Don’t get your hopes up. Whether a ball crossed the line to gain is still an issue.
A source of groans, facepalms, and embarrassment for the NFL and its fans may become less frequent. Kind of. There were reports earlier this week saying the league will be going to Hawk-Eye virtual measurement, with the league itself saying 2025 was the goal to use the technology for spotting the ball.
It’s just as it sounds. The technology will help with spotting the ball. That’s it. Those of you thinking this shiny new tech is the be-all, end-all decision maker to decide if a team has crossed the line to gain (READ: AFC Championship) may be disappointed. The officials will still spot the ball. The technology will just make sure they spotted it correctly. After that, they could or could not decide if the ball crossed the line to gain. The system does include a bunch of new gizmos and cameras that need to be installed in stadiums, so it’s not out of the question and a good bet it will be utilized, but that’s not the primary function of this tech.
The point is this is for spotting the ball, first and foremost. Verifying a first down if the ball crossed x point is a secondary function.
Still, that takes care of one problem. Spotting the ball has been its own punchline. Far too often were there “generous” or “stingy” spots of the ball on the field. So progress there. Hopefully.
The league may make this a talking point for the 2025 season, claiming that this is advanced technology, things are improving, and the NFL is “ahead of the game.” You know, telling us how they are doing what they should have done far, far later than they should have.
And once again reiterating this doesn’t iron out the issue of when teams cross the line to gain for a first down, they get, you know, a first down. The new cameras may provide evidence to overturn the call, but it depends on the spot, first and foremost.
But for those of you traditionalists, fear not. The chain crew will still be there as a backup measure. Plus what’s a football game without measuring things? Apparently, measuring things takes 75 seconds with a chain while it’s 30 seconds for the Hawk-Eye system.
Hopefully, this will be the league’s first step toward modifying all some of the outdated technology so that the game can be called fairly and correctly.