During the preseason, the NFL experimented with a high-tech system for measuring first downs. But that system will be abandoned in favor of old-fashioned channels during the regular season.
The NFL will not use the Hawk-Eye computer vision system during the regular season this year, but could try it in 2025, according to Mark Maske of Washington Post.
Although Hawk-Eye was a tremendous innovation in tennis, where it is used to determine whether a ball is in or out of bounds, it did not work as well during the preseason for spotting first downs. It was most notable for Lions-Giants preseason game delayed when the high-tech system took much longer than traditional channels to measure a play that wasn’t even close to a first down.
In tennis, Hawk-Eye can easily use camera angles that provide a clear view of the ball relative to the line. In soccer, it’s much more difficult: sometimes players block the cameras’ view of the ball. Sometimes the ball is clearly visible, but it’s unclear whether the ball carrier had his knee on the ground before the ball crossed the gain line. Unlike tennis, the gain line isn’t actually on the court, so it’s not always clear when the ball crossed the line.
This technology might work in the NFL one day. But that day won’t come until 2024.
