NFL’s last analog frontier: Testing out new technology for measuring first-downs

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

This past March, the NFL Competition Committee approved the use of the system, which relies on optical tracking, for every preseason game which began with the Hall of Fame Game. The NFL owners have already approved of the system to become a mainstay beginning in Week 1 if the preseason results are successful.

There is no doubt that there is suspense going on when a chain is being stretched in the middle of a football field to find out if the first down is achieved, or if the defense has held. It is a part of the game, and now, is in jeopardy of being extinct like the drop kick, the Longines stadium clock, messenger guards, Oskies, head slaps, tear-away jerseys, and the straight-away field goal kicker.

Origins of the chain gang

Take a look at the playing field of any American Football field in any city at any level. Notice something odd? The field is striped off into five-year increments. An offensive unit gets four downs to gain 10 yards, so why isn’t the field marked off at only 10-yard intervals? Hash marks show where every individual yard is, so why is it necessary to display where every five yards are?

When American Football was being formed into a new sport from the rules of Rugby Football, certain aspects changed the game right away. Possession was one, a system of downs was another, and gaining yardage to get a new set of downs and continue the drive was yet one more.

Amron’s company, First Down Laser Systems, pitched the NFL Competition Committee in 2003 with financial help from former NFL placekicker and then-FOX broadcaster Pat Summerall, on an idea for a sophisticated tracking system built around a constellation of stadium light-mounted lasers. Amron claimed to be accurate within a sixteenth of an inch.

There were different versions of Amron’s system. The first proposal had challenges such as different lighting and the fact that it could be affected by the weather. Then there were suggestions that the lasers could affect a player’s eyes if viewed directly. Then there were cost obstacles: $300,000 to $500,000 per stadium. None of this got past the smell test in the NFL, Canadian Football League, and college football.

The premise of the system was to use lasers permanently mounted at the stadium that would emit a green line projected onto the field to mark the line for a first down that would be visible to everyone at the stadium and television viewers.

Tests were run in some NFL preseason games but were deemed failures. The league then had a stance that they preferred the system tested somewhere else.

2016: Lazser Down System

The Kansas City company specializes in electronic down-and-distance pole markers. But owner Mike Foster also devised a system that measures the distance between poles with ultra-wideband radio waves. This application carries all the locational benefits of lasers minus the safety hazards or potential for interference.

The system does not use lasers and only requires two men to operate which is devised to speed up the game.

The Lazser Down System has been used for some Notre Dame games, a few high school contests, many D-2 and D-3 games, and was exclusively utilized in the Alliance of American Football in 2019 until they folded. In all, the system was used in 55 live games including the Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Game.

2022: Bolt6 System

When FOX Sports took on the re-boot of the United States Football League, they had already been using the sports data company Bolt6 for optical tracking solutions for their coverage of the PGA Tour, NASCAR, the America’s Cup, volleyball, and tennis. Six cameras were installed inside each stadium just for this technology.

Editor’s note: First down technology begins at 1:30

Information is fed back to the officiating center and a virtual replay can be put out to the TV either confirming whether it’s a first down or that the spot is short. That feed of the virtual replay went to the broadcast as well as the big screen in the stadium. The raw data is spat straight to the officiating center so the officials are aware and can inform the on-field officials without the need for replay.

What is the advantage of Hawk-Eye Innovations’ new system?

They say football is a game of inches. Think about this method for a second.

A game official places the football on one of the hash marks close to the center of the field. Another person on the sidelines, yards away, takes his stick, the “rear rod,” and places it on a spot he or she thinks is parallel to the spot of the first down. The chain is then pulled tight and the second chain crew member sets down their stick, the “forward rod”, marking ten yards.

When the next first down is in question and a measurement is warranted on the field of play, a clip is used to mark a close-yard marker, then the entire chain crew walks to the spot of the ball. The clip is laid down on the same yard marker, which is accurate. Then the chain is stretched out and the measurement is taken.

All good, right?

The issue is that initial spot. One person yards away is trying their best to place the rear rod at the exact location as the football laying on the ground out there on the playing field. An inch left or right is not only possible but probable. Then when a measurement is taken to see if the first down was made, the importance is placed on the forward rod as the chain is stretched.

However, the rear rod made the distance what it was in the first place.

Jones of CBS Sports stated:

“If the system works, it would make for a more accurate measuring system that reduces the amount of human error. If the league sees there are problems such as latency issues in the preseason, the move can be tabled until 2025 with the chain crew continuing to do the same job as always.”

The system has already been used in the first week of the NFL preseason to mixed reviews.

One of the bugs that will have to be ironed out is the amount of time it takes to get the results. In the first preseason game of the Giants versus the Detroit Lions, one call was about three-and-a-half minutes from the end of the play to the beginning of the next play.

With Hawk-Eye’s technology in the sports of tennis and soccer, the results are instant.

The 2024 NFL season is a historic one for rule changes. The XFL kickoff is set to replace traditional kickoff plays in the league, while Guardian Caps may now be worn during actual games. Additionally, the hip drop tackle has been banned, and there is talk of replacing the chain gang with an electronic system to improve the accuracy of determining first-down yardage.

These rule changes are aimed at revolutionizing the sport and altering how the game is played. Coaches and fans have long criticized the human element involved in ball placement, considering it outdated.

Sports leagues are increasingly embracing technology, but it is essential to ensure that it is used to provide 100 percent accurate outcomes without any doubts.

With these advancements, human errors in the game could soon be a thing of the past.

Are you excited about the integration of new technology, or do you anticipate more complaints? Do you believe it was time for the chain gang to be replaced regardless? paragraph in a more concise manner:

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