Came across some interesting articles on the NFL's views on providing the All -22 view of the playing field. Clearly they cannot argue technology is an impediment with HD wide-screen feeds being streets in front of the old NTSC 4:3 views.

One of my IT guys who knows I am into the NFL brought this blog-post to my attention. Its from slash-dot - which tags itself as "news for nerds", so its kinda interesting comparing the response to BTB. Lots of posts about the importance of HD lens quality etc. It even devolves into a comparison of the NFL with Australian Rules Football.

But the original article the blog refers to was actually written on the Wall Street Journal. It maintains that while the NFL recently surveyed fans about their level of interest in the "All 22" view it is apparently "a long way from becoming a reality, if ever." according to an NFL spokesman. One of the claimed reasons is that "it would open players and teams up to a level of criticism far beyond the current hum of talk radio." That seems like nuts to me - fans are going to criticise regardless - surely it is better for that to be properly informed by a view of the whole field rather than guesswork.

I am registered on the NFL.com site as I buy their Gamepass streaming of the games. Great product, but only available outside the US. It allows you to stream full versions of games (without commercials) as well as those condensed versions which cut out everything but the play itself. (great value for $129 for the entire regular season, all games)

Interestingly, Gamepass includes two views of the "All 22" from the side and behind on all key plays (maybe a dozen or so a game). I also recall the opening quarter of the Superbowl had a lot of wide shots from behind the QB, although it seemed to me they moved away from this after a while. So maybe the "All 22" isn't actually that far away.

I would love to get access to the All 22. If there is one place I thought there might be a bit of passion around the "all 22" it would be here! So is this something the NFL should be putting high up the list of priorities?