DEAN MARTELLI - AUSTIN, TX: I sent this mailbag question a year ago. Isn't the video board going to be hit by punts? Embarrassing, and now this is all people are going to talk about instead of the grandness of the stadium. How could this happen and what should be done?
Nick: For starters, the NFL should probably change its own regulation that video boards must hang 85 feet. Since this one is 90 feet and one punter hit it in a preseason game, then maybe that's the first thing that needs to be done. As for this stadium, they're going to see what happens for now. The Cowboys are convinced you won't hit the board unless you just go for it. And it's not in the punting team's best interest to try and kick two or three in a row like that. That's when you'll give up a huge return. I say for now, see what happens. But if there was anyone at the game who came away from the night talking about the punt hitting the board, I feel sorry for them.
Josh: For 20 minutes we watched Mat McBriar and Sam Paulescu trying to hit the board at the Alamodome in 2007, trying to kick it as high as they could so the club could measure how high the thing needed to be hoisted. They settled on 90 feet, five higher than the NFL rule. Though there's talk it could be raised, I think Jerry likes it at that level, so unless the NFL makes him change it by changing its own rule (which I doubt it would in the middle of the season like we are now) it may stay this way for a while. It's really just not that big a deal.
Rob: Can't imagine raising the board is a simple, inexpensive process. All I know is the league approved the height of the board, so it meets NFL standards at this point. Can punters hit it if they're trying for major hang time? Sure, most of them probably can. A.J. Trapasso has a very strong leg. Not sure what will change, if anything, but this shouldn't take away from a special opening night.