cowboys stadium..

[whitetrashgriz]

i know there are a few cowboys fans so i was wondering what you're all thinking about the punts hitting the huge video board this weekend. my opinion is the guys were nailing it in warm-ups too, and many of the punts didn't look as if the punter was doing it intentionally. because the cowboys did everything by the book in regards to how high the board is, i don't think they should have to pay a penny to raise it. but i think it's obvious it needs to be raised or games are going to be a circus! i don't understand why jerry jones insists on keeping it where it is. all i know, is if it stay that height, it's only going to take one game of the cowboys being downa couple points with only 30 seconds left in the game and returning a punt. but, because the clock doesn't reset when they replay these punts, the opposing punter just keeps bashing off the board until time runs out! sounds crazy, but within the rules it could happen if they don't do something about it.

[catamaran]

rumor is boss hawg is just milking it for the publicity and U2 is going to play to have it raised before their concert there

[SonomaCat]

Ah, just make the Cowboys play road games until the field is playable. The whole design is just bizarre, anyway. It's essentially a 90 foot ceiling over most of the field ... why would anyone ever design a football field like that?

It doesn't seem like cost is really the factor in raising it ... it's seem to be more about Jones not wanting to admit that he messed up with that one decision.

In the meantime ... the arena league lives!

[whitetrashgriz]

rumor is boss hawg is just milking it for the publicity and U2 is going to play to have it raised before their concert there

i also was aware that the board would be raised for the u2 concert but i figured that was just typical stadium transformation for an event. i haven't heard anything saying that once it was raised it would stay there. i guess that's pretty much my concern. it's obviously too low. it obviously can be raised. yet jerry seems very persistent on keeping it where it is. i honestly hope he does and my scenario plays out exactly as i stated. bet he'd raise it then.

[DriftCat]

Ah, just make the Cowboys play road games until the field is playable. The whole design is just bizarre, anyway. It's essentially a 90 foot ceiling over most of the field ... why would anyone ever design a football field like that?

It doesn't seem like cost is really the factor in raising it ... it's seem to be more about Jones not wanting to admit that he messed up with that one decision.

In the meantime ... the arena league lives!

Well, considering that the NFL rules state that it must be at least 85 ft above the playing surface and it is 90ft above, I fail to see how Jones messed up. More like the NFL messed up by not requiring it to be higher in the first place.

That being said, it needs to be raised (on the NFL's dime) and the rules need to be changed for future staduim projects.

[tetoncat]

But most scoreboards aren't 160Ft long and 70ft wide covering most of the football field. That is a lot bigger target for punters to hit than the traditional scoreboard.

[Billings_Griz]

It shouldn't matter if it's a light fixture or a $40 million scoreboard, it's above the NFL specs!

[LTown Cat]

It shouldn't matter if it's a light fixture or a $40 million scoreboard, it's above the NFL specs!

It's like the tuck rule--it wasn't a bad call, it was a bad rule--don't blame the refs and in this case don't blame the Cowboys. I guarantee you the plans for that stadium were okayed by the NFL prior to construction, they should own up to it.

All this from a Steeler fan

[jagur1]

It shouldn't matter if it's a light fixture or a $40 million scoreboard, it's above the NFL specs!

It's like the tuck rule--it wasn't a bad call, it was a bad rule--don't blame the refs and in this case don't blame the Cowboys. I guarantee you the plans for that stadium were okayed by the NFL prior to construction, they should own up to it.

All this from a Steeler fan

Yeah, but the Steelers have 6 and the Cowboys only have 5. Plus, the Steelers are a lot closer to 7 then the Cowboys are to 6, IMO.

[GrizinWashington]

As soon as Jones gets done with his two-year-old-styled-tantrum, he should just move the damn thing.

[DriftCat]

As soon as Jones gets done with his two-year-old-styled-tantrum, he should just move the damn thing.

I suppose that if you spent who knows how many dollars hanging the thing in the first place (five feet higher than the NFL told you that it needed to be hung) and then you had to spend who knows how many dollars to hang it higher after the fact, you might throw a tantrum as well. Just guessing.

[GrizinWashington]

As soon as Jones gets done with his two-year-old-styled-tantrum, he should just move the damn thing.

I suppose that if you spent who knows how many dollars hanging the thing in the first place (five feet higher than the NFL told you that it needed to be hung) and then you had to spend who knows how many dollars to hang it higher after the fact, you might throw a tantrum as well. Just guessing.

Gimme a break. He's already moving it for a concert. The only reason he doesn't want to move it for games is because he's a dick and thinks he's somehow sticking it to the other owners that way. Frankly, I don't care one way or the other, as I won't have to watch the 5 hour games that occur when teams have to re-punt 7 or 8 times in a row since I make it a general policy never to watch a Cowboys game.

[DriftCat]

As soon as Jones gets done with his two-year-old-styled-tantrum, he should just move the damn thing.

I suppose that if you spent who knows how many dollars hanging the thing in the first place (five feet higher than the NFL told you that it needed to be hung) and then you had to spend who knows how many dollars to hang it higher after the fact, you might throw a tantrum as well. Just guessing.

Gimme a break. He's already moving it for a concert. The only reason he doesn't want to move it for games is because he's a dick and thinks he's somehow sticking it to the other owners that way. Frankly, I don't care one way or the other, as I won't have to watch the 5 hour games that occur when teams have to re-punt 7 or 8 times in a row since I make it a general policy never to watch a Cowboys game.

Again, if the scoreboard being 90 ft above the field is such an issue why does the NFL regulation state that it must be 85 ft above the field? Sounds like a problem the NFL should have to pay for.....and I believe U2 is footing the bill to raise the scoreboard to accomodate their stage.

[whitetrashgriz]

Ah, just make the Cowboys play road games until the field is playable. The whole design is just bizarre, anyway. It's essentially a 90 foot ceiling over most of the field ... why would anyone ever design a football field like that?

It doesn't seem like cost is really the factor in raising it ... it's seem to be more about Jones not wanting to admit that he messed up with that one decision.

In the meantime ... the arena league lives!

Well, considering that the NFL rules state that it must be at least 85 ft above the playing surface and it is 90ft above, I fail to see how Jones messed up. More like the NFL messed up by not requiring it to be higher in the first place.

That being said, it needs to be raised (on the NFL's dime) and the rules need to be changed for future staduim projects.

oh i agree completely. he did everything by the book, and i think the nfl needs to pay for it. i guess i'm just curious why jones was acting like it was fine and wasn't too low. it's clearly too low, and clearly needs to be raised. and if it is forced to get moved the nfl should foot the bill. if not, opposing teams should run off about five minutes of clock against them just punting into it.sounds like he's being stubborn but that'll change quick if it costs them game time minutes, or worse...the game itself.

[SonomaCat]

I assume the NFL rules were put in place for structures that were just small scoreboards or banners ... not structures that cover most of the field. 85 feet is probably fine if there is very little chance that the trajectory of the punt will come into contact with the structure. But when the structure covers most of the field (essentially becoming a roof), it's obvious that the same rules wouldn't make sense.

I don't really care who pays for it, or even if they move it. But building it the way they did, and then refusing to raise it once it became obvious that it was a problem, is just silly. May 1,000 punts bounce off of it this season ... it's not going to bother me either. I'll just laugh when I read about it.

[bcats]

I saw an interview with Bill Polian, owner if the Colts, and he said that when they built there stadium they tried the scoreboard idea but instead of going by the outdated NFL regulations, they actually measured their punters kicks and thus hung the bigscreens on the wall. I think that the "everything's bigger in Texas" mentality played a big part in the new stadium. I love how the Cowboys need a stadium more entertaining than the games they actually play.

[grizzh8r]

I saw an interview with Bill Polian, owner if the Colts, and he said that when they built there stadium they tried the scoreboard idea but instead of going by the outdated NFL regulations, they actually measured their punters kicks and thus hung the bigscreens on the wall. I think that the "everything's bigger in Texas" mentality played a big part in the new stadium. I love how the Cowboys need a stadium more entertaining than the games they actually play.

Ouch - that's a deadly low-blow

[whitetrashgriz]

well, it looks like the nfl ruled it can stay, and if balls hit it it's a do-over. more importantly they decided that if the play does need to be redone, that the clock will re-set. that would have been a disaster if they didn't change that. pretty amazing stadium regardless.

[RMD]

Has Jerry Jones ever done anything that hasn't caused some sort of controversy?

[GrizinWashington]

What a time-waster. While I don't know for certain (perhaps Catamaran can confirm), I presume that once the ball is in the air, no official is watching the ball in flight. Consequently, unless the richochet off of board is blatentily obvious, everyone of these things will need to go up to the replay booth. But, I guess that way 80,000 people can spend 10 minutes watching -- on larger-than-they-need-to-be-high-def screens -- a guy in a striped shirt with headphones covering his ears trying to determine if the ball hit the damn screen they're all watching.


There is a twisted symmetry to the whole thing....