Officials

Officials

Listed above is what happens if a player or team infringe the rules. But who is responsible for making sure that the rules are followed? It is a fast game, and there are seven officials in action.

Referee
The referee has overall control of the other officials. The referee is positioned behind the offensive team and makes all calls, even if it is another official who sees the infringement.

Umpire
The umpire is positioned behind the defensive backfield and keeps an eye on that area. The umpire also records time outs.

Head lineman
Positioned on one side of the scrimmage. Watches for offsides and plays on that side of the line, and makes sure that the chain gang do their job properly.

Line judge
The line judge stand on the opposite site of the scrimmage from the head lineman, and is responsible for watching out for offsides, encroachments, and all plays in that part of the field, as well as the timing of the game.

The other three officials are positioned at the back of the defense.

Field judge
Makes sure that punts and passes are legal, and decides whether field goal attempts are good.

Side judge
Lines up on the same side as the head lineman and keeps a watch on the wide receiver (the player on the flank, outside edge of play who receives the ball) and also on the running back.

Back judge
The back judge does the same as the side judge, but on the opposite side of the field, and also assists the field judge in deciding if a field goal was successful.

There are other officials who are not directly involved in the action.

Chain crew / Chain gang
Three officials on the sideline who measure yards gained or lost by the offensive team, and indicate the number of downs. They do this by displaying two numbers.
For example, 1st and 10, or 2nd and 6
What this means is that the play has is the first down with 10 yards to make, and the next one means the next play is the second down, with 6 yards to go.

One member of the crew will hold the marker level with the point of the start of the first play, and the other will stand along the touchline ten yards away (the chain between the poles is ten yards long). The third member of the crew holds an indicator to say which down is next and will stand at a point level with where the down was made.