Understanding the Clock

by Homer Smith

An official signals that the clock is to be kept running by winding an arm and that it is to be stopped by crossing his arms over his head.

The Ref signals that the 25-second counter is to start by sharply dropping his hand and loudly tooting his whistle.

The clock will stop and stay stopped until the snap if it was stopped for

a timeout,

an incomplete pass,

an out-of-bounds ball,

a timeout called by the Ref to control crowd noise,

a penalty on a side that the Ref believes took the penalty to consume time, which means that (a) the defense cannot jump offsides and give up 5 yards in order to consume the seconds that it would take for the offense to initiate a play after the ball is declared ready and (b) the offense cannot take a delay penalty, absorb a 5-yard penalty, and get the clock moving again without executing a play,

something that interrupts the 25-second counter,

a kickoff that is not touched on the field of play, which means that you should not field a kickoff that is going to skip into the endzone and give you a firstdown on the 20 with no loss of seconds.

The clock will start with the Ref’s hand and toot if it was stopped for

a firstdown,

a penalty, except when taken to consume time,

an injury,

a measurement,

a TV timeout,

game administration, except for crowd noise,

a forward fumble out of bounds, on the principle that you cannot take a 5-yard penalty to get the clock stopped until the snap,

an early snap before the hand toot, even before players are set, giving you your only way to get the clock stopped and another play called and initiated when you see 00:15, 00:14 as a play ends.

The QB must know, absolutely, when a stopped clock will start. He can ask, and he should get a quick answer – “on the snap”, or “on the ready”. A coach cannot ask.

If a pass is completed on a sideline at a firstdown line, the close official’s signals when the ball is inbounds for a firstdown are a winding of an arm followed by a crossing of arms over his head. If an official may not wind his arm in this situation and might just cross his arms for the firstdown, the QB must ask, “When will the clock start?”

After a play ends, if an official just crosses his arms and stops the clock, you may not know what it is for – TV timeout, defensive timeout, game administration – and, if you do not, you must ask.

Referring to the unique penalty for trying to consume time, here is an example of a defense being guilty:

The offense has 1st-and-10, with 00:13. The clock starts. The defense jumps offsides at 00:10, just as the QB starts his cadence. The clock stops. The defense is penalized. It becomes 1st-and-5. The clock starts. The offense is a little slow in getting lined up, and the defense jumps again, at 00:05. The clock stops. The defense penalized. It becomes 1st-and-10, but eight seconds are gone and probably the offense has one play left instead of two.

Here is an example of an offense being guilty:

The offense has 1st-and-10, with 00:41. The clock starts. The offense lets the 25-second counter run out and takes a delay penalty. The Ref does not start the clock on the ready signal, but 1st-down is played over. The offense runs its 1st-down play normally, and it becomes 2nd-down. Again, the 25-second counter is allowed to run out, and five yards is stepped off. The clock does not start, but 2nd-down is played over.

Obviously, these practices are unacceptable — trading yards for the canceling of time — and the Ref is given the discretion he needs to keep them from happening.

Remember, an offensive player cannot affect the clock by faking an injury, faking an equipment problem, intentionally fumbling the ball out of bounds, calling for a measurement, taking a penalty, or complaining.

“The QB must know, absolutely, when a stopped clock will start.”

This article was written by Homer Smith and appeared on his Homersmith.net Web Site earlier this year. Homer is an expert on Clock Management.