Did anyone notice anything unusual during the game last night when on fourth and two the Panthers went for it. It looked to be very close based on the spot by the line judge and that fake yellow line they use for first downs on TV, but the line judge runs in, stops the clock, and immediately signals first down the other way. The announcers were puzzled also, I know they can be idiots, but they said that they did measure during the commercial and "it was very, very close". Comments?

What side of the internation date line are you on? I was about to ask you the score before calling my bookie ... : )

Don't ever trust those T.V. lines. I've seen them be as much as a yard off. From what I'm told, the system is calibrated and set from the line to gain stake that is placed on the side of the field that appears as the top of the your screen. The NFL flip-flops its crew at halftime, so the stake at the top of the screen would not have been the "official" line to gain stake if LJ was at the top of the screen. This will sometimes give an inaccurate line to gain image. So if the LJ came in from the top of the screen then this could have been the problem. I didn't see the game.

What part of the field did the ball end up? The LJ might have had a spot that was obviously not a first down and signalled the way he did. BUT the HL may have come in after the fact with a different spot that was closer and overruled the LJ after which the R or team reqeusted a measurement.

Either way, it doesn't sound like it was handled very well.

TV Angles are not what you think!
 

Although there are upwards of 15 cameras per game (in some cases), they do not always provide the correct angle. And, as Zeke pointed out, those super imposed gold lines the networks use are not always accurate. SO..........

Didn't see the game, but let's keep in mind that the line judge has the best view of the ltg. If he is confident of his spot, then he may have been right.

What I question is why he would have pointed on fourth down. Not sure of the NFL mechanics, but what we practice, if it is close, especially on 4th down, we kill the clock, and allow the referee to determine the proximity of the ball and the ltg. And, if close, as safe measure, we will measure to demonstrate to coaches, players, and fans that the ball was short of the ltg.

Should we be questioning the lj's mechanics?

zeb

Question - was he signally a first down or was he signalling A CHANGE OF POSSESSION?!

Reason I ask is that the ol' "arm pointing upfield" signal for a first down that I see sometimes is also very similar to the "this team has possession" signal. Was there a fumble, perhaps? Did the LJ see a change of possession that was (maybe) then ruled to have occurred after the whistle, or something?