Shutdown Corner - NFL

Spending $1.2 billion on a football stadium can get you a lot, but apparently not a good sense of how high to hang 2,100-inch video screens above the field. 

At the debut of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium last night, Tennessee Titans punter A.J. Trapasso kicked a ball that struck one of the gargantuan high-definition scoreboards that hang over the center of the field. Trapasso's punt sailed straight up and hit one of the two scoreboards that face the endzone. It deflected backward and was ruled in-play until Titans coach Jeff Fisher informed officials (who had been watching the players, not the ball) that the punt struck the scoreboard. By rule, the down was replayed.

Jerry Jones wasn't happy with the kick, not so much because he felt that somebody on his engineering team screwed up by placing the video boards too low, but because he seems to think that Trapasso was trying to hit the board on purpose. When asked whether he thought the scoreboard should be raised higher, Jones snapped:

"That's not the point. How high is high if somebody just wants to sit there and kick straight up?

"If you look at how you punt the football, unless you're trying to hit the scoreboard, you punt the ball to get downfield. You certainly want to get some hangtime, but you punt the ball to get downfield, and you sure don't punt the ball down the middle. You punt it off to the side."

Later, Jones reitirated that he would not be moving the scoreboard higher. Trapasso and the regular Titans punter, Craig Hentrich(notes), think that's a bad idea. Said Hentrich:

"I hit it probably a dozen times in pregame," Hentrich said. "Probably somewhere around a five-second punt is going to hit it and some of the guys in the league wouldn't be able to punt here if it's not raised, they'd just be non-stop hitting it. I don't know what the people were thinking. I guess they should have tested things out before they put that thing in place. It'll have to be raised."

Despite his dismissive response to the incident, Jerry Jones may have a point. Watching a replay of the kick, it sure does look like Trapasso is trying to boot the ball as high as he can, a method that punters usually only use on shorter punts designed to pin a team back. (The Titans kicked from their own 37-yard line, so Trapasso should have been trying more for length than height.)

That doesn't mean that directional punts won't find their way toward the "Jerrytron" this season. Even the Cowboys own punter, Mat McBriar(notes), thinks that a kick with a 4.9-second hangtime will strike the screen. If that happens more than once or twice, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys might find out that when it comes to video screens, bigger isn't always better.

Update: Mike Periera, the NFL's director of officiating, told The Los Angeles Times that the league will look into the problem this week. The concern is that a punter could intentionally try to hit the video screen in order to run out the clock at the end of a half. When a down is replayed, the clock doesn't reset.

"We haven't talked at all about time being put on the clock," Periera said. "The only thing we've talked about really is the do-over of the play. We've never talked about resetting the clock back to where it was. That's obviously something we're going to have to talk about. And that may be what we arrive at.

I would say that it's a big enough issue that we're going to have to address it with the competition committee here probably sometime this week to figure out what direction we want to go."

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2890 Comments

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  1. P. diddy
    1. Posted by P. diddy Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:07 am EDT

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    just raise it uo 20 feet ..............just another 50000 dollars JERRY.........THANKS
  2. Don A
    2. Posted by Don A Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:16 am EDT

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    I think 30 feet higher would be better. If you want this stadium to last 50 years, you have to think 50 years into the future.
  3. RFFL....
    3. Posted by RFFL.... Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:34 am EDT

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    Wha Wha Wha.........
  4. Dobbie
    4. Posted by Dobbie Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:40 am EDT

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    Jerry better be out there today raising this monstrosity out of the way. Anything that impedes a football game is not good for either team. Raise it ASAPor be the laughing stock of the League..period..
  5. Towelie
    5. Posted by Towelie Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:40 am EDT

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    great planning...no one, even on purpose should be able to hit a video screen (or anything) with a punted ball. But keep being arrogant Jerry...it seems to be working for you.
  6. Dobbie
    6. Posted by Dobbie Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:42 am EDT

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    By the way;what happened to the Star in the middle of the field?
  7. oSo
    7. Posted by oSo Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:43 am EDT

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    billion$ FAIL
  8. Henry P
    8. Posted by Henry P Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:43 am EDT

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    What a ridiculous problem to have. It would have taken ONE PHONE CALL to your OWN FOOTBALL PEOPLE to ask them how high off the ground something needs to be to prevent it from being in play. I mean, I didn't expect the new stadium to be perfect, but I never dreamed they wouldn't do due diligence on something directly related to game play.
    How totally humiliating for Jerry.
  9. stoneera
    9. Posted by stoneera Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:57 am EDT

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    What dorks this is exeatly why you dom't want low hanging jumbotrans
  10. bluehen2000
    10. Posted by bluehen2000 Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:59 am EDT

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    Any chance they could hang Jerry from the roof and punt at him? The lower, the better...
  11. Peeko
    11. Posted by Peeko Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:59 am EDT

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    They said that once the u2 concert is over next month they are going to raise the video board up 10 feet
  12. golfman
    12. Posted by golfman Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:59 am EDT

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    All the Cowboys detractors coming out already. THE SCREEN IS INSTALLED 5 FT HIGHER THAN THE LEAFUE MINIMUM.
  13. Always Shining
    13. Posted by Always Shining Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:00 pm EDT

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    what fn idiots
  14. golfman
    14. Posted by golfman Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:00 pm EDT

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    OOPS!....meant to type LEAGUE minimum
  15. Tavai J
    15. Posted by Tavai J Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:01 pm EDT

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    With the way Jerry snapped at the Titans Punters, I can't wait to see one of his guys hit the JerryTron in a situation where they Cowboys need a good punt and FAIL!!!!!!! thanks to that monstrosity in the middle of the FIELD!!! If you want something that Big...Put it behind the Goal Posts or...Better yet..put it on the outside so us poor people can sit outside and Tailgate and watch the game
  16. deandarob21
    16. Posted by deandarob21 Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:01 pm EDT

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    so many cowboy haters
  17. zakdoesntcare
    17. Posted by zakdoesntcare Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:02 pm EDT

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    The regulations made BY THE NFL called for anything to be at least 85 feet off of the playing surface. the actual structure is 90 feet off of the ground.
    this at least shows some amount of foresight
  18. kevin
    18. Posted by kevin Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:02 pm EDT

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    Idiot!
  19. Mike
    19. Posted by Mike Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:02 pm EDT

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    i hate the cowboys and who cares about it
  20. (B)
    20. Posted by (B) Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:02 pm EDT

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    until they raise it, every punter should just keep aiming for it, send a message about this billion dollar waste of $
  21. Chris H
    21. Posted by Chris H Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:03 pm EDT

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    I just wonder how long it will take jerry to get that thing raised when its placement starts backfiring on his team?? LOL. LMAOROFHMS.
  22. Joseph M
    22. Posted by Joseph M Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:03 pm EDT

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    Hey Jerry, There is also another flaw, where is the star in the middle of the field? 1.2 billion dollars and no star?
    C'mon put it in, it won't cost you as much as raising that jumbo screen! Do-Over, hurry up! The season is about to start!
  23. Tye
    23. Posted by Tye Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:03 pm EDT

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    How bout them boys!!!!!!
  24. sean p
    24. Posted by sean p Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:03 pm EDT

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    Glad my tax dollars aren't going toward raising it.
  25. Dr J
    25. Posted by Dr J Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:03 pm EDT

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    Wait, they play football there? I thought they were just watching TV

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