterback.”
At the start of each play, the center judge and referee will view their assigned tackles. If it’s a passing play, they quickly will shift their focus to the quarterback.
“If I’m balancing between the tackle and that guy coming, I can help with that,” O’Neill said. “If you’re going to miss one, miss the hold, not miss the roughing the passer or targeting. With the benefit of the eighth man, the second man in the backfield with me that’s going to help with targeting.”
Bill Carollo, the Big Ten’s supervisor of officials, says targeting is “our most important call” with regard to player safety. Officials, coaches and administrators previously elected to make targeting reviewable so the call is accurate and players aren’t unjustly tossed. They’ve also streamlined their philosophies for calling targeting.
“We’ll just use the quarterbacks’ example,” Carollo said. “If it’s close, we’re not just throwing the flag. We want to make sure he’s defenseless. Put him in a category.
“In the second category, it has to deal with the crown or the very top of the helmet. That doesn’t have to hit him above the shoulders. It’s to protect me (the defender). If I don’t see my target, if I don’t have my head up, wrap up and try to move my head to the side, that gets our attention. It doesn’t always get the flag, but it gets our attention. If I launch or leave my feet ... you’re not a player if you leave your feet. You lose all your leverage, all your power, everything. They don’t want you to leave their feet.”
There are concerns that two officials in the backfield could overly scrutinize defenders hitting on the quarterback. But it’s possible that two officials watching a play from two different angles could prevent unwarranted roughing the passer penalties.
“That’s the part where the center judge is going to help us out with the most,” O’Neill said. “If we get into that situation, where he’s coming and then all the sudden his head disappears, I lose that perspective as to where was that head. Now if you’ve got the center judge who can focus on that, our accuracy level is going to go up a lot.”
Low hits with force will be considered penalties this year. Carollo said the emphasis on avoiding high hits forced defenders to target knees. The level of force is up to the official’s discretion. It also matters where the contact took place.
“We’re really looking at the classic pocket position passer where he’s stationary, not the one where he’s rolling out, a run-pass option,” said first-year Big Ten referee Don Willard. “Targeting with low hits, what we’re able to do from my standpoint is expand that of vision a little bit and officiate the defense more. Same thing with the deep guys. Where they might have focused on catch-no catch, now they can see that defender coming and so you get, you widen that out, was he being blocked? Was he off balance? Or did he intentionally target and go low so that you can make that determination on whether or not he fouled.”
“If he army crawls (to the quarterback), that’s not going to get called.”
