Technology changing the way the NFL approaches the game.

Remember the image of Bill Cowher stuffing a hastily printed out snapshot of his special teams unit into the refs pocket before running to the locker room, thus proving he had 11 men and not 12 on the field? Nowadays that might prove harder then in the 90's. I noticed during last years Hard Knocks with the Bengals that they had made the move to a digital playbook. All team members were given Ipads/tablets(not sure who the NFL uses as a sponser) which to a tech buff like myself makes sense, no more collecting binders so they can be updated, no more tear this page out or that page out. The IT department can set it up to push out updates when ever the players are in the facility, they can add video of the plays being run in practice, even have animation showing how each play works, possibilities are endless.

This brings us to the Steelers, now I'm not sure they are following suit in regards to the playbook but I did spot Ben and Haley sitting on the sideline early in Sundays game and while Haley was talking to someone on his headset, Ben was flipping through what I assume were pictures taken during his last series on an Ipad/tablet. Changing times, changing the game, no more little printed snapshots, set up a wifi network by the bench stream snapshots straight to the sidelines and the players, design plays quickly and save them for later to look at for a post game break down.

The only drawback I can see is that the league might have trouble stopping Spy-gate type activities since you can hold the Ipad or device and record video. Just something to throw out there since a lot of us have seen the game change by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years, I mean I watch youtube videos of the games I watched in teh 90's and say man look at how big those shoulders pads were.

 

Or, even worse have WiFi sniffers and steal the transmitted data real-time. Knowing what packages they're looking at and probably the scripted plays at the beginnings of the half could be very nice.

 

It's possible to set up Enterprise Policy Management that enforces security policies on iPhones and iPads. One option is to force disable a user's camera, so there are ways to deal with that. I'd be more concerned about the point Lizard72 brought up regarding someone capturing transmitted data.

 

Way back when, John Madden used to wonder why there was no high-tech way to mark the ball. "We can put a man on the moon, so we should be able to find a way to electronically follow the ball," he would say.

I think we're at that point now. There has to be a way to track the ball and place it, to the millimeter, on the field.

 

I agree with you, and am quite surprised it hasn't been done yet. The only conceivable reason why it hasn't happened is that perhaps this might alter how the ball moves through the air, but like everything else the players would get used to it.
Going by this same line of thought, why couldn't a players shoes have microchips implanted into them so we would know for sure if they got both feet in bounds during a sideline catch? At this point I'm sure the technology is out there to do just that. But, doing so would probably speed the game up too much and lead to less commercial breaks. Which is probably why it hasn't happened.

 

Tired of all of the technology giving teams an edge. Need to get back to the basics on playcalling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJI9sFJ9RXQ

 

Nowadays Bill would have to whack the ref over the head with his tablet on the way into the locker room.

 

They already use goal-line technology in soccer to see if the ball crossed the line, which uses a chip in the ball. I'd be surprised if the NFL aren't looking into something similar.

 

I say we just replace the current refs with a new batch!
I don't think they'll be worried 'bout a couple measly inches

 

I've seen things where that's been talked about actually. I've always been skeptical of it though because there are so many errors in technology and especially when you have a few thousand pounds of man beef banging against the ball. Seems that could make it mess up.

 

I think the big difference is that the soccer ball is required to be fully over the goal line and it's completely round, which lets them figure out where all parts of the ball are. Footballs being the shape they are would present a problem from where to put the chips, how to determine the exact position of the ball in the hands of the runner when the line was crossed, etc..

I'm thinking they'd probably start with between the 5's but leave the goal line to the refs.

 

Replace the threading in a football with some sort of fiber optic's attached to a tiny processor inside? I can see it happening.

 

I can see them running a flexible RF tag along the length of one of the seams and setting up sensors on the goal line to that could detect if the ball crossed over the goal line. I have often wondered why the NHL didn't try this approach to see if a puck really did enter the net, the technology is there, remember Fox's abysmal foray into hockey with their glowing puck to help casual fans keep track of the puck? Modify the tech put sensors in the pipes of the goal and it will cut down on the number of replays the war room has to look at.

 

NHL has been experimenting with this for about 5-6 years. They've had RFID chips and infrared emitters used at times. the problem would be the calibration required for the goal line sensors and it standing up to full game rigors.

 

Agreed!

I'm sure change will come, I'm also sure I won't like it.

Why not do away with the league union, big salaries, overpriced tickets, tv. blackouts and expensive merchandise--then see how many players stick around or how many new fans come to the sport?

Change? It stinks but I guess I need to get used to it. Just not yet THANKFULLY!