The Phantom 1st Down

[Welshers]

Can someone explain this? Anyone?

I have been watching football for decades. I have literally never seen the refs just go ahead and give a 1st down on a ball that was clearly short of the marker. You can literally see space in between the ball and marker. I've seen them pull out an index card and fit it in there before to confirm it wasn't a 1st.

They measured, the whole world saw it was an inch short, and they literally just went and said move the chains. One of the most bizzare calls I've ever seen and it will now be forgotten since we won. I have a feeling the refs panicked knowing they might not get their bonuses if the game didnt go according to script.

 

[Hawkpower]

Can someone explain this? Anyone?

I have been watching football for decades. I have literally never seen the refs just go ahead and give a 1st down on a ball that was clearly short of the marker. You can literally see space in between the ball and marker. I've seen them pull out an index card and fit it in there before to confirm it wasn't a 1st.

They measured, the whole world saw it was an inch short, and they literally just went and said move the chains. One of the most bizzare calls I've ever seen and it will now be forgotten since we won. I have a feeling the refs panicked knowing they might not get their bonuses if the game didnt go according to script.

View attachment 54491

There is no world in which that isnt at least 1-2 inches short

The ref didnt even look close or take his time. Just immediately signaled first down

The challenge should have been a remeasure, not the spot which was fine

 

[JPatera76]

there were.. a few questionable things but nothing that threw red flags or screamed rigged. frustrating for sure, like the hold the LG did to umm taylor that was obvious.. or both the holds on DK.. especially the Bear hug..

 

[Bobblehead]

camera angle

 

[balakoth]

camera angle

Uh... no?

 

[balakoth]

So apparently the Jumbos at Lumen field showing the same thing were Camera angles? Gotcha

 

[Hawkpower]

camera angle

If anything a different camera angle would have shown even more of a gap

Theres no possible way that wasnt short

 

[Rainger]

Also 2 times early we had a first down near the goal on 3rd and 4th. Both times the ref ran in saw where we needed to be to get the first and both times spotted it back a foot so no first down. Go look at the replays BOTH times the ball was past the line.

 

[JPatera76]

Also 2 times early we had a first down near the goal on 3rd and 4th. Both times the ref ran in saw where we needed to be to get the first and both times spotted it back a foot so no first down. Go look at the replays BOTH times the ball was past the line.

forward progress on one of them was def good for a first down.

 

[Welshers]

camera angle

that doesn't make any sense. Give me any camera angle there is... there was still clear space between the marker and the ball

 

[Ozzy]

I think that one was a bad spot anyway when watching the replay but yeah it looked weird.

 

[classicaaron]

i thought the spot of the ball was questionable on just about every first down mark. the one ref would always line his foot up on the correct spot but then place the ball on his back foot or readjust his front foot back a few inches. seemed very strange

 

[Own The West]

So apparently the Jumbos at Lumen field showing the same thing were Camera angles? Gotcha

Look up "parallax error".

 

[Welshers]

I think that one was a bad spot anyway when watching the replay but yeah it looked weird.

i thought the spot of the ball was questionable on just about every first down mark. the one ref would always line his foot up on the correct spot but then place the ball on his back foot or readjust his front foot back a few inches. seemed very strange

yeah the spots were weird, also on the Seahawks on the 3rd and 4th and goal plays we got weird spots. But what was shocking about me about this was just the chains. They pulled out the chains and measured and it was short and they said 1st down? I've literally never ever seen that

 

[Welshers]

Look up "parallax error".

i don't think you could really get a better camera angle then we had. straight down the line. space between the ball and the marker.

 

[Own The West]

i don't think you could really get a better camera angle then we had. straight down the line. space between the ball and the marker.

That's not the angle you had. The sideline cameras don't move to where the ball is. You'd need a hash line in the photo to judge if you were perpendicular to the line to gain.

 

[FattyKnuckle]

that doesn't make any sense. Give me any camera angle there is... there was still clear space between the marker and the ball

Take two GI Joes and line them up 6” apart. Now look straight down the line at them so the front one blocks out the back one. You’re now perfectly perpendicular to the line. Now move 3-4” to one side, there’s now the appearance of space between them. If the camera was a little big to the right of perpendicular, it looks like there’s space. To the left, it looks like the ball is way past the chains. The angle we saw was a little behind the line so it looked like space was there. There wasn’t, the people on the field saw it just fine. Nobody on the field was out of their mind protesting it, iirc, and there wasn’t enough to overturn it. There were plenty of missed calls against both sides but that wasn’t one of them.

 

[FattyKnuckle]

i don't think you could really get a better camera angle then we had. straight down the line. space between the ball and the marker.

It only has to be a few inches off axis with those long lenses.

 

[Welshers]

That's not the angle you had. The sideline cameras don't move to where the ball is. You'd need a hash line in the photo to judge if you were perpendicular to the line to gain.

Take two GI Joes and line them up 6” apart. Now look straight down the line at them so the front one blocks out the back one. You’re now perfectly perpendicular to the line. Now move 3-4” to one side, there’s now the appearance of space between them. If the camera was a little big to the right of perpendicular, it looks like there’s space. To the left, it looks like the ball is way past the chains. The angle we saw was a little behind the line so it looked like space was there. There wasn’t, the people on the field saw it just fine. Nobody on the field was out of their mind protesting it, iirc, and there wasn’t enough to overturn it. There were plenty of missed calls against both sides but that wasn’t one of them.

You guys make fair points, but I remain unconvinced! If it was that close they should have gotten out the index card like they have previously! If they couldn't fit it in between then it's a first down! Let me say the refs didn't even take more than a second to look at it! They instantly moved the chains.

As far as the challenge, he was challenging the spot. Not the measurement, which I don't think you can challenge. Probably because nothing like this has ever happened before

 

[Bobblehead]

that doesn't make any sense. Give me any camera angle there is... there was still clear space between the marker and the ball

Really, any camera angle? Any shot of it to the right, your going to see a gap, any thing to the left of it.. maybe not so much, you have never seen different image angles? Who's to say, the camera was perfectly aligned? I don't know, the question was raised by the op and it's the only explanation. The refs were right there and made the call, how could they knowing .. everyone in the US is watching and scrutinizing, make a bad call? So the only thing left is camera angle.