I used to be an average runner when I lead with my shoulder. Now I aim for the belly with the top of my head. It does two things: puts my center of gravity lower than theirs, and gives them the hardest part of my body. Probably slightly dangerous for me, but my neck is big enough that I can’t buy dress shirts at regular stores, so it’s never been a problem. I usually slip to one side or the other after the hit, and then catch a shoulder, though.
If you watch the video carefully, I think it’s clear that, once the QB cleared the tackle box, the referee had no good options. If he stands still or goes to his left, he will collide with the defenders chasing the ball carrier from the back side. If he backpedals, he will collide with the Defensive Back coming in from the end zone. If he moves to his right, he will be running parallel to the QB and will block his path upfield. So, it seems to me, he decided to move forward on the assumption that in a split second the space in front of him will be vacated be the laterally-moving ball-carrier. The ball-carrier turned upfield at virtually the same instant, however, and a collision was imminent.
The referee was watching that player from near the start of the play. From my watching it looks as though he is seeking him out, not avoiding other players.
It does if it’s bad enough. And that one was a very, very bad mistake.
On another level, isn’t a tad odd just how close the ref as there? Maybe I just tune them out, but I was surprised to see him that close to the action.
I think this happened the same way that two people sometimes have a head-on collision on a sidewalk while looking straight at each other. Each one tries to dodge the other, but they dodge the same way at the same time. The ref was trying to move toward the spot where he expected the quarterback not to be. The raising of the shoulder happened after he started moving, and was probably a defensive reflex.
Is this a bad enough mistake to mark him as a hopeless klutz? I don’t know. But it was definitely his fault, and it affected the game. Do the rules of football have a way to deal with accidental interference by the referees?
It’s pretty clearly a deliberate block – he moves to intercept the QB, concentrating solely on him and none of the other defenders, he moves into the runner instead of avoiding him, and actually changes his stance just like a linebacker does.
Which the ref played in college.
I think he got caught up in the play and his reaction as a college linebacker took over for a moment. However, it probably didn’t affect the play that much – the other team was right there.
Wiki is incorrect. The umpire would most certainly never flag for an illegal downfield pass, since the umpire has no idea where the line of scrimmage is. That’s the job of the Head Linesman or the Line Judge, who remain near the original line of scrimmage during the development of the play and are in position to watch for the position of the quarterback relative to the line of scrimmage when he releases a pass.
The umpire in the play in question can be seen focusing on the quarterback at a time when the linemen are still engaged in the very important struggle to keep the defense from getting to the quarterback. The umpire should have been watching that. Instead, he focuses on the quarterback exclusive of all else, positions himself to stay close to where the quarterback is running, and steps straight into him without even looking around to see where there might be other players. It was at best poor officiating. It was at worst a direct attempt to interfere with the quarterback.
Of course, South Carolina scored a touchdown two plays later, or I assure you there would have been much more made of it by Coach Spurrier.
