Owners approve use of electronic first down measuring technology, Bills still not 2024 AFC Champions

[mikemac2001]

If top golf can see my slice rip thru the building next door they can put tracers in the football to find out the spot 

[Warcodered]

2 hours ago, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

“Hawk eye technology”…so basically they are just going to use the cameras that Belichick had set up across the league.

 

Or maybe just pay Jeremy Renner to do it?

[Livinginthepast]

None of this matters unless the refs are assisted in spotting the ball by the technology. In the Bills KC game they managed to screw that up on 5 occasions throughout the game. In some cases, badly. There is already a chip in the ball (according to some sources) so as long as they can connect that to the software (even when the ball is in the bottom of a pile) then there is some hope. But the ineptitude of the refs is the big elephant in the room.

[NORWOODS FOOT]

Uh Oh… Time for Vegas to go to Plan B… I expect a big uptick in drive killing/sustaining penalties…

 

MONEY AT ALL COST! Lol

Edited April 2 by NORWOODS FOOT

[HardyBoy]

10 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

At a minimum there's a chip in the ball that should be able to determine whether the ball ever crossed the first down line. Unfortunately that doesn't help wrt whether a knee was down before the ball crossed the line.

 

I'm skeptical that there will ever be a fool proof system, more skeptical that relying on the refs is a good idea and most skeptical that the NFL even cares. Controversial plays/games dates back to the Immaculate Reception (and probably before) and has never negatively affected the bottom line.  

 

But if there is replay that shows precisely the frame the knee hits the ground, or the whistle blows for forward progress...the refs could click a button during a review on the moment the play was stopped and they could see the precise location and orientation of the ball against the first down line and see if it was across or not.

 

Sure that might impact spotting the ball automatically, but more than 95% of the spots are fine and it's not a big deal if it's 3rd and 1, they get 3 yards, but they spot them half a yard short (in almost all situations)...the problem happens with challenges on plays where fractions of on inch might matter, there are bodies in the way, or the camera angle isn't right on the line.

[T master]

18 hours ago, Logic said:

 

 

They had the eye in the sky (if that is what they call it) that camera that floats around all the stadiums & on any first down play like the one Josh and the Bills got totally screwed on in the AFCCG that camera should be right over the top of the ball in order to see from a angle that lets just say the Ref that is BEHIND JOSH and in no way can see the freakin ball to know where it was WHAT A FREAKIN CROOK OF S**T THAT CALL WAS !!!!!!!!! *$^#)*!&#^+= 🥵

 

Sorry I had a moment my bad !! 

[90sBills]

1 hour ago, T master said:

 

They had the eye in the sky (if that is what they call it) that camera that floats around all the stadiums & on any first down play like the one Josh and the Bills got totally screwed on in the AFCCG that camera should be right over the top of the ball in order to see from a angle that lets just say the Ref that is BEHIND JOSH and in no way can see the freakin ball to know where it was WHAT A FREAKIN CROOK OF S**T THAT CALL WAS !!!!!!!!! *$^#)*!&#^+= 🥵

 

Sorry I had a moment my bad !! 

Isn’t that camera stringed up on the sidelines? I can’t imagine it being in the field of play with punts and passes going up in the air. If it’s on the sidelines then the view would still be at an angle.

[T master]

4 minutes ago, 90sBills said:

Isn’t that camera stringed up on the sidelines? I can’t imagine it being in the field of play with punts and passes going up in the air. If it’s on the sidelines then the view would still be at an angle.

 

I don't know for sure I just know that I have seen it floating around stadiums during the games, not exactly sure how it is used but I do believe it is some kind of cable system, now that you mention it wouldn't be a good thing on any kind of kicks for sure .

 

But in the situation that I was talking about it s use should be applied for every first down attempt especially in games like the AFCCG because as we all know it only takes 1 or 2 plays or in this case bad calls to change the out come of a game .

[H2o]

18 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Seems there isn't a trigger.  It's where the ref spots the ball that counts and the only change is they don't have to bring in the chain gang to measure for the first down.

 

 

Now they just have to fire the guy who spotted the ball like he could see through Josh Allen's back to be accurate when putting it on the ground. 

[90sBills]

5 minutes ago, T master said:

 

I don't know for sure I just know that I have seen it floating around stadiums during the games, not exactly sure how it is used but I do believe it is some kind of cable system, now that you mention it wouldn't be a good thing on any kind of kicks for sure .

 

But in the situation that I was talking about it s use should be applied for every first down attempt especially in games like the AFCCG because as we all know it only takes 1 or 2 plays or in this case bad calls to change the out come of a game .

Yeah agree that they need a system to determine first downs. I’m not sure if this Hawkeye system would do that since it can’t determine when the runner’s knee is when the ball crosses. 

[Einstein]

20 hours ago, MJS said:

Maybe it will help some, but there is so much that goes into it. The position of the ball, when the player's body part touches the ground, etc. And often that happens in a pile of large humans. It'll still come down to judgement calls by the refs.

 

Yeah, that’s what I don’t understand. 

 

I get that there is a chip in the ball, but is there a chip in every ball carriers knee pad too? With a pressure sensor to know when the knee is down under a pile?

[MJS]

3 minutes ago, Einstein said:

Yeah, that’s what I don’t understand. 

 

I get that there is a chip in the ball, but is there a chip in every ball carriers knee pad too? With a pressure sensor to know when the knee is down under a pile?

They'd need to be absolutely covered in chips, because every part of the body besides the hand and the foot makes you down. Oh, but only if you have been touched by a defender first, haha.

[Einstein]

12 minutes ago, MJS said:

They'd need to be absolutely covered in chips, because every part of the body besides the hand and the foot makes you down. Oh, but only if you have been touched by a defender first, haha.

 

Good point. I have no idea how they plan on executing this. 

[Bangarang]

Refs still spot the ball and this just solves the 1 time a game the chain gang gets brought out to confirm if it's a 1st or not. Big deal..

 

Let me know when there's a sensor in the ball that can automatically tell us where the spot should be and if the ball crossed the goal line. That's when things will actually change for the better. 

Edited April 2 by Bangarang

[Metal Man]

I guess this is ok as a time saver but I actually kind of like the drama of waiting to see where that chain lines up when the chain gang comes out.

Guess I am old school.

[Doc Brown]

10 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

Yeah, that’s what I don’t understand. 

 

I get that there is a chip in the ball, but is there a chip in every ball carriers knee pad too? With a pressure sensor to know when the knee is down under a pile?

They don't have that capability.  The ONLY thing it's good for is telling you whether the ball spotted by the ref is a first down or not.  The cameras need an unobstructed view of the football.  The cameras in tennis or soccer are unobstructed and therefore the chip is able to tell them whether the ball landed.  All this does is take away the good old days of refs using an index card.

[chris heff]

So are you telling me that a football can’t have a “chip” or some kind of mesh that would signal when the ball passes the line to gain? And that they can’t sync that with when the whistle was blown?

[CodeMonkey]

On 4/1/2025 at 3:49 PM, Logic said:

 

I don't think the Tweet or article were worded in such a way as to confirm or deny the veracity of these statements.

In other words: Does the technology trigger when the ball crosses the first down line and electronically signal "first down" before the refs can even spot the ball?

Seems like more information is needed to form a conclusion.

Sony Hawk Eye to me implies a video solution. Which means the 4th and inches sneaks with the mass of humanity blocking lines of sight, this would not be leaps and bounds better than the current human solution.  Now putting something in the noses of the ball with sensors to pick up an accurate location, did it break the plane of the goal line etc., would be a big help and speed up the game as well.  Even that still has issues given the current rules seemingly designed to produce bad calls. like where the ball is when the knee or elbow touches the ground for example. But incremental improvements are much better than the 1950's era of technology things they have going on now IMO.