Whither the Umpire?

While I was watching the Cowboys/Colts game tonight, I noticed something weird.  In the middle of the field, between the linebackers, there was ... nothing.  Just empty space.  Which is really strange, since usually that's where the umpire would be standing. 

At first I thought maybe the umpire had gotten hurt and I'd missed it or perhaps it had something to do with preseason scheduling.  But a couple of plays later I realized he was standing behind and to the side of the quarterback, just like the referee was doing, but on the other side. 

Weird.  I hadn't heard anything about a switch for their positioning and a Google search found nothing on the topic.  I can only guess that perhaps this is a rule change the league has been considering for a few years and so they've decided to try it out during the preseason to see how it works. 

In some ways it makes a lot of sense, since the increasing popularity of crossing routes and the horizontal passing game has more often put those guys directly in the line of fire.  We have also seen some nasty collisions the last few years involving those officials. 

At any rate, I'm still keeping an eye out for an official word on what was up.  If you see anything, drop me a line in the comments.

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Bonus point.  As I was searching for the umpire thing, I came across the following change in the rules for 2007:

Referees will also make it a point of emphasis to have players button each chin strap. There will be no penalties enforced for failure to comply, but the player may be requested to leave the game for one play.

Hmmm... who do we know who does that?

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UPDATE: Check the comments for an explanation on the umpire.

Comments

[Mike]

In the fourth quarter of that game (if you could bear to make it that far - I started watching in the 3rd quarter) Joe Buck and Troy Aikman actually mentioned the movement of the umpire. They said that it's something that the NFL is experimenting with because of the nasty collisions that have become more common with ,among other things, the West Coast passing attack and modern defensive schemes because the umpire gets in the way.

Apparently, you will see the same setup one all of the games in weeks 1 and 3 during the preseason.

[Me]

Interesting. Yeah, I gave up soon after half time. I like Aikman as an analyst, but Garrett already has the job, dude, you can stop pimping his credentials.

Thanks for the info.

[Mike]

The "pimping" will cease. I actually despise that tandem of announcers more than almost any other. Probably just pure luck that they provided useful information.