Ball Judge Has Soft Hands

Raul Kemp
Reporter

After the first quarter of the '11 NFL season, Ball Judge Jim Bynes is on track to complete 67 percent of toss backs from ball carriers. If he can keep up this pace, he will almost assuredly surpass his previous personal best of 59 percent from the '06 campaign.

Although the sure hands of this prolific BJ are a large component of this statistic, almost equally critical are the efforts of his pass providers, NFL receivers, running backs and QB's. Having officiated games for teams such as The Patriots, Titans, and Lions in the first quarter has certainly boosted his Bynes' stats due to the fact that these teams practice tossing the ball back to the official at the end of the play.

"The play's not over until the ball is secure in the Ball Judge's hands. At least that's how we feel", Titans running back Javon Ringer said after last Sunday's win in Cleveland. "How can we start the next play if the ball's floppin' around on the ground?"

League official Mark Stowe said in a recent statement "We are proud of Judge Bynes, especially after last season's incident, when he went 0-23 in the Redskins/Cowboys game. Wow, that had to be embarrassing."

That game must have left a mark on Bynes, because in the first quarter of this year's season, he has already completed nearly a hundred flips, tosses, and heaves directed to him.

When asked about the recent turn around, Bynes replied, "I have to credit my wife for increasing my focus with "think fast" drills around the house in every day life. If I drop one more saucer, I think she might throw a flag, huh huh."

Bynes will face a mid-season challenge when he faces teams such as The Jaguars, Colts, Seahawks, and Falcons. These teams have put up perennially poor numbers with their ball judges in recent years, and their completions this season have not improved.

"I'm just gonna take it one ball at a time, and try to zero in on every lob. If I can get past this next few weeks, I should be right in the zone."