Lori Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 One thing I noticed was the ref talking to Trent before we started our first drive sans play clock. He was pointing down field towards (I thought) the play clock. We soon got called for delay of game. The flag was thrown by the, I think, Field Judge....the guy in center field behind the safeties. The Chargers took a delay penalty, too, and the same center field ref threw the flag. That got me thinking... Does that official (Field Judge) keep the playclock on him (stopwatch?) And I was wondering if he was supposed to maybe give a signal that time was running out, like maybe raise one hand with a clenched fist to signal "5 seconds" or something. I wondered if this arrangement 1. existed and 2. is what the ref was pointing out to Trent before we started blackout play. Overall, I thought it was pretty cool having the power out. Seemed much more like a football game and less of an "event" That's the back judge, and you're absolutely correct about him keeping the play clock. It's his penalty to call. (The line judge handles the game timing.) In fact, after Buffalo's first delay penalty, I watched Freeman through the field glasses to find out if he was using any kind of signal -- the back judge in the HS game I covered yesterday used a raised-hand motion similar to calling a dead-ball foul, roughly five seconds before he actually blew the whistle -- but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. And from a quick readthrough, neither the NFL nor NFHS rulebook says anything about it, so I guess Edwards and Rivers were pretty much on their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 People were having fun with it. The guy in front of me said he was heading to the bathroom til I pointed out it would be dark in there. It became an emergency, so he went. His comment when he came back... "Well, I made a new friend..." The girl in front of him said that in the ladies' room they were playing "Marco... Polo..." My question - on a perfect sunlit day, why were the stadium lights the first thing to come back on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 My brother was at the game... He said they had some back-up... He said concessions were still up ... Was that the norm across all sections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 My question - on a perfect sunlit day, why were the stadium lights the first thing to come back on? Probably as an indicator... Also as the days get shorter, they come on earlier... So there is "seamless" light... I am assuming they are some sort of gas vapor light? No? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 That's the back judge, and you're absolutely correct about him keeping the play clock. It's his penalty to call. (The line judge handles the game timing.) In fact, after Buffalo's first delay penalty, I watched Freeman through the field glasses to find out if he was using any kind of signal -- the back judge in the HS game I covered yesterday used a raised-hand motion similar to calling a dead-ball foul, roughly five seconds before he actually blew the whistle -- but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. And from a quick readthrough, neither the NFL nor NFHS rulebook says anything about it, so I guess Edwards and Rivers were pretty much on their own. I heard on Sirius (the NFL replay) that the back judge did use hand signals? You were there and didn't see any?... I guess I will take your word for it over those dudes on the radio! Good observation Lori! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I heard on Sirius (the NFL replay) that the back judge did use hand signals? You were there and didn't see any?... I guess I will take your word for it over those dudes on the radio! Good observation Lori! I was sitting with Lori and saw it done once, because I was watching for it, to see what type of signal he would give. The other times I'm guessing the teams would just get the play off when ready, rather than risk another delay of game. The signal was both arms up in the air (similar to a TD) and wiggling his hands around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I heard on Sirius (the NFL replay) that the back judge did use hand signals? You were there and didn't see any?... I guess I will take your word for it over those dudes on the radio! Good observation Lori! As others (including my seatmate) have mentioned, they did see at least one signal, which means I must not have been watching him on the right play(s). My bad. And since the last outage involved Buffalo's two-minute drill, Jack makes a good call in noting that the play clock wouldn't have been an issue at that point ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 That's the back judge, and you're absolutely correct about him keeping the play clock. It's his penalty to call. (The line judge handles the game timing.) In fact, after Buffalo's first delay penalty, I watched Freeman through the field glasses to find out if he was using any kind of signal -- the back judge in the HS game I covered yesterday used a raised-hand motion similar to calling a dead-ball foul, roughly five seconds before he actually blew the whistle -- but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. And from a quick readthrough, neither the NFL nor NFHS rulebook says anything about it, so I guess Edwards and Rivers were pretty much on their own. O.T.: How the hell did Freeman miss the facemask call against Lynch?!?! It happened right in front of him and caused the end of the play! I was thinking, "..and I used to love ole' number 22...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalontheBluff Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I was in an endzone and kept an eye on the signals. Basically the back judge would raise his hands and almost wiggle/wave them when 10 seconds were left on the play clock and again at 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 No TV timeouts, no stupid ads blasting at jet-engine decibel levels. Loved it, loved it, loved it. I did miss the time clock a little at the end of the first half, but I'm used to covering games at fields with no play clocks, so that part wasn't a problem for me. (Had to suck for the QBs, though, since they probably haven't played without one since HS.) And if anyone here doesn't know how to read the sticks for down and distance, learn. As tater mentioned, the a cappella version of Shout! was mighty fun, too. Nice to know I'm not the only one who finds the pumped-up pa system ads and whatnot annoying. I sat in the second row of the upper deck for the season opener (around the 20 yd line) and I was couldn't believe how loud they blast that p.a. system. It's non-stop during every stoppage in play! And lord knows, there's enough of those in the course of most NFL games. It may have been worse because our seats were in the direct line of speakers, but my god, it was almost unbearable. For a good portion of the game, I was unable to converse with my party due to the rock concert level of volume eminating from the loudspeakers. As much as I love the stadium gameday experience, it's one more reason to not go to games for many people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offside Number 76 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Nice to know I'm not the only one who finds the pumped-up pa system ads and whatnot annoying. I sat in the second row of the upper deck for the season opener (around the 20 yd line) and I was couldn't believe how loud they blast that p.a. system. It's non-stop during every stoppage in play! And lord knows, there's enough of those in the course of most NFL games. It may have been worse because our seats were in the direct line of speakers, but my god, it was almost unbearable. For a good portion of the game, I was unable to converse with my party due to the rock concert level of volume eminating from the loudspeakers. As much as I love the stadium gameday experience, it's one more reason to not go to games for many people. It's a big problem at HSBC, too. There are going to be some ads, we all know that, but the constant blaring of ads and crappy music really takes away from my ability to discuss the games with the friends I go with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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