The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

It's very simple - the 60-yard long humongous scoreboard hanging above the new Cowboys field obstructs the play of the game. It should be moved higher or completely taken off, regardless of how many millions of dollars there are. This isn't baseball where the Catwalk or the Foul Poles are part of the "Ground Rules". Each NFL stadium's field of play dimensions are exactly 100% identical, with the exception of Dallas' new stadium where the screen cuts into the free space above the field. (The dimensions, not materials such as field turf)

There aren't bumps, hills, fences, posts, or roofs that interfere with any other stadium...why should the Cowboys receive preferential treatment?

(The argument that "Punts never go there anyways" is invalid, because A. a punt went there - twice this weekend, and B. the Cowboys punter receives an un-fair advantage over the 31 other punters in the league because of playing in that stadium 8 times a year + playoffs).

Also, let's just break it down into some common sense here - a punter could theoretically keep punting the ball into the scoreboard (and keep "doing it over") until some idiot on the other team commits a 15-yard unsportsman-like conduct penalty, making it first down Cowboys. Same thing with a Free Kick after a safety (to gain lost field position) or a "pooch-punt" by a QB backed up in his own zone (to get the other team to commit a penalty to make it 1st down again).

It seems that this screen isn't being moved because Jerry Jones spent too much money (bullshit reason) and a U2 concert in October (don't even get me started on how much U2 already pisses me off and now they are interfering with the NFL).

The NFL allowed them to build it and it adheres to their limits.  If the NFL wants it moved, they should pay to get it raised up.

It's entirely up to the league.  This is something I've seen before, both when we had Roby and he got bored one time and started hitting the scoreboard at the Superdome, and with our very own Rochester Brigade Arena League 2 team.  Guys would come onto the field and during warmups would actually practice kicking the ball with a lower trajectory so it wouldn't hit the War Memorial scoreboard.

Something tells me that when it starts screwing up Dallas in a game when it actually counts, and the Dallas Cowboys infrastructure can't find anything else to blame their choking on, that scoreboard will be moved.

Good point.......and they WILL be doing alot of punting!! ;D

The situation i'm envisioning is this:

Cowboys have the ball and a 2 point lead inside 2 minutes, and the opposing defense holds.  Its 4th and 12 on the 31 yard line with 40 seconds to go.  Cowboys punter boots the ball into the screen.  Do over.  4th and 12 on the 31 with 30 seconds to go.  Cowboys punter boots the ball into the screen.  Do over.  4th and 12 on the 31 with 20 seconds to go. 

See where this is going?

Total BS.

They should be mandated by the league to raise the scoreboard.  It doesn't cost money.  I'm sure its hanging from some pulleys or something.

^^^ If it's built to league specs and apparently it is, there's nothing they can do except change the rules about heights etc.  That it happened during a game Jeff Fisher was the opposing coach and Fisher is on the competition committee may expedite this. 

^^^ yeah i thought the same thing - it was Craig Hentrich, the Titans' punter, that hit the scoreboard.

Also, I think its totally lame that teams are forced to use a challenge to get that "do over"

In the end, there may end up being a special punting formation where punters are VERY offset and punting on the side of the scoreboard.

The players should not have to play around the field, the field should accommodate the players. This isn't the sandlot where you play a little on the side of the field to avoid the massive pot hole.

I don't care who does it - Cowboys or the NFL - and I don't care what it costs.  That screen should be either moved higher or taken down completely before the next game at the new Texas Stadium. If the NFL told the Cowboys that it was good (which it of course isn't), then the NFL should pay for it. If not, the Cowboys pay for it. Done and done.

I am not gonna lose sleep over it.  The AFCE doesn't play the NFCE this year, by the time the AFCE plays in Dallas this should be cleared up. 

It's just one more example of Jerry Jones' ego.

Maybe the same folks who give Jerry Jones his regular face lift can give him a scoreboard-lift as well.

Here's a video of it hitting the board:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/22/dallas-cowboys-hd-scoreboard-hanging-too-low/

Thats not a fluke one time occurance.

ESPN reports the competition committee is meeting to discuss the matter either tonight or tomorrow.

What can they do?

If Jones complied with league standards, can they make him move the board on his dime?  If it's adjustable, fine, but I imagine that moving a gigantic scoreboard isn't just like flipping a switch if it's a permanent fixture. 

He's moving it up 20 feet for a u2 concert - why can't he do it for the football games?

i imagine its like the scoreboards in the NHL and NBA arenas that are hung from the cieling and can be retracted for special events.

According to reports, stadium officials say the scoreboard can be raised as much as 30 feet (it's suspended by some big-ass cables).

No idea what raising it will do for the view of the scoreboard from the stadium seats, though...

the first time someone boots a ball into the screen and breaks the screen will be the LAST time the boards are that low.  To Jerry Jones, you have to speak his language.  If he has to start replacing enormous high-def display boards, then maybe he'll think twice.

It's more likely the pyro displays if any will fry it (smoke wreaks havoc on anything electronical) before someone breaks it with a football. 

Jerry will move it when it costs the Cowboys a win somehow.

You have a strange interpretation of the phrase "do over."  Why is the clock advancing?  This isn't like offsetting penalties; they aren't replaying the down.  That play simply did not exist.

^^^I read Peter King's article on SI this past week talking about this, and apparently, coaches are worried about defensive starters who play on punt coverage having to play several "re-kicks" in a row and then having to go out there and cover receivers on defense.  Since that could be a problem, the same coaches said they could envision punters being told to kick more shallow punts so as to not wear out their special team "gunners".  Last, Cowboys punters will do this in half their games, so after a while will be used to how to navigate the scoreboard.  Visiting punters, not so much.  Either way:  advantage Cowboys.

That's not really true - an article I read very clearly stated that there was no provision in NFL rules to reset time on the clock in this situation.

NFL.com thinks otherwise.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d81234987&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true

When Brian originally posted that, the NFL had not made a decision on the clock reset.

Brian's post is from today.  The decision was made 5 days ago. 

Brian's original post on the clock topic was from the 24th, before the NFL made the rule stipulation.

He read an article, the NFL has since rethought their position.

I hope everyone is clear.

thanks - Phish is right - I read the article on the 23rd, in the Sunday paper a coupla days after the Titans' punter hit the scoreboard.  I didn't know they made a ruling about this, but I'm glad they did.