What about this idea to insure 1st downs and scores... (1 Viewer)

[pizzatyme]

In this day and age, I think it is time to go to micro-chipping both ends of the football. This way, it would have to trip a sensor of some sort at the goalline as well as the line of gain for a 1st down.

No more dragging bodies off of the pile to guess where the ball was stopped.

Just a thought.

 

[CalBear]

In this day and age, I think it is time to go to micro-chipping both ends of the football. This way, it would have to trip a sensor of some sort at the goalline as well as the line of gain for a 1st down.No more dragging bodies off of the pile to guess where the ball was stopped.Just a thought.

It wouldn't help much, because the issue isn't where the ball gets to, it's where the ball gets to when the runner is down by contact. Chips in the ball would only cover a bit of the information needed.

 

[Rounders]

Then chip the knees and elbows!

 

[reg]

I am surprised that they don't have some sort of goalline cam above and on each sideline for every game. There have been quite a few games where the camera angle they use seems to be from the 1 or 2 yard line, which skews the viewing angle enough to make it inconclusive.

 

[reg]

In this day and age, I think it is time to go to micro-chipping both ends of the football. This way, it would have to trip a sensor of some sort at the goalline as well as the line of gain for a 1st down.No more dragging bodies off of the pile to guess where the ball was stopped.Just a thought.

It wouldn't help much, because the issue isn't where the ball gets to, it's where the ball gets to when the runner is down by contact. Chips in the ball would only cover a bit of the information needed.

Using GPS they should be able to create a chip that says exactly where on the field the ball is at any time. The ref should then be able to stop the film when the players knee goes down and be able to see a display of where the ball was at that point.

 

[Pygmy Marmoset]

Or just have the chip light up when it crosses the goal line like the NBA scoreboard. Slowly inch the film forward until it lights up and see if he's down.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

And then after that we can have robotic referees. And then robotic players. Then eventually we can simulate all games.

 

[inca911]

In this day and age, I think it is time to go to micro-chipping both ends of the football. This way, it would have to trip a sensor of some sort at the goalline as well as the line of gain for a 1st down.No more dragging bodies off of the pile to guess where the ball was stopped.Just a thought.

It wouldn't help much, because the issue isn't where the ball gets to, it's where the ball gets to when the runner is down by contact. Chips in the ball would only cover a bit of the information needed.

Using GPS they should be able to create a chip that says exactly where on the field the ball is at any time. The ref should then be able to stop the film when the players knee goes down and be able to see a display of where the ball was at that point.

Accuracy of a an inch for GPS is not possible with current technology. GPS = satellites = singals travelling great distances through lots of atmospheric interference.

 

[videoguy505]

I am surprised that they don't have some sort of goalline cam above and on each sideline for every game. There have been quite a few games where the camera angle they use seems to be from the 1 or 2 yard line, which skews the viewing angle enough to make it inconclusive.

I've always wondered this. Instead of relying soley on the Network cameras, they should have a camera pointed straight up and down each sideline, and two on each goal line that point straight down the stripe. That way there's no 3rd dimension skew--if the ball crosses the center of the screen it's a touchdown or he's out of bounds or whatever. Plus one in the sky pointed straight down at the line. Each stadium should have to provide this secondary feed to the network cameras in the replay monitors.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

I've thought about that for years. It would work in baseball for a strike zone, but in football the "end of a play" is subjective, so there's no value added in most instances. I can certainly think of cases where there IS value added (i.e. Witten's catch near the 1, 1 1/2 yard line vs. Seattle last week), but when a ref has to whistle the ball dead you'd have to sync that to the ball "lighting up". I've also thought about sensors in or aside the field to track the ball, but the same problem remains.

There's also the concerns that you would have over the effects to the ball itself by installing electronics, even a passive receiver for RF energy (think EZ Pass).

It's a good thought, but I've vetoed the idea personally for the concerns above.

(copied from the instant replay thread).

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

In this day and age, I think it is time to go to micro-chipping both ends of the football. This way, it would have to trip a sensor of some sort at the goalline as well as the line of gain for a 1st down.

No more dragging bodies off of the pile to guess where the ball was stopped.

Just a thought.

It wouldn't help much, because the issue isn't where the ball gets to, it's where the ball gets to when the runner is down by contact. Chips in the ball would only cover a bit of the information needed.

Using GPS they should be able to create a chip that says exactly where on the field the ball is at any time. The ref should then be able to stop the film when the players knee goes down and be able to see a display of where the ball was at that point.

Accuracy of a an inch for GPS is not possible with current UNCLASSIFIED technology. GPS = satellites = singals travelling great distances through lots of atmospheric interference.

Fixed.

 

[Pygmy Marmoset]

And then after that we can have robotic referees. And then robotic players. Then eventually we can simulate all games.

I heard C3PO's girfriend is filing charges against him. Downgrade him for CyberBowl XLV

 

[videoguy505]

In this day and age, I think it is time to go to micro-chipping both ends of the football. This way, it would have to trip a sensor of some sort at the goalline as well as the line of gain for a 1st down.

No more dragging bodies off of the pile to guess where the ball was stopped.

Just a thought.

It wouldn't help much, because the issue isn't where the ball gets to, it's where the ball gets to when the runner is down by contact. Chips in the ball would only cover a bit of the information needed.

Using GPS they should be able to create a chip that says exactly where on the field the ball is at any time. The ref should then be able to stop the film when the players knee goes down and be able to see a display of where the ball was at that point.

Accuracy of a an inch for GPS is not possible with current UNCLASSIFIED technology. GPS = satellites = singals travelling great distances through lots of atmospheric interference.

Fixed.

They don't need outer space-based GPS, a local system like FOX used to get the glowing puck could work with more accuracy.

 

[Delusions Of Adequacy]

What we really need is a FREEZE-RAY that puts the player with the ball in suspended animation the instant he is down by contact or his foot comes down out of bounds. Then we'll have no problem whatsoever determining where the ball is and whether it's a first down/touchdown/in-bounds play.

The FREEZE-RAY It's money, people.

 

[Horses Mouth]

And then after that we can have robotic referees. And then robotic players. Then eventually we can simulate all games.

i'm all for robotic kickers.

 

[Swamprat]

And then after that we can have robotic referees. And then robotic players. Then eventually we can simulate all games.

I think I saw something like this once in a Gilligan's Isle movie with the Harlem Globetrotters.

 

[fatness]

What we really need is a FREEZE-RAY that puts the player with the ball in suspended animation the instant he is down by contact or his foot comes down out of bounds. Then we'll have no problem whatsoever determining where the ball is and whether it's a first down/touchdown/in-bounds play.The FREEZE-RAY It's money, people.

This man is a genius.

 

[kutta]

I think they should have lasers shooting up a light from the top of each goalpost. It would essentially extend the goalpost to infinity and would help determine if a field goal is good or not when it goes right over the top of the goal post.

 

[aardball44]

And then after that we can have robotic referees. And then robotic players. Then eventually we can simulate all games.

I heard C3PO's girfriend is filing charges against him. Downgrade him for CyberBowl XLV

Well, maybe he shouldn't have downloaded into her laundry hamper.

 

[aardball44]

Don't they already use microchips in the first down measuring sticks to give us that electronic beam of light on our TV screens? I assumed so.

If not, how the heck are they doing that?

 

[CapnJB]

In this day and age, I think it is time to go to micro-chipping both ends of the football. This way, it would have to trip a sensor of some sort at the goalline as well as the line of gain for a 1st down.No more dragging bodies off of the pile to guess where the ball was stopped.Just a thought.

It wouldn't help much, because the issue isn't where the ball gets to, it's where the ball gets to when the runner is down by contact. Chips in the ball would only cover a bit of the information needed.

Using GPS they should be able to create a chip that says exactly where on the field the ball is at any time. The ref should then be able to stop the film when the players knee goes down and be able to see a display of where the ball was at that point.

Accuracy of a an inch for GPS is not possible with current technology. GPS = satellites = singals travelling great distances through lots of atmospheric interference.

GPS really wouldn't be needed in a static environment like a stadium. I'm sure you could be very accurate with the correct equipment set up. Remember when the NHL went to the 'glowy' puck. You'd probably just need todays minuturize version of that.

 

[JayMan]

Don't they already use microchips in the first down measuring sticks to give us that electronic beam of light on our TV screens? I assumed so.If not, how the heck are they doing that?

From Sportvision.com...---A laser placed in the center of the field is used to collect data on elevation points. That information is used to draw a computer map of the contours of the field, and the map is adjusted and overlaid onto the camera’s view of the actual field. Anywhere from three to five separate broadcast cameras are outfitted with custom Sportvision sensors and encoders to capture camera data so that the 1st and Ten Computers can enhance one camera “live” with the yellow line, and any of the others for use in replay. As cameras pan, tilt and zoom, this data enables the virtual line to follow suit, staying in perspective and getting larger and smaller, as needed. Drawing the yellow line so that it appears to be painted on field underneath the players is accomplished through a sophisticated process of color keying that allows the operators to tell the computers what colors to draw on (grass, dirt) and what not to draw on (skin, uniforms). And finally, after adding the precise location of the first down marker to the system, Walla … The Yellow Line appears like magic on your TV screen.---

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Don't they already use microchips in the first down measuring sticks to give us that electronic beam of light on our TV screens? I assumed so.If not, how the heck are they doing that?

From Sportvision.com...---A laser placed in the center of the field is used to collect data on elevation points. That information is used to draw a computer map of the contours of the field, and the map is adjusted and overlaid onto the camera’s view of the actual field. Anywhere from three to five separate broadcast cameras are outfitted with custom Sportvision sensors and encoders to capture camera data so that the 1st and Ten Computers can enhance one camera “live” with the yellow line, and any of the others for use in replay. As cameras pan, tilt and zoom, this data enables the virtual line to follow suit, staying in perspective and getting larger and smaller, as needed. Drawing the yellow line so that it appears to be painted on field underneath the players is accomplished through a sophisticated process of color keying that allows the operators to tell the computers what colors to draw on (grass, dirt) and what not to draw on (skin, uniforms). And finally, after adding the precise location of the first down marker to the system, Walla … The Yellow Line appears like magic on your TV screen.---

[Letterman]Thems' Lasers.....[/Letterman]

 

[Jous]

I'm in favor of goal line cams, they just make sense... put them in the pylons. But microchips? C'mon.... they're playing football. This isn't a Madden videogame.

 

[The Great Snook]

Call me a heretic, but I was thinking the same thing. I especially hate it when the punt goes out of bounds and the ref just stats walking somewhere. I'm not sure any human being can work out the vectors of where a ball 50 feet in the air crosses a line that you are straddling.

The chip may not be perfect for determing when a player is down, but it sure would show the farthest that the ball went. I believe the refs got the spots correct in the Dallas/Seattle game, but I sure would have liked to see proof that the ball NEVER got to the first down line.

 

[JayMan]

Call me a heretic, but I was thinking the same thing. I especially hate it when the punt goes out of bounds and the ref just stats walking somewhere. I'm not sure any human being can work out the vectors of where a ball 50 feet in the air crosses a line that you are straddling.

The chip may not be perfect for determing when a player is down, but it sure would show the farthest that the ball went. I believe the refs got the spots correct in the Dallas/Seattle game, but I sure would have liked to see proof that the ball NEVER got to the first down line.

From Sportvision...---

KickTrack, an innovation developed by ESPN and Sportvision, accurately depicts by how much a football place kicker makes or misses a field goal or extra point attempt. The on-screen graphic, similar to ESPN’s KZone; for Major League Baseball telecasts, signifies the exact point the football crosses through or outside the goal posts with a circle and intersecting horizontal and vertical lines appear around the football at the exact point it crosses between or outside the goal posts.

---

A method like the one described above could be used for punts also...

This method could be made mandatory on field goal attempts and punts... to make sure they get the correct call: whether a FG is good when it goes 30 feet above the top of the goalpost... and where to spot the ball on punts that go out of bounds...

 

[cowboyz]

what they need are enough cameras to do the Matrix. then rotate, zoom in 3D. it'll be like being on the field

 

[Shrek]

Dragging chains from the sideline for a first down measurement = drama. As the chains are coming out, you have a crowded room full of people all yelling different things. "He definitely got it!" "What a terrible spot!" "If they don't give it to him that's bull####!" etc

Drama = viewers

Viewers =

I can't see them getting rid of that aspect anytime soon.

 

[videoguy505]

what they need are enough cameras to do the Matrix. then rotate, zoom in 3D. it'll be like being on the field

Takes a hell of a lot of cameras, but CBS did this for the Super Bowl recently, IIRC. Called it "Eye-Vision".

 

[Bri]

reminds me of that puck Fox Sports used for hockey games years ago

 

[BigRed]

And then after that we can have robotic referees. And then robotic players. Then eventually we can simulate all games.

Exactly.Horrible idea. ie it will probably happen before long.

 

[Shrek]

A microchipped ball would have sure made a difference in the generous spots Chicago got in today's game, on a few occasions.