USFL will eliminate 1st Down Chain, use technology

[khardbored]

Title says it all.

USFL to eliminate chains, measure first downs with chip in ball and yellow line on TV

When it’s time to measure for a first down in the USFL, the officials will call for a high-tech solution in place of the decidedly low-tech 10-yard chains that have been used in football for …

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

I'm sure there will be human spotting still, but no need to "measure."

 

[Clonehomer]

So will there still be markers on the sidelines for the players to see? If so, are those no longer going to be official? I'm all for using technology where necessary, but let's not use it to fix an imaginary problem.

 

[Rabbuk]

robots taking jobs.

 

[CloneinWDSM]

I’ll check out the league I’m sure. I did a quick search on rosters and saw 4 Cyclones at least on preliminary roster.

Jaquan Bailey
EJ Bibbs
La’Michal Pettway
Kamilo Tongamoa

 

[cycophagus]

I’ll check out the league I’m sure. I did a quick search on rosters and saw 4 Cyclones at least on preliminary roster.

Jaquan Bailey
EJ Bibbs
La’Michal Pettway
Kamilo Tongamoa

The Fox Sports website verifies that. Specifically:

Michigan Panthers:

1. La’Michal Pettway
2. Jaquan Bailey

New Orleans Breakers:

1. EJ Bibbs
2. Kamilo Tongamoa

Back in the day, the USFL used a territorial draft, and all the ISU players were on the Michigan Panthers. Basically, they hired the ISU DC and then signed all their DBs including John "land shark" Arnaud (Austin Arnaud's dad). They were a fun team to cheer for,

I don't know how the draft works with the new league, though. Two players on two teams - I guess its coincidence. It beats reading MLB box scores all summer!

 

[dosry5]

robots taking jobs.

Yep. Hopefully the now unemployed chain gang can get some UBI

 

[RedBlooded]

Wonder if they will add more teams in the future.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Wonder if they will add more teams in the future.

They need to worry about surviving their first season first.

 

[Dopey]

Never understood why tennis is seemingly the only sport doing this.

Umpires in baseball should be nearly obsolete.

The ball spotting process in football makes measuring a first down a ridiculous process.

Hope this works.

 

[Rabbuk]

Never understood why tennis is seemingly the only sport doing this.

Umpires in baseball should be nearly obsolete.

The ball spotting process in football makes measuring a first down a ridiculous process.

Hope this works.

Isnt the actual initial spot going to just be a judgment call anyway still?

 

[Cloneon]

So will there still be markers on the sidelines for the players to see? If so, are those no longer going to be official? I'm all for using technology where necessary, but let's not use it to fix an imaginary problem.

Execution is the complex part of legislation. Of course there'd need to be some method of conveyance. What and how? That's the question.

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

They need to worry about surviving their first season first.

I truly think the XFL would've worked if the pandemic didn't happen. Dallas sold like 15k season tickets which basically guaranteed a profit for them. And they weren't the only one. Plus the USFL was doing pretty good as well. I bet there would've been a merger after a couple years.

 

[VeloClone]

Isnt the actual initial spot going to just be a judgment call anyway still?

Well it doesn't have to be. With realitime tracking of the chip they could actually calculate the actual forward progress mark quite accurately. It might take a few seconds to do where the ball is when the knee touched down but with video synched to chip tracking that too could become pretty routine and relatively quick.

 

[KnappShack]

So will there still be markers on the sidelines for the players to see? If so, are those no longer going to be official? I'm all for using technology where necessary, but let's not use it to fix an imaginary problem.

Totally agree. Even instant replay takes away from watching a game. Delay after delay.

Take the umpire out of baseball and it's an element of the game that's missing. Baseball is unwatchable as is. Throw in a couple of challenges and I'm off to something else.

 

[Rabbuk]

Well it doesn't have to be. With realitime tracking of the chip they could actually calculate the actual forward progress mark quite accurately. It might take a few seconds to do where the ball is when the knee touched down but with video synched to chip tracking that too could become pretty routine and relatively quick.

Would there be like a laser line or something so a ref knows where to physically place it?

 

[VeloClone]

Would there be like a laser line or something so a ref knows where to physically place it?

I would imagine it would go something like this for pace of play:

• Officials continue to spot ball on the field as usual. System and operator monitor the spots. Operator would buzz down within about 10 seconds for a respot if spot is significantly off.
• On critical 3rd down or 4th down spots that are close - time out for measurement. Operator adjusts the spot by buzzing down and indicates if first down was reached or not.

 

[Cloneon]

I would imagine it would go something like this for pace of play:

• Officials continue to spot ball on the field as usual. System and operator monitor the spots. Operator would buzz down within about 10 seconds for a respot if spot is significantly off.
• On critical 3rd down or 4th down spots that are close time out for measurement. Operator adjusts the spot by buzzing down and indicates if first down was reached or not.

With today's technology, digital display in referees hands pointing one direction or the other for spotting it with an acceptable (and agreed upon) margin of error.

 

[VeloClone]

People will still have to be involved. A chip in the ball will not be able to determine when a knee (or other body part) touches the ground or when a player goes out of bounds. But it would be a step in the right direction.

Those chips are going to take a beating so there is going to have to be a human back up. Yes you can change out a ball when the chips fail, but you can't do it in the middle of a play.

 

[khardbored]

My understanding from the article is that the spotting process will be the same old human judgement as usual, and the umpire will set the ball down as usual, unassisted by technology.

The tech will ONLY be used to determine if a 1st down was achieved after the spotting - for now.

Could be more to it in the future.

 

[jdoggivjc]

I truly think the XFL would've worked if the pandemic didn't happen. Dallas sold like 15k season tickets which basically guaranteed a profit for them. And they weren't the only one. Plus the USFL was doing pretty good as well. I bet there would've been a merger after a couple years.

I actually agree with you. I honestly think if it weren’t for the fact the entire thing was a financial scam, the league that preceded XFL 2.0 (I forget the name of it already) could have worked as well. XFL was doing even better until COVID shut it down. I’m really glad it’s getting a second chance, this time in partnership with the NFL, and for those two reasons I think XFL has the greater chance for success. That being said, for both XFL and USFL, they’re both going to have to survive year 1.