As any football fan will tell you, many games have been decided by a field goal or even an extra point following a touchdown. As if such scenarios weren't stressful enough, the NFL is now contemplating whether or not field goals and extra point kick should be less of a sure thing by narrowing the goal posts.
In an exclusive interview with the Toronto Sun, NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating, Dean Blandino, said that as success rates have continued to climb over the years, the league is continuing to look at the possibility of narrowing the uprights.
Over the past three seasons, placekicker accuracy has climbed to an impressive 85 percent.
During the upcoming pre-season, the NFL will be inserting tiny computer chips inside each kicked ball that'll allow them to determine precisely how far inside the posts all successful field goals have been kicked. If successful, the NFL might extend the testing to Thursday night regular season games.
Blandino said that after the season, they'll analyze the data and determine if / what changes will be made to make kicks more difficult. Adjustments could come as early as the 2017 season, he said.
I've long wondered why the league hasn't inserted tiny silicon into its game balls albeit for a different reason. In my opinion, placing some sort of sensor inside or along the perimeter of a ball would make it much easier to determine if the ball crossed the goal line during a touchdown attempt or the line to gain for a first down.
Implementing such a system is no doubt easier than it sounds but even still, in 2016, we probably have the technology to pull it off securely.
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