Why Do NFL Chain Gang's Still Exist in the Age of Technology?

[@MrTheBigNoze]

Biggest issue for me is why we still rely on officials to spot the ball correctly. It always struck me as goofy when a play comes down to inches and the official comes running from the sideline and places the ball where they thought it advanced to. Baseball is dealing with the same thing in robo umps too. Great video though!

[@geliscon]

My Mom, a math teacher who doesn’t particularly like football but knows enough about it, always points out how silly it is to use the chains as a precise measurement tool when the spot, the thing actually being measured, can be wildly inaccurate.

[@Purp4040]

It's quicker for official to just come and spot the ball than rely on someone through mic to say 3 inches from 46 yard line.

[@troybaxter]

The problem with technology is that you actually do not know when the runner is down. It's different in baseball, tennis, soccer, etc. where the ball can easily be tracked, and has pre-determined boundaries. In football, not only can the ball be covered up from any cameras, but also, you may not necessarily know when someone's body hits the ground with the ball.

[@flowingafterglow629]

@@gelisconYep. That is why my proposal is to not have the chain be exactly 10 yards. Given the uncertainty in the positioning of the ball, you have to allow for some uncertainty, so make the chains 6 or so inches shorter. The referee's spot of the ball is no more precise than that, so it makes no sense to have that precise of a measurement.

[@MyLibertyTV]

MLB Umps have been horrible this season calling balls and strikes.

[@SawyerRosenstein]

This felt more like an NFL films explanation than a small KZbinr. Really well done!

[@admincreate9413]

I 2nd this!

[@Baker19911]

3rd it

[@MichaelZenke]

Folks are in here talking about the quality of your content, and it's great, but big props on your writing man. Great script and voice over. Really well done.

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Appreciate it man! Thanks for watching and enjoying the content. Means a lot

[@dsimpson530]

Having Slink (Slinky Dog) as the chain gang during the toy story funday football game between the jaguars and falcons was a great touch.

[@gordonwhitney6052]

There's a part of me that just finds it bizarre that we determine whether an offence has gained the 360 inches it needs by precisely placing the lead pole, which is exactly ten yards in front of the back pole and the offense's starting position on the set of downs, whose position was carefully established by . . . eyeballing the situation from halfway across the field. I get that doing otherwise would cause an unreasonable delay on every first down, but I still find the contrast a little bit amusing.

[@bjrnmagnusson5351]

On the chain there is a flag. The flag is placed where a solid field line (5 or 10 yard marker) crosses the chain. When the chains come out and go to the spot of the ball, the official places the flag on the same yard marker and the chains are stretched from there. That's how they can transfer the chains from the sideline to the spot of the ball.

[@tonyleaf6125]

I always bring this point up when they measure. It’s the most ridiculous thing in sports… most people haven’t thought of it.

[@drescherjm]

@@bjrnmagnusson5351Thank you! I had always wanted to understand how this was done accurately especially when the call can be so close that an inch or 2 either way can change the result.

[@danielbowden2401]

The video didn't mention the "clip" that is placed on the chain marking the solid yard line farthest from the 1st down. It is used to put the chain back where it was if the chain crew have to get out of the way of players going out of bounds and when bringing the chains onto the field when measuring a first down. Also if you watch where balls get placed on first downs, almost every time outside the "red zone", the ball is placed on a solid line or "tick mark" (the individual yard marks). That makes it much easier on the officials to know when a first down has been made. If you start on the 25 yard line and the ball is touching the 35 yard line, then it's a first down. Inside the "red zone" or near the end of the game if it is close, then the officials get real on marking a ball at the exact spot. Which may be between the "tick marks". That is when a measurement becomes important and why so many "close" games come down to the measurement. You don't see too many measurements in the first half or blowout games. If the official who is making the spot at the end of a play believes it to be a first down or short of a first down, then he will spot it where it won't be close enough for a measurement one way or the other. Officials don't like bringing the chains out anymore than coaches do. There are things that can go wrong when bringing the chains out, but I have gone on too long already.

[@Shredderof_POWDA]

​@traybernWhy you yelling bro? It's just a comment on youtube. Chillax

[@scottyleitch3214]

amazing piece of work this is NOT JUST Another Sports Channel

[@DebraJean196]

As others have said, this is an incredibly well made video, professional quality. Great scripting, narrating, choice of video clips, and clear cut explanations of each idea. Very sweet to watch. Your subscriber count is increasing by one and I’m grateful this video showed up on my home page. I’m also grateful at least one thing in the NFL won’t be technologized. I’m sick of the human factor being taken out of the game. And, yes, I know technologized isn’t a word lol

[@ethanperry714]

i am a tennis fan learning about football from all of my friends who like it, and this video came up on my recommended - i couldn't believe that this was a small channel bc the video quality and explanation are so so good. thanks for helping me learn more about football and for making good, entertaining content in the process

[@plastic14407]

Got halfway through this video before I realized this was not a huge KZbin channel, earned a sub for sure

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Appreciate the sub!

[@RudieObias]

Dude, your KZbin channel is UNDERRATED!! You deserve way more subs and views for this high quality!

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Appreciate it man!

[@nickjreacts]

I agree

[@djsvarietychannel9664]

Subbing right now after watching, this video is really well made and hopefully you get the recognition you deserve

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Appreciate the sub!

[@Choice_au]

As an Australian whose just gotten into American football I find the the culture shock part of the appeal. An NFL game is such a big event with so many people and moving parts involved. The amount of technology is mindboggling. There is something really nice about using something as simple and elegant as a length of chain to measure distances - its something tangible in a sport that seems increasingly nestled in the intangible. I really enjoyed this video mate, as someone new to the sport a lot of this was genuinely new to me and you did a good job getting me caught up quickly. The video also has visual polish you'd associate with a much bigger channel. Since you're clearly putting a lot of effort into these, I'll make a criticism that I hope you'll find useful. It sounds to my ear that there isn't much audio mixing going on. For instance, I like the track from 4:32-6:15 but it's dominating the mix and overpowering your vocals at times. For a drum track like this you'd generally want to make use of compressors and EQ to keep the peaks of the track in line and carve out space in the mix for your dialogue. If you are already mixing your audio, then I'd be a bit more aggressive with it. Best of luck with the channel, it looks like you're going to do well.

[@braithemander-rr4tt]

Hi, as a fellow Aussie who recently got into watching American Football, do you have any recommendations on where to watch games live? Thnx

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Thanks for watching and the constructive criticism! Much appreciated. Also, I think you'll like the upcoming video this week. It's about international expansion

[@tylerdurden788]

I love watching rugby and cricket lately. Probably because I have no idea what is going on. Trying to figure it out as i watch is interesting.

[@AyoJerry]

NFL Redzone or DAZN@@braithemander-rr4tt

[@chrispirolli9480]

Awesome video! Thank you

[@codingpupper3033]

Something not talked about is that there is another marker on the chain. Whenever the chains are moved, the crew picks a yard line to place the marker at. Then, when they run out, they align that marker with the yard line to be (at least slightly) more precise. TLDR: the chain crew doesn't implement error when running across the field because they have a marker on the chain to align it

[@umpire8025]

typically there is a 4th member of the gang just to place the marker

[@alexhulinsky7954]

Omg this is what we were looking for. I always wondered how they can trust 2 people running into the field to stay in a perfectly straight line, but if there's a marker to line up, that would help.

[@nikilragav]

So you're saying that e.g. the line to gain is the opponent's 33 yd line, so they put a marker on the chain to line up with the 35 yd line? So when they run out, they can line that point up. That makes sense! But how do they make sure they're actually perpendicular to the yard lines instead of at a slight diagonal? The marker would need to be perpendicular to the chain somehow and wide enough that you get some decent precision.

[@codingpupper3033]

​@@nikilragav I believe there is still a little bit of human error. You're right that it may not be exactly perpendicular. I think the idea with the marker is to make it at least a bit more accurate, not exactly precise.

[@scott1564]

The marker is called a "clip." In most High School games, the "box man" (the guy carrying the down box) is the guy who moves the clip. In college and the NFL, and many HS playoff games, they have a 4th chain crew member to work the clip. The clip is USUALLY applied to the backside of the nearest BIG (i.e., 5, 10, 15, etc.) yard line closest to the first down spot. So, for example, if the first down spot is the 26 going out (i.e. offensive team's or 'minus' territory), the clip is on the chain link at the 30, but on the white/green paint nearest the 26. So that way if either they have to drop the chains due to a play coming near them, or the quarter ending, they can reset the chains with close enough accuracy. Even if the chains are set on a big line, the clip is still set on the next big line. Officials mark the ball on, as I said, the "backside" of the line because each line is several inches wide (I haven't measured it -- probably 3" or so).

[@TheGreatChrisB]

This is a great video, I assumed it was a big channel until I went to hit the like button and saw you only had 2k subs. That's crazy, you definitely deserve more subs and honestly should be working with the NFL. This felt like an NFL official video.

[@Caddeus]

Exactly! I thought the same thing. This video quality was REALLY good, especially with the script writing. I had to like and subscribe.

[@ericklein6796]

Another important question - why do apostrophes exist when no one alive knows how to use them correctly?

[@leadboots72]

Who's these people's that don't know how's to use them'?

[@graylarson2751]

Great video man

[@Jay-gf8tm]

That last point about entertainment and tying the past with the present was a great way to explain it. It should stay part of the game.

[@wompastompa3692]

The chain is nice and simple. No need to overcomlicate shit.

[@adamrindler5629]

Wow only 2k subscribers, but fantastic video

[@i.r.weasel7042]

Great video! Well done!

[@eddiemikus]

4:13 I love how this video mentioned many of the issues involved in setting lasers (cost, need to accommodate different weather conditions, etc), then used the USFL as an example of a league that has used lasers-without mentioning once that the USFL uses a hub city model where teams share a small number of stadiums. That feels like an important piece of context since needing to implement the laser tech at fewer venues would presumably help alleviate some of the issues with the tech, thus making the system viable in the USFL.

[@amazingspiderfatty7375]

Come on!! You cannot get rid of a crew that has the name "chain gang" in favor of technology doing it. That is just too hilarious to let go.

[@the_beastly_boom]

You deserve so many more Subs, very great video

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Appreciate it! Thanks for watching

[@peterpike]

When I was in high school, I got drafted into being the guy who placed the clip on the chain for a game. Basically, once the chains were stretched out on the sideline, if the first down wasn't exactly on one of the full line markers that crosses the field every five yards, I had to go to the full line marker closest to the first down and put a clip on the chain at that point. If they had to do a measurement, which in the game I did this in only happened once, they actually just put the clip I placed on the nearest full-line and then stretched out from there. That way, they didn't need to stretch a full 10 yards--just at most a fraction under 5 yards (if the first down marker was exactly on the line, they didn't need to measure since they could just look if the nose of the ball was over the line). Not sure if they do it the same way in college or the NFL, since high school has lots of different rules, but it was a fun time especially since in that game I was never at risk of getting run over on the sideline 😀

[@ryanmoore4937]

Awesome content. With content this good, more subs/views are surely coming. Keep it up!

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Appreciate it!

[@charmerci]

Thanks, I was wondering why. In a rush situation, I wonder how accurate those guys are in marking on the sidelines so far away, exactly where the front of the football is when getting the first down in the first place! There's got to often be a several inch discrepancy each time.

[@jimmyispromo]

Great job my dude. Sharing on my socials

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Aye! Thanks!

[@Regendur]

Excellent video on a great question. Love it, keep it coming!

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Thanks for watching!

[@johnsamoilis6379]

You need chain gangs for the fans in the stadium and for players to know where the first down markers are located.

[@OrigamiFolder]

So happy to have found your channel. You’re going to blow up any time now and we’re all going to say, “I’ve been watching since the beginning!” lol

[@pyre753]

The production on this video was terrific. Great job.

[@RabbitsInBlack]

Sometimes you do things just for the ENTERTAINMENT. They just made a REAL TIME Toy Story NFL game the other day. We have the Tech to do a lot of things.

[@Sez___]

If we want to be always accurate, you can make a rule where the ball is always rounded back last yard mark if it doesn't reach another. So if you are one yard away from the goal line and gain half a yard, you go back to the one. That way we can always be accurate.

[@gopackgo4036]

The issue it’s with lining it up lengthwise but rather with (1) spotting it lengthwise on the field and (2) ensuring the chains are lined up width wise, i other words, not angled.

[@jlovo24]

I am insanely impressed by the production, editing, commentary and quality of this video! Im surprised this channel is so new and has so few subscribers, i had to check the channels tab on your page to see if this was a sister account of a bigger channel like VOX because it was so reminiscent of them. great job! new subscriber

[@Andrew-bd8dc]

NEVER get rid of chain gang

[@Nifured]

Great video. Super informative and entertaining! You deserve far more subscribers, and you just earned one more!

[@bradythorson5122]

Only 1k subscribers? Really well done video. Subscribed!

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Thanks for the sub!

[@ZachSmith-pn5jd]

gr8 video!

[@escott1981]

Great job with this video! It was interesting and I learned some things. Keep up the great work! :)

[@poisonpotato1]

1) its easy to see for everyone, players and fans. And its obvious to see if someone made it passed a stick then relying on someone up in a booth running a computer simulation no one can see 2) its good enough to get the job done. I saw that chips could be 6 inches off. If the Louisiana purchase can be surveyed with lengths of chain - they can be used to measure ten yards

[@zelandakhniteblade5436]

Simple solution - use virtual technology to determine if the ball placement is an advancement of 10 yards; keep the chain gang as a manual back-up (if the technology goes down) and as a direct visual indication of where the 1st down target and current LoS are. You cannot easily replace the refs with chips for subjective ball placement in real time because of the difficulty in determining precisely when the ball carrier is down.

[@LividCreature]

Love this so much! I’ve always wondered about this, and at the end, that explanation about tradition, drama and being a part of it all, made perfect sense. You earned a new sub, sir. And I’ll be sharing this video.

[@kalel311superman9]

i watched the index card game, i am subscribing now

[@brookspawsat8480]

Nice job man

[@jackdaddyslim3895]

Correction. Only the down Marker Moves After each play. (1:50) The Two Ends of the chain dont Move unless a First down is made.

[@NeverlandSystemAngel]

Sometimes for an inexact rough and tumble game... inexactness is a strength... If you want millimeter precision, leave football in your rear view mirror.

[@jacob_coleman25]

My dad told me his high school accidentally used an 11-foot chain for football games for 17 years

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

🤣🤣

[@nostaljiq]

Great video! Production quality is awesome!

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Thanks for watching!

[@otherstuff3773]

The thing that gets me is that the focus is always on the end of the chain next to the ball. No one seems to be concerned about how accurate the other end of the chain is.

[@johnjperricone7856]

You can get a contractor's laser line level that can project a green line for something like 50 feet at Home Depot for less than a thousand bucks. Don't tell me the NFL couldn't commission two or three per stadium for well under $500K. That's nonsense.

[@freezer8530]

(Well, don't you know) That's the sound of the men ... working on the chain ...... gang.

[@coolzxr]

we’ve gotten toy story football before before changing the chains

[@middletonrawb4480]

Better question: why is Angel Hernandez still umpiring Major League Baseball games? Now there's a real argument against relying on humans to officiate pro sports.

[@dorkboi267]

Chains also are identical from peewee football all the way to the NFL.

[@gregmize01]

YOU DESERVE MORE SUBS! GREAT VID!

[@besteffortint]

Being the most technologically advanced and being the most technologically innovative are two very different things. The NFL is one of the most resistant leagues when it comes to implementing new technology to make the sport more accurate in many ways. The NFL has the technology it does simply because it exists, not because they’re doing anything themselves.

[@samuelhowie4543]

Yet how many years has baseball resisted going to an automatic ball and strikes system. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the players resisting that more than the league does. The actual strike zone is from the chest to the knees. It would cut down on scoring when they are trying to make the game more interesting.

[@kurtwicklund8901]

A perfect video on the premise. Finished strong.

[@omarbahrour]

Never knew why chips weren’t used for TDs, makes total sense though

[@miketrissel5494]

The chains cannot be brought across the field at an angle. They are marked at the point of the stripe between the chains, and that 'mark' is placed on the line out where the ball is spotted. You should do a video on the technology used by the line painters, and the experimentation on creating the paints used for striping. About 5 years ago at the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, the game was cancelled, because the wrong paint was used, causing skin burns during the warm-ups ... supposedly. Might have been some politics involved too, but we will never know.

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

🤔🤔 definitely going to look into that

[@samuelhowie4543]

Was that the one they cancelled and blamed the heat also for the field not being in shape.

[@rackodakoo]

doesnt matter at all how they meassure, its where they spot it, that needs an improvement

[@sjwilson1079]

The answer is it makes for dramatic television to call for a measurement. The chain gang isn't going anywhere

[@c-fink]

Great video I learned a lot, but the drums were too loud in the background

[@marquisethomas5611]

Ive seen the second guy with the chain before but i still thought the chain was coming from a spool with a chain the length of a football field 😭

[@mikelundquist4596]

Hey, maybe, if we try hard enough, we can take humanity out of the game altogether. Heck, in a few years we won't even need players.

[@newagain9964]

Ikr.

[@markbonner1139]

Yeah!!!Football with THE JETSONS!!!

[@CGagnon5]

Holy shit this guy only has 2k subscribers. Really well done bro keep up the great work

[@cmac3530]

Because of 0:56 Honestly, I feel like that sequence is burned into the minds of every NFL fan. Just one of the most hilarious segments for a ref to be a part of and Gene knows it the whole time. You can tell by the shit eating grin he has the whole clip. What a legend.

[@robertfernandez5185]

Did someone miss the point the players need a reference point while playing? Duh

[@Sez___]

I think ideally you would use both. Let's say there is a chip in the ball and when it crosses a sensor in the front pile it signals the official. The official for the most part can rely on that, but they still make the call

[@clayyye4388]

Nice video!

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Thanks!

[@BobZed]

The third guy doesn't keep track of the line of scrimmage. He keeps track of a reference line like the 25, 30, etc.

[@jameshart4867]

Why not just use a 10 yard long ruler? more accurate than a chain, and would be funny as hell to see someone dragging a massive ruler onto the field.

[@wiggles3238]

nice video

[@ahapka]

I still remember Favre asking the officials for a spot, and they took an official time out to bring the chains out. When he really did it to stop the clock as Green Bay was out of time outs, the clock was winding down, and it was basically to be sure they had time to get another play in.

[@fierzali6297]

the accuracy debate is dumb. 19 out of 20 plays, its just a judgement call by the ref as to where to put the ball, so the line of scrimmage and first down lines are already messed up to begin with.

[@trent1984]

The chains gotta stay, it just wouldn't feel right to watch a game without the chains

[@Baker19911]

Awesome video! Deserved sub

[@cdprince768]

I don't agree with your conclusion. The chain gang is embarrassing and tedious. In European soccer, they use technology to determine if a player is offside by a millimeter. They can figure out if a ball has reached the line to gain.

[@nzgreywolf]

So if theres an accurate marker on the chain thats used to measure from the solid yard line to the pole at the original line of scrimmage end, why dont they just turn the thing around and measure that same distance from the solid yard line at the other end, thus getting rid of the 10 yard chain?

[@mnm2317]

You forgot to add that it adds ANOTHER layer of influence and control. Penalties carry the biggest load for "storylines" or what the league "wants" to happen, but a crucial, close, first down (or not) can swing a close game if needed. Why take that option away?? (rhetorical, because they won't)

[@_perza]

Great video

[@AnotherSportsChannel]

Thanks!

[@_perza]

@@AnotherSportsChannel i left a sub, please continue to make great content and interesting video ideas like this one ❤️

[@JokerFace090]

Replace all those humans with robots.

[@MrScarduelli]

The pole, with a certified length, is more precise then any technology. Computers are not 100% precise, they have a big margin of error

[@jaddub7578]

The margin of error for computers is like 0.000000004%

[@teebob21]

@@jaddub7578 Tell me you don't understand measurement error without telling me.

[@headymoe]

Beautiful summary at the end. Similar to baseball, the human element is a wonderful and integral part of the game. We don't need cameras, lasers, chips, robots, etc EVERYWHERE.

[@63ah1275]

I used to always work the chain for my son's Pop Warner games. Best seat in the house.

[@stratostatic]

Good stuff. Thank you

[@insertjokeh3r3]

Chain gang is also a indicator for live watching cause unlike on tv you dont have a magic line. Tbh they could probably just make a new chain pole you can pull off and drag to the field to be exact

[@ImShadowWRLD]

bro I always wondered?!?! how are these dudes running out to the field in an EXACT straight line to tighten the chains and find out if its a first down. shit makes no sense

[@teebob21]

There is a marker/tag connected to the chain and aligned with a solid 5-yard line (e.g. the 45, 50 etc) that the chain crosses. There are hash marks running down the field. The tag is used to put the chain at the exact same spot as it was on the sidelines, and then the chain is stretched to its maximum extent, perpendicular to the yard lines. If you would like to learn how it works, your local high school or junior high is likely to always be looking for volunteers to run the chains at their home games. They'll usually pay you, too.

[@IRanOutOfPhrases]

If you learn how the chains themselves work, you'd realize they aren't really that big of a problem. It's a fairly reliable process. The biggest issue is figuring out where the ball should be spotted. That's what will lead to the biggest variance. For those curious about how they know how accurate the chains are: There's an extra component to the chain gang that was left out of this video. There's a clip that gets placed on the chain to lock it in place. In any scenario, there will always be a 5 yard line marker that will be between the chains. So the clip on the chain is placed in line with that 5-yard line. And then when they come out to measure for the first down, they can make sure the clip on the chain is placed exactly on the respective 5 yard line to ensure the chains don't move at all. Now I could be wrong, but this gives an advantage over the laser system as far as I can tell. With the chains, they can measure the spot of the ball at any position on the field, even outside the hash marks. (Yes, obviously lasers can do that too, that's not the advantage yet.) But when the ball is outside the hash marks, the ball will have to be moved back within the hashmarks. With the chains, after the initial measurement has been determined, he can then grab the exact bit of chain that correlates to where the ball should be placed. Then walk with the chains to the hashmark, and set the ball down exactly where it needs to be. I don't know how you do that with lasers. You'd have to keep running extra checks to fidget the ball around. Oddly, it's probably not going to be as precise as the chains. And of course, it's way more dramatic for everyone to watch the chain measurement. Checking in for a computer screen to say "Yes/No" is boring. So boring and not any more reliable. Why bother? The chains are pretty reliable and foolproof, as silly and dated as they are. Its the actual spotting of the ball that's the real issue.

[@ethanma3916]

if we can just keep improving the accuracy and precision of the chain gangs, it would be perfect

[@philliporsit]

So right about the suspense

[@263production9]

It’s pretty simple, the chains and spotting of the ball are not and have never been a science. I used to be an equipment manger for a large FBS college team and I guarantee you it’s just guessing. The chains help you as the viewer feel like there’s some kind of justification behind the spot. Most of the time if it looks like a first down they will call it a first down

[@newagain9964]

There u have it. It’s not a problem with the chain. It’s the ball spotting that is off.

[@metuberob]

the chain is still the most accurate measurement over even modern tech

[@Apocrypha10]

I agree 100%, the chains don’t lie when it comes to spot of the ball if a team is short of the first down or if they have it.

[@coffeedrive-wh5gv]

great job!

[@aaronpreston13]

This is why I think it should be, I think it should be a combination of the 4. The chains, chips in the footballs, lasers, and the officials. I think with all 4 combined, there can be the best results and the best for fans, players, coaches, and referees.

[@charlesadams2932]

I've never seen this elsewhere, but 8-9th grade football I played in Arkansas the guys holding the chain would clip a disk thing to the chain at the spot where the one 5-yard line marker was. Then if a measurement was need the disk would be used as the marker out in the field to set the posts. In essence the first post wasn't used in the actual measurement, but I'm not sure what this technique is called or how much is has/is used.

[@onyx3019]

It’s not the tech that’s bad , this has been perfected by numerous other sports in many different scenarios, the NFL didn’t even try yet , seriously there was no decision of okay let’s fully do this , no one gave that order, no one said ok it’s time we do this hey mike I want you to get me the best engineers to create a yard line sensing system, and why would they ,they are making billions copy pasting the same Super Bowl script halftime show and everything each year , why change something that could anger people ,this won’t happen until it’s the playoffs and some team losses a crazy game because of the chain gang and there is public outrage

[@BKnight7z]

The reason why humans are used instead of chips in balls and lasers is because you can’t simply tell where the ball is exactly when a player is “down”. There’s lots of reasons the ball would move forward after a knee is down or wrist is down or anything like that. A player can fall forward with the ball after a knee down, a player can lose the ball forward out of bounds, a rb could scoot it forward after a tackle. Creating a system of tech gadgets attached to players to make it work accurately would be so insanely complex and the more complex it is means more points of failure. Also a human can be generally allowed to make a mistake but if tech made a wrong call that a human would’ve likely seen does that feel the same?

[@BrooklinFunkProject]

You don't understand rf technology.

[@mudbutt5951]

Bad take. Research the tech

[@teebob21]

@@mudbutt5951 Please explain how "the tech" knows the position of the ball at the instant a part of the ball carrier's body touches the ground. What sensors are in the player's equipment to synchronize those measurements?

[@TRIGGEREDHarambe]

Lazers are expensive.. .for a multi billion dollar company? That's a damn joke. Look towards soccer where they can see whether the ball has crossed the goal line or is offside by mm's. If soccer can figure it out, so can the NFL.

[@jeffnaslund]

Excellent report 🐬