Chain Gang

chain gang

What Is The Definition Of Chain Gang In Football?

1. The chain gang, more formally known as the chain crew, is the personnel on the sideline of a football field that holds and manages the signal poles. The signal poles are the markers that tell a team how far they must go before reaching a first down, in addition to what down it is currently.

There are three people who are part of the chain gang.

• Rod man – This person holds the rear pole that marks the beginning of the current set of downs.
• Box man – This person holds the marker that shows where the line of scrimmage is and what the current down is.
• Rod man – This second rod man holds the front pole that indicates 10-yards from the rear pole. The two poles are joined by a chain and is pulled tight to indicate exactly 10-yards. In addition, the front pole indicates where the offensive team must reach in order to gain a first down.

Officials may sometimes call the chain gang out onto the field to correctly measure if a team has reached a first down or not.

Example Of How Chain Gang Is Used In Commentary

1. The Patriots are now at the mercy of the chain gang to see if they’ll retain possession after that fourth down attempt.

Sport The Term Is Used

1. Football