Computer chips in NFL footballs could lead to narrowed uprights

The NFL seems bent on making life more difficult for its kickers. (Getty Images)

 

There are many great uses for computer chips in NFL footballs. The NFL’s first use will be … seeing if the goal posts should be narrowed?

NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told the Toronto Sun that the NFL will experiment with footballs that have computer chips inside, using them in the preseason. According to Blandino, the information gathered will help the competition committee determine if the league needs to narrow the goal posts for field goals and extra points.

The experiment could continue through the regular season, the Toronto Sun said, using the kicking balls with chips during Thursday night games. A change in the rules could happen as soon as 2017.

The NFL has a sudden infatuation with making kickers’ lives tougher. The league moved extra points back to the 15-yard line last season. Now they’re using new technology to perhaps narrow the uprights.

 The NFL will experiment with footballs that have computer chips inside this preseason (AP)

What about using the new footballs to help spot the ball after downs or to determine if a player crossed the goal line? Think about how important first-down measurements are in a game.  Officials measure it exactly; if the nose of the ball is a chain link short then a team doesn’t get the first down. But the act of spotting the ball is basically an educated guess. Officials eyeball the spot and try to come close, then measure first downs to the inch. That makes little sense. With a computer chip in the ball, technology could presumably be developed to make the entire act of spotting the ball easier and more accurate.

Maybe the NFL will eventually move on to that with its new computer chip footballs, or use the balls to determine if a player crossed the plane of the end zone, after figuring out how to make field goals harder.