Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

This is not the solution.Ā  The referees are still going to eyeball the place where the ball is spotted at the end of a play.Ā  So there will be a very precise measurement of a much less precise position.Ā  This would not have saved the Bills in any of the several egregious plays, where the Bills player clearly crossed the line to gain but had the ball spotted behind it.Ā Ā 

Posted

I'm assuming they also capture where the knee or other body parts are down. That's a critical piece and sometimes players are almost completely obscured, especially on plays like a QB sneak. How does the AI determine things when none of the camera angles show anything with certainty? Do the officials step in there?

23 minutes ago, Utah John said:

This is not the solution.Ā  The referees are still going to eyeball the place where the ball is spotted at the end of a play.Ā  So there will be a very precise measurement of a much less precise position.Ā  This would not have saved the Bills in any of the several egregious plays, where the Bills player clearly crossed the line to gain but had the ball spotted behind it.Ā Ā 

Yeah, if that's the case, it is practically useless. If officials are still eyeballing everything, what's the point?

Posted

You canā€™t completely eliminate the human factor of the game of football but it always seemed odd to me that a multi-billion dollar (actually probably trillion now) industry relies on someone eyeballing where the ball is placed, then some guy eyeballing that spot to place a stick, then having a 10 yard long chain used to determine if the team got the necessary yards for a first down. Ā With all the eyeballing, why does it have to be so exact and have games decided because of an inch?
Ā 

The Bills had a great season which unfortunately may have ended based on the eyeballing.

Ā 

Regarding the chain, I swear there was one instance in a Bills game where I found the measurement to be shady. Ā The chain is attached to the stick an inch or so above the ground. Ā Usually you see the stick guy pull the chain taut and sometimes shake it to remove any possible chinks before putting it down. Ā  In this instance the stick was put down and part of the chain was on the ground and they ruled the Bills didnā€™t make a first down. Ā They moved the stick away real quick so it was down for less than a second.

Posted
9 hours ago, Bferra13 said:

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/01/27/hawkeye-nfl-first-down-chiefs-bills/

Ā 

Sal was talking about this after the AFC Championship. That this just replaces the chain gang and not where the ball is actually spotted. And said this would not have changed the call as this article does as well. I dont know why they won't chip the ball.Ā 

Ā 

Exactly. It doesn't really change much. Here's this from ESPN -

Ā 

Among other changes, the NFL plans to use its virtual measuring system to determine first downs in 2025. This wouldn't eliminate the officials who manually spot the ball and use chains to mark the line to gain. The optimal tracking system notifies officiating instantly if a first down was gained after the ball is spotted by hand. "We used this in the background last season," said Kimberly Fields, the NFL's senior vice president of football operations. "The goal for 2025 is to continue to train our techs, who are the ones who will be utilizing the technology, finalizing all of our officiating processes and procedures around virtual measurements and testing the graphics for the broadcast and in-stadium, so fans in the stadium and fans watching on television can see what we're doing. The chain crew will still be there as backup."

Ā 

So yeah, apparently this was already in use last year. Not sure why they insist on keeping the chain gang or all the other nonsense. Just use the concrete tracking data & stop dicking around already.

Posted
12 hours ago, HappyDays said:

The NFL loves creating new rules that would have helped the Bills a month ago.

Ā 

Ā 

Ā 

It says for the regular season. Does that mean the playoffs won't use it? I hate when they have different rules. Also, I think they already experimented on this in the preseason or something. I read something about it but it was a while back and I don't remember.

  • Like (+1) 1
Posted

I don't get why people are so against the chains. Unless you initially measure wrong when creating them I don't see how they can be inaccurate.

Ā 

The problem is spotting the ball. That seems to me to be the area that needs electronic assistance.

  • Like (+1) 1
  • Agree 1
Posted

Hawk eye does very little and thatā€™s why itā€™s being instituted. Ā 

Ā 

TheĀ chip is what is needed to remove some control from their hands. Ā Two refs give two different spots- Ā whoseĀ spot counts? Ā Whichever spot they want

Posted

Ā  Ā  Ā Forget giving Josh the first down, we would have had it the play before.Ā 
Ā Ā The game was close, the fix was in, now that the three peat didnā€™t happen itā€™s time to figure out their new narrativeā€¦ā€¦.

Ā  Ā  Meanwhile, we are still stuck with McD coaching Beaneā€™s ā€œ processā€ picksšŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø

  • Like (+1) 1
  • Dislike 1
Posted
40 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Hawk eye does very little and thatā€™s why itā€™s being instituted. Ā 

Ā 

TheĀ chip is what is needed to remove some control from their hands. Ā Two refs give two different spots- Ā whoseĀ spot counts? Ā Whichever spot they want

That's where I would like to see transparency. Mic the refs. Let's hear the discussion. Show the replay booth as well so we can hear the process on some of these calls that are upheld/overturned. I think that's where a chunk of distrust comes from. The big decisions are made in the shadows.

  • Agree 1
Posted
14 hours ago, HappyDays said:

The NFL loves creating new rules that would have helped the Bills a month ago.

Ā 

Ā 

Ā 

It is insane to me that we have these guys walk out like 15 yards with chain link and then act like we definitively know that the football is is 1.5 inches short. They might as well have had refs lay their face on the ground next to the football and with one eye closed look across the field.Ā 

Posted

2026 playoff in AFCC against the chiefs:

4th QTR :17

Bills 22 Chiefs 20

4th and 3 @ Bills 38

Hunt handoff, up the middle for gain of 1.5, tripped up and stopped with knee coming down just 1 yard beyond LOS.

[Refs review] "the Ball continued in motion to gain 3.06 yards, 1st down chiefs"

Ā 

Seriously, you watch, this will now bite us in the ass.Ā 

  • Like (+1) 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...