Is the chain itself 10 yards long or is it 10 yards from the outer edge of the post? Something else?
Outer edge of the post.
I’ve always thought the first down chains were the dumbest ritual in sports. A great example of how precision and accuracy are different things.
So the 49ers get a first down. The officials in charge of the chains raise their thumb and eye it carefully, lick their finger and check the wind, and plop the chains down EXACTLY where they think the ball, probably 20 something yards away, is probably located. How accurate is that placement? As accurate as you can eyeball something 25 yards away, right?
But then if the ball is spotted close to a first down, out come the chains, and whoa – the ball made it by a jillionth of an inch! First down! Thank god the initial placement of the chains were scientifically measured to such precision that we can establish that the ball has in fact advanced 10.00005 yards!
I agree. I don’t watch football but just clicking through the channels this jumps out at me as being really one of the really silly things.
In attempting to Google the answer first, it appears there has been talk of using lasers. I guess it’s two laser boxes, 10 yards apart, on a track parallel to the sideline shining into the field of play.
Incorrect. It’s the inner edges of the posts. When a first down is spotted the rear post is aligned so that the inside edge of the marker is at the tip of the ball. A first down is subsequently awarded when the tip of the ball breaks the plane of the inside edge forward post. Long story short, the chain is 10 yards long, the chain + markers is an extra inch or two longer.
There’s a lot of estimation involved in the process but there’s a certain implicitly agreed upon set of conditions. Both teams essentially stipulate that “10 yards” isn’t the operative standard, they are each under the agreement that the goal is “that post”, regardless of how far away it is. So long as both teams are in agreement that “that post” is a fair distance an error of an inch or two more or less than 10 yards on first down is negligible.
What would the point be? The inaccuracy is introduced in the spot, not in the measurement. The only upside I can see is that it would make the entire production of a measurement moot eliminating that waste of time. Personally I find those measurements to be an interesting bit of staged drama and they introduce a little variety in the pacing of a drive and the subsequent clock management that I enjoy.
Off-topic, but has anyone else noticed a decline in the number of measurements in recent years? The NFL has made a (largely successful) effort to speed up the games, and part of that seems to be forgoing measurements and just awarding a 1st Down if the ref thinks there’s a good chance they made it (until the end of close games, when they revert to being more diligent). This mostly affects conversions on 1st and 2nd Downs; on 3rd and 4th I don’t think there’s been too much of a change.
Assuming I’m not just imagining things, I think this is a good policy.
Seems like that’s the case but I haven’t heard mention of it being league mandated. It might be but I haven’t seen it reported on. There was a while there where it seemed like coaches were requesting and being granted measurements when it wasn’t even close as an excuse to buy time to choose a play or rest players. Just removing the coaches from the process might have solved the issue.
3rd &1 changed to 1st & 10 arguably because the ref moved the ball after the spot, although the original spot was also bad.
Also, even if that specific example isn’t great, there is error after the spot by virtue of the fact that the chain gang is eyeballing where to put the chains from 25 yards away.
What’s the point? The refs fucked up the spot twice, but any laser thing wouldn’t have corrected those issues.
The ref picked up the ball after the spot, wiped it on his pants, and moved it forward. The laser line would have ensured the ball would go back to the original spot.
And how would the laser have changed anything? Does it have the ability to freeze everyone or make refs never misplace a ball? All a laser can do is measure, just like a chain, and if the refs use the measurement wrong and no one notices in time it’s equally fucked.
I think it projects a visible beam across the field at the line of scrimmage. So when the ref picks up the ball, he can see the beam and ensure the ball gos back to the original spot.
I dunno. I just read an article. I’m not sold one way or the other.
That’s not how lasers work as far as I know. Generating a visible laser would burn a hole through the ball and the refs leg. Do you have the link?
I think the NFL is looking at this to circle football stadiums and project the first down marker on the field. Given the billions spent on the project, I’m sure the laser is perfectly harmless.
I’ve always wanted more “Tron” in my Sunday afternoon football watching. “Holding, number 72, 10 yards, repeat first down. Number 72 is subject to immediate de-resolution.”
Sheesh, if you’re going to be moving the ball around like that, at least don’t do it when the ball happens to be right on top of the hash marks!
So I shouldn’t buy one of those laser levels to hang my pictures straight for fear that I’ll burn holes through the wall studs? We’re not talking industrial strength cutting lasers here.