"Chipped" Footballs

[TecnoGenius]

Why put the chip in at all??

Well, that goes back to the original question/rationale.  Whether kicking or passing a chip could actually help in some ways.  I'm not sure if they're doing it yet, but you could possibly:

- instantly and definitively know if the ball passed the plane, or stayed within the posts: imagine no more relying on refs who can't see in the pile!

- all sorts of new stats you could track for kickers & passers: how strong are they? how tight is the spiral?

It's actually pretty cool, but clearly you have to make it completely "invisible" to the players.  So build the ball with the chip in the dead center.  Ya, so you can never change it out or change batteries or whatever.  So what, just throw the whole ball away when the chip goes bad.

Make it so there is 100% no difference to a normal ball: dead center, and take out the same amount of ball weight so it's completely identical.

But ya, if the tech isn't ready and not showing immediate rewards, just ditch chipped ball until it is ready.  Let another league be the guinea pigs.

[Blue In BC]

Well, that goes back to the original question/rationale.  Whether kicking or passing a chip could actually help in some ways.  I'm not sure if they're doing it yet, but you could possibly:

- instantly and definitively know if the ball passed the plane, or stayed within the posts: imagine no more relying on refs who can't see in the pile!

- all sorts of new stats you could track for kickers & passers: how strong are they? how tight is the spiral?

It's actually pretty cool, but clearly you have to make it completely "invisible" to the players.  So build the ball with the chip in the dead center.  Ya, so you can never change it out or change batteries or whatever.  So what, just throw the whole ball away when the chip goes bad.

Make it so there is 100% no difference to a normal ball: dead center, and take out the same amount of ball weight so it's completely identical.

But ya, if the tech isn't ready and not showing immediate rewards, just ditch chipped ball until it is ready.  Let another league be the guinea pigs.

A chip won't determine whether a player is down even if the ball crosses the line. It could be an additional tool but it wouldn't be definitive all on it's own.

I thought I heard that the chip the other league uses is 3.3 grams but the CFL one is 13.3 grams. At the very least they should use the small one.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

A chip won't determine whether a player is down even if the ball crosses the line. It could be an additional tool but it wouldn't be definitive all on it's own.

I thought I heard that the chip the other league uses is 3.3 grams but the CFL one is 13.3 grams. At the very least they should use the small one.

I fail to see how a chip alone could determine precise field position, wouldn't it have to be correlated with other equipment under the field or on the sidelines that specified the first down marker?  The Bombers just replaced their turf, maybe they "wired" the field at the same time.  I don't think satellite technology has the level of precision needed.

[pdirks67]

I'd like to see all the FG kickers in the league kick 10 chipped and 10 unchipped balls without telling them which was which to see if the chip makes any real difference or is it just in their heads.

100%!

How did the CFL NOT do this before adopting the change? You'd think that this would have been super-easy during training camps, and a no-brainer to do before adopting a change that anyone should have seen as a potential issue.

[TecnoGenius]

I fail to see how a chip alone could determine precise field position, wouldn't it have to be correlated with other equipment under the field or on the sidelines that specified the first down marker?  The Bombers just replaced their turf, maybe they "wired" the field at the same time.  I don't think satellite technology has the level of precision needed.

Ya, sensors in the turf are possible, or even a sensor at each corner and some sort of signal triangulation.  The latter could determine the precise location of the ball in realtime, including any plane-breaking.

All depends what tech they are doing, and what they want to do.  Who really knows.  However, it helps illustrate that the idea may not be completely without merit.

[TecnoGenius]

The league issued a statement Friday afternoon indicating 'Effective immediately, teams will no longer be mandated to use microchip-implanted footballs for kicking plays' adding, "The league has tested these footballs using robotic technology and current CFL players. While there is no definitive evidence to suggest their use impacts performance in any manner, we are taking this step out of respect for kickers who do not yet feel comfortable using them."

Haha, this is actually a burn by whoever @CFL is writing this.  It's a dig at Castillo et al.

Of course, it could be that, in the end, Castillo is right and the joke's on the league, and the above quote is pure hubris by nerds sitting in a computer room somewhere (I can say that, as I am one).  Who do you trust more, robots or the kickers?

Funnily enough, it would be super easy to definitively determine the truth: let Castillo kick X chipped balls and Y "heritage balls", without knowing which is which.  If Castillo can then tell you which was chipped at a statistically significant rate, then Castillo is right and the balls need to go or be fixed somehow.

[ichabod_crane]

Let's get some brain implants while we are at it! Did Streveler's head cross the line on short yardage?! Cyborg mania! I'LL BE BACK!

[Waffler]

MOS on the coaches show:

First day back at practice using the regular football again,  Sergio hit 8 of 9, 2 over 50 yards, straight and true.  He chalked the game performance up to the chip.

He "tends" to think the chip changes the flight of the ball. Radical post flight tailing he had never seen before during the game and saw zero in the practice after, using the regular football again.

Taylor added to watch the convert take off to the right. Both blame the chipped ball.

https://podcasts.apple.com/si/podcast/the-blue-bombers-podcast-feed/id1110429736

caller at 18:40 minutes in.

[Stretch]

First day back at practice using the regular football again,  Sergio hit 8 of 9, 2 over 50 yards, straight and true.  He chalked the game performance up to the chip.

He "tends" to think the chip changes the flight of the ball. Radical post flight tailing he had never seen before during the game and saw zero in the practice after, using the regular football again.

Taylor added to watch the convert take off to the right. Both blame the chipped ball.

To the untrained eye (which we all have), it did seem like quite a few FG and convert attempts had a bit of a slice or unusual trajectory.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

To the untrained eye (which we all have), it did seem like quite a few FG and convert attempts had a bit of a slice or unusual trajectory.

I find it a bit disappointing Sergio allowed himself to be totally psyched out by this chip issue, he actually said "I don't know where to aim?" which seems contrary to a kickers mindset as what they're kicking shouldn't interfere with their process or execution even if it's a pumpkin.  Don't think it would have rattled Medlock.

Q: did Medlock retire as a Bomber and if not, why not?

[Jesse]

I find it a bit disappointing Sergio allowed himself to be totally psyched out by this chip issue, he actually said "I don't know where to aim?" which seems contrary to a kickers mindset as what they're kicking shouldn't interfere with their process or execution even if it's a pumpkin.  Don't think it would have rattled Medlock.

Q: did Medlock retire as a Bomber and if not, why not?

If you take his concerns at face value, he wasn't "psyched out", he was unsure which direction the ball would go once in the air because of the weight imbalance of the ball.

I don't think Medlock retired as a member of any team, but he played for like 18 different teams in his career.

[TecnoGenius]

I guess "Chippy" Castillo was right!  Good job, Castillo: a bright spot in the OTT game.  Shame on the CFL for using him/us as the guinea pig.

[Waffler]

Castillo fined TWO WEEKS later for stating the obvious!

https://3downnation.com/2024/06/21/cfl-fines-four-kickers-for-blowing-whistle-on-microchipped-footballs-including-bombers-sergio-castillo/

[TecnoGenius]

Castillo fined TWO WEEKS later for stating the obvious!

This is really disgusting!  Even if it follows the letter of the law, it's really bad optics for the league.

If there's some lame social media policy then Castillo should have instead gone to someone in traditional media (probably someone not Bomber-affiliated, like someone at 3down or the Sun) to blow the whistle.  I'm sure they'd like the scoop.

Hint to Castillo: next time blow the whistle AFTER all of that week's games are played so all your peers also get their stats hammered.

P.S. Chippy Castillo was 100% on the night tonight with many PAT and FG.  And I think he was 100% in week 2.  I'm satisfied he is/was right.