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Millen gets a taste of officiating

By ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 18, 2000

With all due respect to John Madden and Phil Simms, pro football's best television analyst is Matt Millen.

Even Millen, who is as humble off the air is he is on, would have to admit he's at least in the top three. But complacency is simply not in Millen's makeup. That's why on Sunday he will be on the field as an umpire during Fox's telecast of the Bucs-Patriots preseason game.

Millen simply wants to get better.

"You always can get better, always improve," said Millen, who will wear the tiny umpire camera on the bill of his hat and be stationed in the middle of the field dodging running backs and linebackers. "And rules is one of the easiest places. If you screw that up, people are going to say the guy doesn't even know the rules. I know the rules but I'm going to have a better understanding doing this. "The worst part is you can't hit back."

A former middle linebacker, Millen would probably like a chance to take a shot at a ball carrier. But more important, his experience gives him an idea of where to stand and what to call.

Still, Millen didn't just roll out of bed and decide to give this a shot. He's spent the past three months preparing for the game basically the same way NFL officials prepare.

Millen studied rule changes, attended minicamps and symposiums and officiated practices at training camps. Millen said the difficult thing was retaining his eyes.

"The physical positioning is easy for me, but you have to get your eyes adjusted and acclimated to the specifics of this position," said Millen, who found himself looking at defensive keys and determining which way the running back was going instead of looking for violations.

"That doesn't do me any good. I was ready to make the tackle, but I missed everything an umpire is supposed to do. I had to stay in and concentrate and undo some football habits."

Millen said he also has to concentrate on throwing the flag. During a few of his trial runs, he's identified violationsbut failed to throw the flag.

"I thought that's definitely a hold, but I stood there like a big dork," Millen said. "So there's a whole process I have to go through."

Millen has gained a greater appreciation of officials, and he's discovered that like players, officials are much like a fraternity.

Although he's now an honorary member, that doesn't mean he will stop criticizing bad calls. But he does recognize that the referees want the games to be played and they don't want to get in the way.

FINE TUNING: Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks meets former Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert on a special NFL Films show, NFL Century, at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on Chs. 28, 40. The show brings stars of today together with stars of the past. Other meetings include Cleveland's Tim Couch and Otto Graham, the Giants' Michael Strahan and Deacon Jones and Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez and John Mackey. ... ESPN's College Football Tonight will have a special preview show at 7 Tuesday. ... CBS has reached a multiyear agreement to broadcast ACC basketball beginning in 2001-02.

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