[Jim Parinella]

I started a thread about this on the ultimate sub-reddit recently. It’s very frustrating in an adult league or lower-level tournament when the other team doesn’t use facts or the rules when making calls. I gave examples of a receiver taking several steps after catching then using that new position to check feet, and a receiver landing on the line and leaving a footprint and refusing to acknowledge this. Shouldn’t getting the call right be important? And often the sideline players have a better perspective than any of the 14 players in that point. They are standing, don’t have to worry about being in position so can focus completely on watching the play, and often are immediately next to the play while an on-field player might be 40 meters away.

I can see that taken to an extreme this will lead to an unpleasant situation for all, and I wouldn’t want the sideline calling fouls or travels or picks or double-teams, but in clear-cut binary calls with no subjectivity of whether it affected the play, I think the sideline (they are playing in the game, after all, and any point is part of the game) could be more involved. Certainly I wouldn’t want to see someone punished for speaking up about a clear bad call.

Also I am not suggesting this for local youth play (though I would like to see a coach being able to tell their own players they were not in or that the disc was down)

[Jim Parinella]

I think this skill is being appropriately rewarded with the rule as it is, and if I had to move it one way or the other, would give the offense better position, not worse (maybe put it on the goal line in the center).
Pulling a good roller is (usually) a skill, but not one that is really core to the game. A good floaty pull has many similarities to a good huck. A roller is unlike any other ultimate throw. Therefore, a reward of having the offense start from a stagnant situation (and on the sideline if out of bounds) is sufficient and doesn’t need an additional reward of yardage.
Also, the roller is frequently used on downwind pulls when it is already hard enough for the offense to score. If they also had to start at the back of the endzone, it would be almost impossible to score. Upwind rollers generally roll out short of the endzone so wouldn’t be affected by this proposed change.