Color commentators working NFL preseason games were uniformly inconsistent during the preseason (from top-notch efforts by network talkers to so-so and even poor work on team-controlled broadcasts), but they all seemed to share one opinion: their dislike for the repositioning of the umpire on the field.
As a change for this season, the NFL moved umpires from a spot on the defensive side of the ball at a depth about equal to the linebackers to a position in the offensive backfield. It was a move for safety, to take umpires out of harm's way as standing "picks" for receivers crossing the field and as human tackling dummies when action moves straight up the field.
But, because the umpires must spot the ball and get to their position before play can begin, the change from a place 5 or so yards from the ball to a place nearly a 12 yards away has been troublesome.
Coaches complained. Players did as well. And the Indianapolis Colts tested the rule about when the ball could be snapped repeatedly during a nationally televised preseason game, prompting several penalties.
Best of all, most TV analysts chided the move as well. Their criticisms included how the move impacted the integrity of the game and it's inconsistency -- because the umpires do move back to the defensive side of the ball in the final two minutes of the game, as an acknowledgment that team's might try to work faster late in the game and that the umpire should be in a more efficient position.
Amid such criticism, the NFL agreed to move umpires to defense for the final 5 minutes of each half during the last week of the preseason. Additionally, the league plans a meeting this week -- after the nationally televised Vikings-Saints season opener on Thursday -- to revisit the umpire topic again as the season begins.
It's clearly a rule that needs work, and it's a positive that analysts have consistently pointed out its flaws.
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