The chain gang is getting benched — and never everyone seems to be thrilled.
The NFL debuted model new expertise Thursday evening on the Corridor of Fame sport between the Chargers and Lions in Canton, Ohio. As an alternative of relying solely on chains, the NFL will use new Hawkeye expertise to measure the ball.
The expertise works through the use of six 8K cameras to find out the place the ball is on the sphere.
“Sony’s Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology will serve as an efficient alternative to the process of walking chains onto the field and manually measuring whether 10 yards have been met after the official has spotted the ball,” The NFL mentioned. “The chain crew will remain on the field in a secondary capacity.”
The NFL mentioned the chain gang would nonetheless be at video games as a second line of protection, however referee Shawn Smith instructed reporters that was not the case for Thursday evening’s sport.
This new system solely impacts the effectivity of recognizing a primary down, not the accuracy. The change doesn’t handle the difficulty of referees incorrectly recognizing the ball.
Many followers are skeptical of the expertise.
One fan on X mentioned, “This is going to decide so many games. This is awful.”
One other fan would miss the nostalgia of the chain gang, saying, “I’m gonna miss the chains tbh.”
This fan used the chance to resume followers’ anger over perceived biased therapy for Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes: “After Review, Mahomes was past the marker. First down”
The NFL may nonetheless reverse course after testing out the expertise within the preseason and gauging fan response, however for now, the chain gang has been moved to the bench.
The Chargers dominated the Lions within the sport, successful 34-7 behind a powerful efficiency from former No. 3 choose Trey Lance.
