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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 2769225, member: 289"] I had an out-of-the-box thought about how they keep track of yardage in football. The whole thing with the referee's guesswork and the chain gang seems old-fashioned and fraught with error, (sometimes intentionally - see SU-Pitt '76). There was a play in the pro game tonight where James Connor of the Steelers tried to get a first down at about the Panthers 29 and was clearly tackled at the 30. But the refs put the ball on the 29 and signaled first down. The Steelers ran a play before Carolina could call for a review of the spot. It got me to thinking how this could be done better. There could still be controversies, (and reviews) but I think this would at least simplify things: credit teams, (and players) only with whole yards. If a kickoff returner brings the ball back to, say the 21 yard line plus 6 inches, the ball is placed precisely at the 21, first and 10. They have to get to the 31 yard line, precisely, to get another down series. On first down, the running back gains 3 yards and 2 inches. the ball is placed precisely at the 24. A pass to the tight end gains 6 yards and 8 inches. The ball is placed precisely at the 30. A quarterback sneak gets the ball to the 31 plus an inch. the ball is placed precisely on the 31, first and ten. They have to get to the 41, or beyond to get another down series. There's no chain gang, just a guy with a marker at the 41 to remind everyone that that's where they need to go. There would be no guesstimating where to put the ball and no measurements. You could still have controversies over whether a player made it to or past the 31 for the first down but that can be resolved with replays. They might someday even be able to make the call electronically with some sort of beam at each yard line, much as they talk about having electronic strike zones in baseball. [/QUOTE]

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