Chip the balls?

[frostbitmic]

Just give it to him has always worked.

[Buffalo716]

9 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

This has always been one of my pet peeves. They bring the chains out and measure within one chain link of the chain as to whether a 1st down or not.  But when they first set the down markers to start with, who's to say they were exactly lined up within one chain link.  Likely in many cases they may be  going 9.4 yards for a 1st down, another time it's 10.3 yards!

 

But as others have stated, I doubt you'd get a GPS system accurate within one inch.  Better thing may be some type of laser system on both sides of the field and a target of some sorts on the surface of the ball.

Yeah they’re not off by 3 feet lol

[Just Jack]

37 minutes ago, Gene1973 said:

It couldn't be GPS, it'd have to be some type of system under the field at every stadium. $$$

 

Agreed.  I work with Bluetooth, RFID and HID systems.  Everyone thinks they should be able to pinpoint down to the foot where tracking devices should be, but they won't without massive infrastructure.  And even then, I wouldn't guarantee it. 

[Just Jack]

25 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

This has always been one of my pet peeves. They bring the chains out and measure within one chain link of the chain as to whether a 1st down or not.  But when they first set the down markers to start with, who's to say they were exactly lined up within one chain link.  Likely in many cases they may be  going 9.4 yards for a 1st down, another time it's 10.3 yards!

 

I spent some time on the local Arena League team chain gang years ago.  The ref on the sideline would tell us on first down to line up the pole with the back of one of his feet.  So, while it may not be 100% accurate, it could be within just an inch or two.  Next game you watch, on first downs, try to see if they have a sideline shot.  You should see the sideline ref with one foot behind the other.  You can kind of see it in this picture.  

 

Edited October 13, 2022 by Just Jack

[PonyBoy]

19 minutes ago, frostbitmic said:

Just give it to him has always worked.

That one probably pisses me off more than any other call in history. The gall of that! On a hot mike too. 🤬

[The Wiz]

2 hours ago, BillsFanMike said:

NFL needs that human error. You know because Vegas.🤑

Also so they can send out "we reviewed the play from 2 weeks ago and we were wrong, sorry" letters to teams.

[Goin Breakdown]

Im all for the game of football looking like the game of football. Keep all the tech out of it please. I like the human element. I know it sucks when calls don't go our way but that's part of the game. 

[galept]

2 minutes ago, Goin Breakdown said:

Im all for the game of football looking like the game of football. Keep all the tech out of it please. I like the human element. I know it sucks when calls don't go our way but that's part of the game. 

 

Just seeing where things are trending I would not be surprised if they start to try and improve accuracy somehow. Maybe it will suck, but there's zero chance things stay as they are long-term. In fact I expect this game to look very different in 10-15 years.

[Goin Breakdown]

1 minute ago, galept said:

 

Just seeing where things are trending I would not be surprised if they start to try and improve accuracy somehow. Maybe it will suck, but there's zero chance things stay as they are long-term. In fact I expect this game to look very different in 10-15 years.

I hear ya man. I just wonder how many of us will actually still like

this game we love. 

[LeGOATski]

Surprised no one has mentioned the USFL yet. They did this with positive results, if I remember correctly. However, kickers didn't like the added/uneven weight of the chips in the balls.

[Mr. WEO]

where have I read this before.....?

[DaggersEOD]

4 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

Just paint the ball bright orange.  Problem solved. 

It’s funny but Low-Tech solutions tend to work better than complicated and often malfunctioning Hi -Tech. 
 

I bet this would actually work pretty well

3 hours ago, Captain Caveman said:

 

 

At that point I may switch allegiance to the Giants

I hear he doesn’t even exercise!

[Rochesterfan]

2 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

Surprised no one has mentioned the USFL yet. They did this with positive results, if I remember correctly. However, kickers didn't like the added/uneven weight of the chips in the balls.

 

The USFL used it, but it was not better and really added nothing of benefit that I ever saw.

 

In the end - the consensus seemed to be that the NFL was more accurate than the chip in the USFL.

 

The complaint from the kickers should also be noted.  Current NFL balls are all chipped, but have little impact because of where the chip is placed.  It is used exclusively for next gen stats.

 

 

 

 

[Just Jack]

2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

where have I read this before.....?

 

I remember there was a thread during the off-season with the same pro/con arguments.  

[ganesh]

8 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

It will come in time.   As will unitards instead of two piece uni's.   It's gonna' be gross.

 

In the meantime try to look at it like you ONLY have to get 10 yards..........so if you are ruled a half a yard short you should have gotten between 1 and 89 more yards so you weren't leaving it to a bunch of part time officials.    Same the other way around........you had 10 yards to stop them if you couldn't clearly do the minimum then you are leaving the result to fortune to some extent.  Same with plays on the boundary.........if you live on the margins when the field is 360' x 160' then you expose yourself to greater chance of human error/subjectivity. 

 

The NFL (and any professional sport) is a game of inches.  So there is merit in having the technology to identify these things.  However, keeping it human also is what makes the emotions in the game.  I don't want robots in the game.   

[Ga boy]

Do we get the female robot voice:  In 23 yards you will reach you destination.  

[BADOLBILZ]

44 minutes ago, ganesh said:

The NFL (and any professional sport) is a game of inches.  So there is merit in having the technology to identify these things.  However, keeping it human also is what makes the emotions in the game.  I don't want robots in the game.   

 

Yep.

 

A lot of people think they want that precision technology..........but the NFL knows the value of that human element.   NOTHING bonds fans to their team like the perception of unfair officiating.    

[PromoTheRobot]

10 hours ago, The Red King said:

Was a rogue thought I had, given today's tech.  Why not add a chip to the inside of both tips of the football?  Using GPS positioning, you would know exactly where the ball is.

 

Challenging a bad spot?  Correct spot identified immediately.  Did the ball cross the plain, but you can't see it well enough to know?  You rule it a TD, and the automatic review will know immediately if any molocule of that ball broke the plain for even a split-second, and again would be known instantly.  Was the ball past the LOS when it was thrown?  Did the onside kick go ten yards?  Would make the game far more accurate, and vastly speed up a number of challenges.

 

The USFL did this and got rid of the chain gang. They know instantly if it's a first.

[US Egg]

Would they have to use a chip-less ball for kicking to avoid damaging it?

[ChasBB]

8 hours ago, Billy Claude said:

 

In Gaelic football it is only used to decide if a point is scored, that is if a ball crosses above the crossbar and between the goalposts.  It would be similar to deciding whether a field goal is good or not.

 

How about this for field goals?  ... 😀 ...