Teamwork

ne thing that makes good officiating crews is teamwork. Most fans, coaches, and players think of two teams on the field when there are really three, the third being the officiating crew. In football the officiating crew consists of specialists, at least, specialists for that particular game. Specialists who work their position in concert with the other specialists. It requires a high degree of coordination.

The NFL last season instituted using regular season crews for playoff assignments instead of the former system of choosing officials by position and putting together all-star crews. You have to point to the debacle in the New York Giants – San Francisco 49ers game when a blown long snap led to a missed pass interference as an official truned his head away from the play and missed the action.

Crews that work together develop protocols on what to do when something goes out of the routine. You have to ask the question: Does that official's regular crew they have a routine that would have placed him in a different position? Or when he vacated the area, would another official know to take up the slack?

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