MySA Blog: Peter King's take on the video board flap

[WoodysGirl]

By Tom Orsborn on Aug 24, 09 07:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) Save & Share

Peter King leads off his Monday Morning Quarterback Column for SI.com with his take on the video board flap at Cowboys Stadium.

Jerry Jones says the fact that a Titans punter sent the ball soaring into the video board during Friday night's game is no big deal and that he won't be moving it up higher to avoid more do-overs.

But a league spokesman said Saturday the situation is being monitored, which means the league is probably going to make a ruling one way or the other soon.

According to King, the initital word is the league isn't siding with Jones.

"...As a league source told me Sunday night," King wrote, "there are two worrisome things about doing nothing. The NFL would never want to create different ground rules for one stadium, as there is, say, in baseball, with the ivy at Wrigley Field or the different rules for fly balls hitting different beams above the field at Tropicana Field. And doing nothing could mean multiple do-overs in one game, particularly if the team has a boomer punter trying to kick the ball high to let his coverage team run under it downfield. With two of the best legs in punting history -- San Diego's Mike Scifres and Shane Lechler of Oakland -- due in Dallas this year, the potential for an embarrassing day for the league is high."

 

[WoodysGirl]

Whole thing from SI

Jerry's World Needs a Few Repairs

All weekend, league and team people I spoke with asked versions of the same question: How do you open a $1.2-billion stadium and not figure how low to hang the videoboard so kicks or punts won't hit it? I can't figure out whether it's more mind-boggling that the Titans punters were hitting the 60-yard-wide structure in pre-game warmups, or their just-out-of-college, free-agent punter would hit it in the fourth quarter. Or whether it wasn't hung 20 feet higher in the first place.

"It's just an honest mistake that needs to be corrected,'' a member of the league's rules-making Competition Committee, Indy's Bill Polian, said Sunday.

No doubt about it. Several league officials, including vice president of football operations Ray Anderson and VP of officiating Mike Pereira, spoke by phone Saturday and began to fact-find about the issue. The Competition Committee could convene by conference call today or tomorrow to begin to consider options.

The only possible option, to me, is raising the videoboard 15 or 20 feet, which stadium officials say can be done; the $40-million board is connected to the roof by monstrous cables. Whatever happens, I can't help but thinking someone's going to take a pretty big fall for this. I was told Sunday night the Cowboys definitely got the green light from the NFL for all football and competitive aspects of the stadium, including the positioning of the board 90 feet above the field.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones said he was comfortable with the height of the board after Friday's game. He was unavailable for comment over the weekend as this storm brewed, but you have to know Jones to understand what his reaction will be to this: Whatever consternation he feels about the board needing to be moved is overridden by his love of the attention for the stadium and the controversy. Vastly.

The league could do a number of things: Order the videoboard raised, have commissioner Roger Goodell unilaterally impose a rules change of some sort to account for punts hitting the board, or leave the rule the same. If a ball hits the board now, it's essentially a do-over; the play is played over as if it never happened.

But as a league source told me Sunday night, there are two worrisome things about doing nothing. The NFL would never want to create different ground rules for one stadium, as there is, say, in baseball, with the ivy at Wrigley Field or the different rules for fly balls hitting different beams above the field at Tropicana Field. And doing nothing could mean multiple do-overs in one game, particularly if the team has a boomer punter trying to kick the ball high to let his coverage team run under it downfield. With two of the best legs in punting history -- San Diego's Mike Scifres and Shane Lechler of Oakland -- due in Dallas this year, the potential for an embarrassing day for the league is high.

Think of this possibility: The Raiders and Cowboys meet on national TV on Thanksgiving. Oakland stalls in the first quarter at midfield, at the left hashmark, and Lechler is told to try to place the ball across the field, inside the 10-yard line. He could hit the videoboard once, twice, three times in a row. It's not probable, of course. But it's certainly something the league has to think could happen, especially with the best punters in the game.

"Plus,'' Polian said, "one of the things you don't want to do is add kicking plays to a game, because of the risk of injury. And you don't want to wear your gunners [coverage players on punt-cover teams] out. You can't undermine the punter'' by making the play a do-over.

Agreed.

"The irony is that our stadium architect [at new Lucas Oil Stadium] wanted to hang the videoboards the same way in our stadium,'' Polian said. "So we put a metal beam about 90 feet above the ground and had our punter at the time, Hunter Smith, punt the ball up there trying to hit it. He hit it the majority of the time. That's why we put our replay boards on the wall.''



Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/08/23/mmqb/index.html#ixzz0P6oTXrN0


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/08/23/mmqb/index.html

 

[Everlastingxxx]

That entire article is interesting. The part about the same designer of Lucus Field trying to get them to hang their video board over the field. But after they tested 90 feet with their punter they declined and put it on the wall.

 

[dmq]

I honestly wish the board would move up a little because when they are panning around the stadium, it is all you see.

 

[The Quest for Six]

this is a non issue... it will be moved up probably 15- 20 feet, end of issue..

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Dallas owner Jerry Jones said he was comfortable with the height of the board after Friday's game. He was unavailable for comment over the weekend as this storm brewed, but you have to know Jones to understand what his reaction will be to this: Whatever consternation he feels about the board needing to be moved is overridden by his love of the attention for the stadium and the controversy. Vastly.

 

[CactusCowboy]

Yes, it will be moved, but come on, 1.2 billion dollars and no one saw this as a potential problem? A huge faux pa.

 

[joseephuss]

Maybe it is just me, but I don't find it embarrassing to have a do over punt. I find it comical, but hardly embarrassing. I know why some in the media want to claim it is embarrassing. They don't like Jerry Jones. It just is not that big of an issue to me especially since it can be "fixed".

In my opinion it is more embarrassing when a new stadium is built and a few seats have obstructive views. Does the new stadium have that issue? I know some of the other new stadiums have to deal with that with Indy's new stadium being one of them.

 

[joseephuss]

Yes, it will be moved, but come on, 1.2 billion dollars and no one saw this as a potential problem? A huge faux pa.

If the league sets a standard and you meet that standard then how is it a faux paus?

 

[CATCH17]

Did the board distract you from the game itself? j/w

 

[Boyzmamacita]

It really is a non-issue. The fact that it can be moved makes it no big deal. Now if it was immovable, I could see the outcry, but what it boils down to is a bunch of jealous owners and league officials finding something to make themselves feel better because they wish this beautiful palace was theirs. OK, haters, the videoboard is too low. What else you got? What's that, nothing? That's what I thought.

 

[Bungarian]

As I said on the other thread, there is more to this. They were talking about it on the radio.

Jerry is mad and will make them change the rules about how low things can be hung. The problem is almost every other NFL stadium has things that would have to be moved too. They are smaller and never got hit but it would cost millions to make the changes. One that they were talking about has support stuctures that low and would have to have a major overhaul. They also said those cameras on wires that give the 3d view would be too low and have to go.

Also they said Jerry got the competition people and the commish to OK it before it went up.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

As I said on the other thread, there is more to this. They were talking about it on the radio.

Jerry is mad and will make them change the rules about how low things can be hung. The problem is almost every other NFL stadium has things that would have to be moved too. They are smaller and never got hit but it would cost millions to make the changes. One that they were talking about has support stuctures that low and would have to have a major overhaul. They also said those cameras on wires that give the 3d view would be too low and have to go.

Also they said Jerry got the competition people and the commish to OK it before it went up.

Oh yeah? Where was Jeff Fisher when this discussion took place? He's on the competition committee yet he's *****ing louder than anyone.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Oh yeah? Where was Jeff Fisher when this discussion took place? He's on the competition committee yet he's *****ing louder than anyone.

He must have been getting his mustache trimmed. :laugh2:

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Did the board distract you from the game itself? j/w

A little bit, yeah. Though it's nice when the action is away from you.

I still don't know why they even cut it close at all. You'd never notice 20 feet as huge as that thing is. My only guess is that Jerry wanted it as close as possible to the field-level suite holders who of course are paying a ton of money.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Yes, it will be moved, but come on, 1.2 billion dollars and no one saw this as a potential problem? A huge faux pa.

Blame the NFL League Office. And they should foot the bill if it is raised.




YAKUZA

 

[onetrickpony]

As I said on the other thread, there is more to this. They were talking about it on the radio.

Jerry is mad and will make them change the rules about how low things can be hung. The problem is almost every other NFL stadium has things that would have to be moved too. They are smaller and never got hit but it would cost millions to make the changes. One that they were talking about has support stuctures that low and would have to have a major overhaul. They also said those cameras on wires that give the 3d view would be too low and have to go.

Also they said Jerry got the competition people and the commish to OK it before it went up.

The NFL would never want to create different ground rules for one stadium, as there is, say, in baseball,

If they force JJ to raise the boards and allow all of the other stuff to stay, they will be doing the exact thing they say they don't want to do, creating special rules for different stadiums.

 

[adbutcher]

Blame the NFL League Office. And they should foot the bill if it is raised.




YAKUZA

Agreed.

What is galling and typical in all of this is that the critics are ignoring that it was built per requirements and known constraints.

 

[TheCount]

If the league sets a standard and you meet that standard then how is it a faux paus?

There is something to be said for common sense. Personally I'm starting to side with those that think the stadium would be better without the thing at all, but I do love me some gadgets!

 

[tyke1doe]

Maybe it is just me, but I don't find it embarrassing to have a do over punt. I find it comical, but hardly embarrassing. I know why some in the media want to claim it is embarrassing. They don't like Jerry Jones. It just is not that big of an issue to me especially since it can be "fixed".