Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.  The NFL is changing the way it measures first downs from the cool analog chain gang to a virtual video board system.  They are not changing it until next season but they have been doing dry runs during the preseason.  After seeing it in action during the 49ers preseason game against the Saints, I figured I would explain to you why I don’t like it and think this is a bad idea for multiple reasons.

For over 100 years, the NFL has been measuring first downs by using a 10-yard chain between two posts to measure the distance needed from the line of scrimmage.  For over 100 years, it has worked perfectly.  Yet now, in the age of technology, the NFL has decided that if it ain’t broke, we better fix it.  Thus, they have introduced the virtual video system to measure first downs on the score board.  Why would they move from analog to digital for this basic procedure?  Because they can.  It’s for no other reason than to say “look what we can do”.  I’ll explain why this is a needless advancement. 

First off, there is nothing wrong with analog.  Not everything has to be digital or electronic.  Just because you can become digital doesn’t make it better.  Books are a great example of this.  Holding and reading an actual book is much better than straining your eyes to read on a screen.  The feel of the book, the smell of the book all lend to a better experience than just scrolling through a screen.  I still buy real actual books all the time and whether it’s a book about the 1998 Yankees, the newest poker strategies, or a comic book from the present or the past, holding and paging through a real book beats a virtual book every time.  Moving from analog to digital just to do it is not a good reason at all.  To kill a tradition of having the chain gang come out and measure the first down just because you can, is dumb. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I like digital.  I’m a big fan of it when it’s an improvement.  I mentioned books as being better analog than digital well, newspapers are just the opposite.  While I used to love getting my USAToday every morning and reading the sports section, the internet has made newspapers obsolete.  Not because I can stare at my phone or computer and scroll through the articles but because the internet does something newspapers can’t.  It delivers news instantaneously.  When something happens in sports or the real world (if you will), it can be relayed around the world the moment it happens.  You do not have to wait until the next day to find out about it.  The information is at your fingertips instantaneously.  That’s an improvement worth moving to digital for.  It’s not just a “hey, look what we can do” move. 

If going digital just because you can is better than staying analog, then why are they still doing coin flips for possession to start the game?  Coins are over 2500 years old.  That’s much older than the chain gang.  Why not update?  Why not use a random number generator to determine who gets the ball first?  They can put it up on the screen like Madden used to do.  I mean come on, actually using a physical coin and flipping it in the air?  That’s what your great grandpappy did.  Surely in this new fandangle digital age, we can do better.   And with the new AI we have, why have a real person sing the national anthem?  Just have AI sing it.  They can use anyone’s voice.  You could have Freddy Mercury or Elvis or Franklin Delano Roosevelt sing it.  Imagine having the Beatles play the half time show.  Why are we wasting our time with real people?  That’s so last Millennium.  Just go digital baby!  (I hope you can feel my sarcasm here)  

Now, if there is a problem that can be solved by going digital, I am all for it.  If there is a problem.  Major League Baseball had a problem with sign stealing so they moved to the PitchCom system to relay signs from the catcher to the pitcher.  There was a problem and they solved it.  That’s fine.  Hell, the NFL had a problem with Bill Belicheat stealing signs so they went to the in-helmet speaker system to relay play calls from the coaches to the quarterback.  Again, had a problem and fixed it.  The NFL has a kick off problem so they are trying to fix it by adopting the old XFL rules.  I am not sure it’s better but at least there is a problem they are trying to fix. 

With getting rid of the chain gang, there is no problem they are fixing.  This is the most important part right here.  You see, the referees are still spotting the ball.  That’s not changing.  And it’s not changing anytime soon.  As ESPN pointed out, “While tracking technology has made significant progress over the years, the margin of error for what has been developed is still too great to use to automatically spot the ball. Officials will still be responsible for determining where to spot it.”  The technology they have now is only accurate within 6 inches.  That’s not nearly good enough.  So you are not getting a more accurate spot of the ball.  It’s still up to the usually old guys running along the sidelines.  It’s just being measured differently.  And not more accurately as the chains are perfectly accurate.  If you want to say spotting the ball can be problematic, especially when the ball carrier is in a pile of bodies, I wouldn’t really argue with you.  But that’s not being addressed with this new system.  It’s not a better system, it’s just a different one.    This is like if you were trying to measure a board with a ruler and your friend came over and said you needed to get rid of the ruler for a new laser measuring device.  And you’re like “Why?  The rule works perfectly”.  And they argue that it’s old school and lasers are cool.  Would you go out and buy a new laser measurer or just use the perfectly good, easy to use, extremely accurate ruler? 

This is the NFL solving a problem that doesn’t exist.  It’s like when the NBA tried out 11-minute quarters.  No one ever complained about the length of a basketball game.  They did, and still do, complain about how long it takes to play the last two minutes of an NBA game.  Chopping a minute off doesn’t solve that problem.  The NBA was solving a problem that didn’t exist. Now, they dropped it when fans complained and people pointed this out but it’s still a good example.  In the WNBA they have started using “reset time outs” in the 4^th quarter where a team can advance the ball without taking the time for a full timeout.  That would be an attempt to solve the problem and is probably coming to the NBA soon. 

Again, this new system doesn’t solve any problems.  As far as I can tell, they are still going to need the chain gang to determine where to place the first down markers on the sidelines.  They are still going to have to run down the sidelines after a first down is gained to set the new markers.  So it’s not like they are removing people from the sidelines to make the less cluttered or safer.  They are not getting rid of the people on the chain gang so they are not saving money (they make about minimum wage by the way).  Is it going to be faster than bring out the chains?  Sure.  Assuming they get better at it than they were in the 49ers game, which took entirely too long.  But how much faster?  15 seconds?  20?  What does that add up to per game?  A minute?  2 at the most.  Is that really solving a problem?  And is speeding it up really better?  Isn’t the build of anticipation as the ref calls out the chain gang and they run onto the field and set up the measurement better than just a quit look at a video screen? 

Another problem with going to digital is that unlike analog, digital can have glitches.  I mentioned the PitchCom system, well, there are times when the game has to be stopped so that one of the devices can be replaced because it stopped working.  It’s not a big deal because if it stops working, it doesn’t affect the game.  They just have to change it out.  The system the NFL uses for play calling has had glitches in the past.  Most famously the Pittsburgh Steelers listening to the Patriots radio broad cast during one of the games in stead of being able to relay the plays.  If the first down system glitches and gives and inaccurate measurement, it will change the game.  A team will either be given or denied a first down that it doesn’t, or does, deserve.  And if it is just a glitch that keeps it from working at all for a moment (again, see the 49ers vs Saints game) then it takes up a lot of time.  The chain gang never glitches.  Even if the chain gets a little tangled or knotted, they see it immediately and take a whole second to fix it.  Then, they get a perfectly accurate measurement.  The analog system works perfectly every time.  I just don’t understand why they would change it.     

To me the chain gang has always been cool.  I remember liking the fact that they added them to video games back in the day.  It’s been in the NFL since the beginning.  It’s part of the game.  If there was a problem to be solved, that’s one thing, but since it’s just making a change to make a change, I think it’s dumb and the NFL will be lesser for it.