Every game should have pylon cameras

During Sunday's Falcons-Buccaneers game, it appeared that Tampa safety Antoine Winfield Jr. snatched the ball away from Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts before breaking the goal line plane. Without a clear camera angle, there was no way to confirm or invalidate the decision on the field.

Whether the call was right or wrong – and a local TV crew filmed from such an angle gives the impression that the decision on the field was wrong – It shouldn't be that difficult. Fixed cameras should be placed at the boundaries of each field.

Ben Koo of AwfulAnncreasing.com has I looked at the situation closely. It's as much an NFL problem as it is a network problem.

The league could install its own goal line and other boundary cameras in each stadium. That is not the case. The networks that use pylon cameras for some NFL games could use them for all NFL games.

As Koo notes, pylon cameras are used for primetime games and the main game on Fox and CBS. They are not used for the secondary games and beyond.

The Falcons-Bucs game had no pylon cameras. The game was covered by the No. 2 broadcast team on Fox.

Ultimately it's about money. And the networks' refusal to spend the money — coupled with the NFL's failure to require them to do so — becomes a game integrity issue.

We made that clear after the opening game of the season. With NBC monitoring the Ravens-Chiefs game with cameras, an angle finally emerged that showed, with the requisite clear and obvious visual evidence, that the tip was Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely's shoe landed on the white stripe in the back of the end zone.

If that had happened at the end of a secondary (or worse) CBS or Fox game, the on-field decision likely would have been upheld. And the Ravens might have won the game.

Not having pylon cameras at every game is inexcusable. It's no different than some games have replay reports available, but not all games. A full team of officials will be available for some games, but not all games. A functioning and visible scoreboard in some games, but not all games.

The NFL can fix this with one phone call. Actually with two. Call Fox and then CBS. Tell them to install pylon cameras.

They would do it. Because when the NFL says “jump,” the networks don’t say, “How high?” They just jump as high as they can.