Time for NFL to embrace lasers to mark first downs? Inventor says yes

Tom Pelissero | USA TODAY Sports

Alan Amron thinks the officiating snafu that disrupted the Washington Redskins' final drive in a loss to the New York Giants on Sunday night could be the final nudge the NFL needs to experiment with a product he's been developing and pushing for years.

Amron, an inventor and founder of First Down Laser Systems, told USA TODAY Sports on Monday that he has met with NFL executives several times, including May 14 at the league office in New York, and recently completed the system they've wanted.

"Everybody knows about us, but until something like this happens, they don't realize how important having the (first-down) line on the field just like you see on TV is to the game," said Amron, 65, a New York native and professed Giants fan.

"This is the first year the NFL is considering fan experience number one. What better for fan experience than having the line they're used to at home in the stadium, where they're paying $200 a seat?"

Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, admitted in a statement Monday that officials made multiple errors after a 4-yard completion to Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon was spotted just shy of a first down with a little less than 2 minutes to go and the Giants leading 24-17.

Head linesman Phil McKinnely incorrectly motioned for the chains to move without getting a first-down signal from referee Jeff Triplette, who should have stopped play because of "obvious confusion as to the status of the down." The moving chains and Redskins coach Mike Shanahan's assertion that an official told him it was first down (rather than third-and-1) contributed to the team's subsequent play call, according to quarterback Robert Griffin III, whose downfield pass was dropped by tight end Fred Davis.

The Redskins actually converted on fourth-and-1 following the misfire to Davis, but Garcon was stripped by Giants safety Will Hill, sealing the victory for New York.

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Triplette told a pool reporter after the game he didn't stop the clock for a measurement because it would have given the Redskins, who were out of timeouts, an unfair advantage. In theory, the clock wouldn't be an issue with the laser system, which Amron said could perform a measurement in 4 seconds or less.

"After something like what happened yesterday," Amron said, "I would expect that (the NFL would) want to possibly try to use it in one of their preseason games or in one of the games that really doesn't mean anything, just for themselves to see it and maybe they can implement it sooner."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told USA TODAY Sports in an e-mail Monday that any talks about implementing Amron's system or something similar would be "an offseason discussion by the Competition Committee." In January, Aiello told the Associated Press that the league had "not been convinced" Amron's system would work for the league.

According to Amron, the system includes a projector mounted at the base of the flagstick containing nothing but aluminum mirrors, plus a small fiber-optic cable. The cable runs to an underground into a tunnel, where it connects to a 100-watt laser measuring roughly 3 feet by 3 feet.

The projector can be remotely controlled by the referee and an operator in the broadcast booth. When a measurement is needed, the laser can be turned on — if it's not already — to project a 4-inch-wide green line across the field, almost instantly determining whether a first down has been achieved.

The first demonstration of the system occurred more than a decade ago. An initial meeting with the competition committee was set up by Amron's co-founder, the late former NFL player and broadcaster Pat Summerall. At that point, the idea was to project the line from the stadium lights.

"The bottom line was the NFL liked the excitement of having the (yard sticks) on the field," Amron said. "So, we built it into the chain staff, and that was about two years ago. We finally finished the product now, and we're all ready to go into a game."

Depending on the stadium, Amron says, each system would cost $180,000 to $245,000, a minor investment for a multibillion-dollar industry that surely could sell sponsorships for the equipment, too.

The technology has been tested in college track-and-field events and a United Football League scrimmage, but not a live football game, Amron said. He hopes that'll change as soon as next year, if an upcoming demonstration goes well for Canadian Football League officials.

"The reason we're still doing demonstrations is because the NFL really wants to see it in operation in another league before they actually implement it," Amron said.

"We constantly bring back our updates, and they pretty much know how they want it to work. They communicated it to us. Basically, we now have the product that was suggested to us."

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