Of all the sports to go to robo-refs (at least partially), I don’t know that the NFL really needs this. The MLB needs to do it, at least with home plate umps
They need to go with whatever system calls penalties consistently. So many refs call penalties differently based upon how much time is left in the game, or season, or presumably, how many fucks they have left to give. Maybe they already lost their bet, who knows? It would be amazing to know what PI actually is consistently.
But this doesn’t really involve penalties, from my understanding. It’s just the chains being replaced
I’m all for technology, but if it ain’t broken don’t fix it. It sounds like they won’t have a marker for players on the field to see. That could make things much more difficult for players on the field to judge. If they can reach out and run out of bounds towards a giant orange pole, it could lead to more collisions and injuries. Also, if they have to do all this calibration how are they going to handle mixed us facilities where they pick up and remove the grass? Or the Cardinals stadium where the grass moves outside? It just sounds like a nightmare.
The NFL has long used two bright orange sticks and a chain to measure for first downs, leading to plenty of controversial moments. That method would remain in a backup capacity.
Sounds like the markets will still be there, at least in the near term.
