Football 101: Football Officials and Their Duties

Football Officials and Their Duties

Football officials... the men on the field we all love to hate and complain about. But without these keepers of the rules, a football game could not progress with any sort of structure or sanity.

Officials play a very important role in the game, from keeping the game rolling along and calling penalties when a rule is broken, to making sure the athletes don't unnecessarily hurt each other. Officials are responsible for monitoring the game clock and play clock, enforcing the rules of the game, and recording all rule infractions.

You often hear them referred to by the general term of referee, but there is actually only one referee on the field during a game. Each official (usually seven in college and NFL games) has his own title and assigned responsibilities. Following are the responsibilities of each along with their positioning on the field:

Referee
The referee is the official that has control of the game and is generally the final authority in all decisions. Among his duties are:

• Announce all penalties
• Explain penalties to the offending team's captain
• Explain penalties to the head coach of the offending team and inform him of who it was called against
• Position himself in the backfield, approximately 10 yards behind the quarterback, before each snap
• Monitor illegal hits on the quarterback
• Watch for illegal blocks near the quarterback
• Determine whether the yardage chains should be brought on the field for a measurement

You can tell the referee from the other officials because he is the only one that wears a white hat. All other officials wear black hats.

Umpire:
The umpire is the official that lines up approximately five yards off the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball. His duties include:

• Checking the legality of the players' equipment
• Making sure the offense has no more than 11 men on the field
• Monitor the legality of play on the line of scrimmage with a special emphasis on offensive holding and illegal linemen down field
• Assist the referee on decisions involving possession of the ball
• Record all timeouts
• Record all scores
• Record the winner of the coin toss
• Wipes the ball dry between plays on rainy days

Head Linesman:
The head linesman is the official that sets up straddling the line of scrimmage on the sideline designated by the referee. His duties include:

• Watch for line of scrimmage violations like offsides and encroachment
• Rule on all out-of-bounds plays on his side of the field
• Keep tabs on the chain crew
• Mark the chain to a yard marker on the field as a reference point for a measurement on the field
• Mark a players forward progress after a play is whistled dead
• Keep track of all eligible receivers
• Watch for illegal motion, illegal shifts, illegal use of hands, illegal men downfield

Line Judge:
The official who lines up on the opposite side of the field from the head linesman. His duties include:

• Assist the head linesman on in making illegal motion, illegal shifts, offside and encroachment calls
• Assist the umpire with illegal use of the hands and holding calls
• Assist the referee on false start calls
• Make sure the quarterback does not cross the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball
• Watch for offensive lineman going downfield too early on punts
• Supervise the timing of the game
• Supervise substitutions by the team on his side of the field

Back Judge:
The official who sets up 20 yards deep in the defensive backfield on the wide receiver side of the field. His duties include:

• Make sure the defensive team has no more than 11 players on the field
• Watch all eligible receivers on his side of the field
• Watch the area between the umpire and field judge
• Rule on the legality of catches and pass interference penalties
• Watch for clipping on kick returns
• On field goals, stand under the goalpost and rule on whether the kick is good

Field Judge:
The official that lines up 25 yards deep in the defensive backfield on the tight end side of the field. His duties include:

• Keep track of the play clock and call delay of game if it expires
• Make sure the defensive team has no more than 11 players on the field
• Rule on plays that cross the defense's goal line
• Watch all eligible receivers on his side of the field
• Rule on the legality of catches and pass interference penalties on the strong side of the field
• Mark the spot where a play goes out of bounds on his side of the field
• Watch for illegal use of hands by the receivers and defensive backs

Side Judge:
The official that lines up 20 yards deep in the defensive backfield. His duties are essentially the same as the back judge:

• Make sure the defensive team has no more than 11 players on the field
• Watch all eligible receivers on his side of the field
• Watch the area between the umpire and field judge
• Rule on the legality of catches and pass interference penalties
• Watch for clipping on kick returns


Ok this is such a common outline on the web I have to appolize to the site I used as a guideline. Do not worry Halo I know one site I did not use. The main purpose is to understand which Ref you want to throw your beer at with a blown call.

Well it has been a while since i have posted to my blog and well personal life seems to take you away from what you love once in a while. Round one went to me so I promise to get busy and try to tick some people off around with my next blog. Till then I am off to party! opps forgot I am a single parent now I have to be good