The NFL is on a never-ending quest to improve the football experience for both fans in the stands and fans on the couch. Their next move — pylon cameras.
The idea of adding cameras to the pylons makes great sense. Depending on their direction, they can help officials on the field make more accurate calls as well as giving fans at home an up, close and personal experience.
"We’ve added a couple extra cameras in a couple of spots,” said NFL Network Senior V.P. of production and programming Mark Quenzel on a conference call promoting the NFL Network's Thursday Night Football. “We’re playing around with a camera, believe it or not, that’s going to be in the pylon. I don’t know if we’re going to have it this week. We’re still working out some kinks on the pylons, that allow us to see goal line stands, those types of things, and we’re going to add a couple of cameras for isolating players."
Since the NFL is now addressing the need for extra cameras, why not take it a step further. One of the hardest plays in football to call correctly is a field goal sailing over the top of an upright. Why not put a camera at the top of each upright, giving the officials a clear view of the ball as it sails by.
I'll hold my breath on that last point.