Wolverine
01-05-2009, 10:34 AM
The NYT story is about yard markers, but what's more interesting is the chart which shows the average number of points scored per drive from every spot on the field. As you'd expect, drives that start on the opponent's one yard line yield the highest return. But being closer to the goal doesn't always result in a higher return. For example, a team that starts a drive on the opponent's 6 yard line actually does better than one starting at the 3. The chart reflects all NFL drives from 1998 to the end of the 2009 regular season.
The story itself is nothing special. Apparently the author hasn't heard of the device that the WFL used. Special credit to anyone who knows what it was called.
The chart:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/01/01/sports/football/01chain_graphic.html
The story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/sports/football/01chains.html?_r=1&ref=football
The __________
Instead of using a ten-yard chain strung between two sticks for measuring first down yardage, the WFL used a device called the ______, obstensibly named for its inventor. This was a single stick, roughly ten feet tall, mounted on a base which allowed it to pivot from side to side. The stick was swung down to ground level when a first down was being set, and a marker that slid along the shaft was fixed in place to line up with the nearest gridiron line (the major yard lines spaced every five yards). When that was set, the stick was swung back to the upright position. When a measurement was needed by the officials, the ______ was brought out to the ball position, the shaft swung down to ground level, the marker lined up with the nearest gridiron line, and the measurement was taken. (In all other forms of football today, a similar marker is clipped to the standard ten-yard chain, also lining up with a gridiron line.)
The answer, at bottom of article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Football_League
The story itself is nothing special. Apparently the author hasn't heard of the device that the WFL used. Special credit to anyone who knows what it was called.
The chart:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/01/01/sports/football/01chain_graphic.html
The story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/sports/football/01chains.html?_r=1&ref=football
The __________
Instead of using a ten-yard chain strung between two sticks for measuring first down yardage, the WFL used a device called the ______, obstensibly named for its inventor. This was a single stick, roughly ten feet tall, mounted on a base which allowed it to pivot from side to side. The stick was swung down to ground level when a first down was being set, and a marker that slid along the shaft was fixed in place to line up with the nearest gridiron line (the major yard lines spaced every five yards). When that was set, the stick was swung back to the upright position. When a measurement was needed by the officials, the ______ was brought out to the ball position, the shaft swung down to ground level, the marker lined up with the nearest gridiron line, and the measurement was taken. (In all other forms of football today, a similar marker is clipped to the standard ten-yard chain, also lining up with a gridiron line.)
The answer, at bottom of article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Football_League