The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell are testing new technology to assist with in-game officiating, specifically the spotting of the ball.
The technology, developed by Hawk-Eye, would measure first downs electronically with high-tech optical tracking. The technology wouldn’t only help with the measurement of first downs. There would also be high-resolution cameras along the sidelines as well as the front and back of the end zone.
The NFL could use the technology this season, but it will likely not be at a point where the NFL could use it entirely on its own. For 2024, the chains will still likely be a big part of officiating, but they could be on their way out.
The current manner of spotting the ball that the NFL utilizes is rife with human error
The way the NFL currently spots the ball is extremely subjective. Officials along the sideline try to stick with the play and personally guess where the ball is when a player goes down. They then run from that spot to the nearest hash to spot the ball.
Multiple junctures within this process could affect where the ball is spotted along with where the chains are placed. The chain gang uses two markers, connected by a chain, and placed those markers based on where the referee spots the ball.
It is often difficult for referees to keep up with the play. If they can, they have to see, in real-time, when and where the ball carrier goes down along with the location of the ball at that exact moment. Meanwhile, there are 21 other bodies strewn about the field and there are likely more than a couple between the official and the ball carrier.
Then, the referee has to run in a perfectly straight line from the sideline to where the ball should be spotted. They have to weave in and out of all the players on the field en route to the spotting of the ball. Not only does the ball-spotting official have to run in a perfectly straight line, but the members of the chain gang have to do the same thing when first downs are measured.
There are several notable instances of poor spots every single week. In a game of inches, those poor spots have likely affected the outcome of multiple games especially when considering a lot of them are not significant enough to warrant a challenge from a coach. The problem extends beyond the NFL as it is an issue in college football as well.
I won’t go too far down the rabbit hole talking about how bad the refs were… this was the first big issue I saw though. He is clearly down at the 29 and the one ref is right there and stood at the right spot, but they gave him a 1st and marked it at the 27. pic.twitter.com/thHFM7VJi5
— Mr. Ohio (@MrOH1O) November 26, 2018
Bad spot by the ref, this was a first down pic.twitter.com/2Npl4ngfQc
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) January 10, 2022
You want a bad referee argument, here’s the spot on 3rd dn for UVA with the sticks at the top – LOS s/b the 3 #IUFB hosed a yard presnap pic.twitter.com/oLuO5Y5BBR
— David Novak (@DaveNovakWGCL) September 9, 2017
NFL officiating is defined as ‘broken’ by coaches and executives
There were several notable officiating blunders in the 2023 NFL season, which drew a lot of attention to the state of NFL officiating. One assistant coach from the NFC explained that the officials are not held accountable in a Yahoo Sports article.
“I feel like it’s such a cop out. … they don’t want 17 booth officials that they have to pay more money to. But it’s like: [An] owner literally spilled a drink and has to pay 300 grand. Assume all 31 owners spilled a drink on a fan. That would go a long way to getting qualified officials,” the coach said.
An AFC assistant coach explained in the same article that there is no reason to avoid technology.
“If the game were played as it is today [and] if the views and technology were what is it today — would officiating be done the same way?” one AFC assistant coach texted on Wednesday. “Oh, so you’re saying the reason it’s done this way is because of the long tradition of it being done this way and institutional momentum against change?
“Wish the officiating had to play an equivalent of the [C]hiefs. Would adapt fast.”
An NFC executive went on to say that these types of calls are not why fans care about the game. These things should be an afterthought, not something that is at the forefront of NFL games.
“My issue is the two biggest controversial calls of the year right now are procedure and alignment calls that fans just don’t care about,” the NFC executive said. “I think fans struggle with why line-of-scrimmage, alignment calls should have any impact on their enjoyment of the game.”
While technology can go a long way in helping with ball-spotting, there is a lot of work left to do when it comes to the other 90% of officiating an NFL game.
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