Why the green dot?

November 18, 2007 7:20 PM

What is the green dot on the side of the quarterback's helmet in the NFL?
posted by elvissa to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (13 answers total)

Best answer: It tells officials that the helmet is equipped with a radio receiver so that the QB can communicate with (I think just hear) the coaches in the booth. Only one helmet with a dot is allowed on the field at one time.
posted by PhatLobley at 7:22 PM on November 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

PhatLobley is correct.
posted by Autarky at 7:23 PM on November 18, 2007

It means there's a radio in the helmet (so the coach can talk to the player).

Only one radio helmet per team is allowed on the field at a time.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 7:24 PM on November 18, 2007

Response by poster: My husband and brother-in-law thank you. Or they thank me, because they were talking about it and now i am pretending to know.
posted by elvissa at 7:28 PM on November 18, 2007

The defensive captain usually wears one too.
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:37 PM on November 18, 2007

No, the defensive captain doesn't wear one. There is no sideline-to-player communication in place for defensive units.
posted by roomwithaview at 8:48 PM on November 18, 2007

(Er, no wireless electronic communication system. So coaches use signals to call defensive plays.)
posted by roomwithaview at 8:50 PM on November 18, 2007

Pretty sure this debuted this pre-season...
posted by tcv at 9:36 PM on November 18, 2007

No, the defensive captain doesn't wear one. There is no sideline-to-player communication in place for defensive units.

Yesterday I saw a defensive player with a dot on their helmet. I'm pretty sure it was a Redskins player. The dot appeared more yellow than the greenish dot worn by quarterbacks.
posted by Caper's Ghost at 5:41 AM on November 19, 2007

Pretty sure this debuted this pre-season...

This is true.
posted by inigo2 at 6:28 AM on November 19, 2007

Yesterday I saw a defensive player with a dot on their helmet. I'm pretty sure it was a Redskins player. The dot appeared more yellow than the greenish dot worn by quarterbacks.

I also saw the yellow dot (can't remember on who, but definitely not a quarterback) yesterday during Cowboys/Redskins.

Go Cowboys.
posted by erikgrande at 7:31 AM on November 19, 2007

The yellow dot was apparently on Roy Williams' helmet and a clarification is being sought for it at UniWatch, so if you are interested, you might keep your eye open there for an explanation.
posted by OilPull at 11:34 AM on November 19, 2007

Huh. Apparently the league was considering allowing a defense player to have a communicator, but it was narrowly voted down last off-season. Some folks think that SpyGate means that it will have to pass the next time it comes up.

I saw John Lynch (Broncos free safety, defensive captain) wearing a dot on his helmet a few months ago and just assumed that meant he had a radio in it; apparently it didn't mean that. He certainly didn't have a dot on his helmet tonight, but he was also injured and questionable to play.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:28 PM on November 19, 2007