Coaches’ sideline behavior a ‘point of emphasis’ for SEC officials
HOOVER Ala. — SEC director of officials Steve Shaw was first up on Day 2 of SEC Football Media Days and there was much to discuss with regard to rule changes in 2012.
First and foremost is the change on kickoffs. For safety reasons, the placement of the ball has been moved up from the 30- to the 35-yard line. Shaw said the move was made in order to induce “more touchbacks, less collisions.”
However, touchbacks have also been moved up for the offensive team from the 20- to the 25-yard line. So defensive-minded coaches aren’t necessarily inclined to readily give up those five yards.
Florida coach Will Muschamp, for instance, said the Gators are discussing alternatives.
“We have talked about some sky kick situations,” Muschamp said. “We’re looking at directional kicking the ball with height and see if we can pin them back a little further.”
They’ve also instituted a rule that protects the receiver when the kicking team attempts an onsides kick with a high one-hopper. In the past, the kicking team could strike the receiver before he touched the ball. Now that receiver is protected from being hit until he has had a chance to field the ball.
Other changes, mainly designed for player safety, include:
- It’s now a 15-yard foul for a defender to attempt to leap over backfield punt protectors.
- Kick-catch interference, also known as the “halo rule,” has been reintroduced as a “modified halo.” Now it’s going to be a one-yard halo, or shoulder width.
- Helmets popping off will be strictly enforced. If not caused by foul, the player will have to sit out the next play. So players “better buckle that thing up,” Shaw said.
- Blocking below the waist is going to be another point of emphasis.
And finally, “coaches’ sideline behavior” will be closely monitored.
“We have great coaches in this league and we don’t think there will be anything here for us,” Shaw said. “But I think nationally we’ve all agreed that anytime the coaches’ behavior on the sideline is demeaning to the game we have to deal with it. And we will.”
You’ll recall that, Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin had a nose-to-nose, postgame confrontation this past season.
MORE COVERAGE FROM DAY 2 OF SEC MEDIA DAYS (MORE TO COME ALL AFTERNOON):
- Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials
- Muschamp: Keep Georgia-Florida in Jax; ‘Coach Dooley never complained about it’
FULL AJC COVERAGE FROM DAY 1 OF SEC MEDIA DAYS:
- SEC commissioner Mike Slive talks playoffs and a lot more
- South Carolina’s Spurrier prefers UGA’s schedule
- Missouri, Texas A&M state their case
- Jeff Schultz’s digi-blog: Welcome to Media Daze.
- Aggies excited, not intimidated, by SEC debut.
- Schultz: SEC needs to be vigilant to avoid Penn State-like scandals
- Vanderbilt coach passes on question about Todd Grantham
- The media’s record at predicting SEC champ: 4-16 since 1992
- Spurrier has no qualms about this quarterback
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
185 comments Add your comment
GTBob
July 18th, 2012
3:42 pm
when you score more than the other team 10 out of 11 years yes that’s domination
So if UGA wins 300-299 its still defensive domination and Grantham will be looked at as the almighty savior?
Twinkie Dawg
July 18th, 2012
3:46 pm
bham dawg
“when you score more than the other team 10 out of 11 years yes that’s domination”
Pretty bad – Kinda like 14 out of 18
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
3:49 pm
Bob… just bc your team is awful you have to find something to bash uga about. does it make you feel better? at the end of the day your team is still awful. just beat somebody then you can talk
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
3:49 pm
14-18?
GTBob
July 18th, 2012
3:50 pm
Bob… just bc your team is awful you have to find something to bash uga about. does it make you feel better?
Yes it does. And I am fully aware that my team is awful. Its just too bad Grantham doesn’t know how to coach against awful teams.
Twinkie Dawg
July 18th, 2012
3:51 pm
FL won 14 of 18 since 1990
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
3:54 pm
i thought it was 2012
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
3:55 pm
you have been hangin out with janoris too long man. i understand though those 4 years were a blur
GTBob
July 18th, 2012
3:55 pm
Or the 14-18 could have been referring to UGA’s record in the last 4 years against teams with winning records.
Twinkie Dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:02 pm
How did you know about Janoris?
Actually it’s 18 & 4. Won 18 of last 22. Sorry brain fart.
MS Bully
July 18th, 2012
4:02 pm
Have the refs quit sucking and officiating for the Bama’s and Florida’s of the world and you will not have to worry about coaches behavior. Remember Bama not having one holding penalty for like 10 straight games a couple of years ago.
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:03 pm
well we know who 3 of those wins were
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:04 pm
Twinkie let me help… since we haven’t played a game in 2012 yet it is 17-21. you are right florida has owned us recently but the tide is about to turn.
Twinkie Dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:05 pm
FL has won 18 of the last 22 against UGA.
Kentucky: Coach Joker Phillips says he’s feeling no heat | UGA sports blog
July 18th, 2012
4:07 pm
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]
I dropped my fried twinkie
July 18th, 2012
4:09 pm
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
2:16 pm
@GTBob… tell us who the toughest Defense you played was… can’t wait to hear this. Those ACC defenses are brutal.
____________________
And UGa made their bones on D against WEAK TEAMS for the most part.
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:10 pm
ok ok florida owns us now no dawg fan would disagree. it’s funny though how you and bob have to live vicariously through teams that can actually beat us
bham dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:18 pm
twinkie twinkie little star. now we all know who you are. we live vicariously through the sec. hey i’m bob look at me. twinkie twinkie little star. we love coach johnson and his high school O. watch out boys here comes 4 in a row.
WE RUN THIS STATE
Twinkie Dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:29 pm
I keep up with UGA, GT & Falcons.
Scott
July 18th, 2012
4:34 pm
Gratham’s chocking incident a couple of years ago was a new low for UGA, but I think that Muschump’s sideline behavior takes the cake. That guy berates the refs at all times. Nobody likes certain calls, but everyone else seems to realize that there are a lot of judgement calls that just aren’t going to be reversed. I think it was UF/Vandy where he practically followed the refs into the locker room.
PR
July 18th, 2012
4:35 pm
Hey GTBob – GT is also 0-2 against Grantham.
Twinkie Dawg
July 18th, 2012
4:36 pm
I am not always a Twinkie, so I guess you caught me being vicarious.
Auburn welcomes VanGorder back to the SEC | UGA sports blog
July 18th, 2012
4:56 pm
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]
GTBob
July 18th, 2012
4:59 pm
Hey GTBob – GT is also 0-2 against Grantham.
No. GT is 0-2 vs UGA. Grantham just happened to be there trying his best not to lose the game completely.
PR
July 18th, 2012
5:04 pm
Either way you want to spin it my friend. The stat still reads 0-2.
RopeDawg
July 18th, 2012
5:05 pm
CPJ was trying his best not to lose the game completely also. He failed.
GTBob
July 18th, 2012
5:23 pm
CPJ was trying his best not to lose the game completely also. He failed.
In this years game im not sure CPJ or most of the players were trying at all. It was the least amount of enthusiasm I have ever seen out of a GT team.
Twinkie Vicarious Dawg
July 18th, 2012
5:28 pm
Feels kinda like coming out of the closet.
LSU QB Mettenberger says ‘God had different path’ than UGA | UGA sports blog
July 18th, 2012
8:32 pm
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]
DawgVoiceofReason
July 19th, 2012
1:59 am
schmeckdawg,
I agree with you. The kickoff rule changes are counter-productive. I really wonder what thought actually goes into many of these rule changes. They implement them for a year or two and then reverse them. And it’s not like many of the flaws aren’t obvious to the average fan before they are implemented. It almost seems like the rule changes are designed by people who really don’t understand the game of football.
It’s UGA’s turn at SEC Media Days | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
8:18 am
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]
Media vote: Georgia will win SEC East | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
9:39 am
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]
Preseason All-SEC team includes six UGA players | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
9:57 am
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]
Alabama vows to avoid 2010-type complacency | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
3:13 pm
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]
Richt, Ole Miss coach respond to Spurrier’s schedule shot | UGA sports blog
July 19th, 2012
5:25 pm
[...] Coaches’ sideline behavior a point of emphasis for SEC officials [...]