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Jameis Winston will use VR to prepare for his first season in the NFL
Jameis Winston, the NFL's top draft pick, will have a number of tools at his disposal as he prepares for his first professional season. According to a report from Fox Sports, virtual reality is on that list. His team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, plans to purchase a VR system to use for quarterback development. Among other things, the tech allows simulations to be rewound and watched as many times as needed to understand how to perfect each play. This isn't the first time an NFL team dipped its toe in the VR waters. The Dallas Cowboys already implemented a system for QBs that gives them a 360-degree view of the line of scrimmage. Players can get extra practice reading defenses and making pre-snap calls to teammates. Virtual reality also offers backups who generally get less time at practice another opportunity to prep in case they're needed, and a number of college teams are using it, too. As for Winston and Tampa Bay, the team is meeting with vendors to find the right fit, and more importantly, tech that's ready to be put through its paces. [Image credit: Don Juan Moore/Getty Images]
NFL teams love the iPad
Just before the start of the NFL football season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers equipped their players with iPads to see how a tablet would work as a training tool. A few months into the season and the iPads are a "smashing success" says general manager Mark Dominik. The iPads include a digital version of the playbook and a custom app written just for the team. They are being used by players to review videos of their opponents and improve their own play. Even coaches have embraced the technology and are using the tablets to screen potential recruits. Players and coaches may be adopting this technology, but the NFL itself is taking a slower approach. The league bans the use of tablets on the field and prohibits their use within 90 minutes of kickoff. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says the football league is holding back technology to keep the playing field level for all teams and to "keep as much of the human element in the game."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to use iPads as playbooks, not PlayBooks
With the NFL season just a few days away, players and coaches have been busy lifting weights, doing interviews and counting their money. Sometimes, they even get the chance to study their playbooks -- or, in the case of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their iPads. This year, the franchise has distributed a fresh batch of iPad 2's to all of its 90 players, as part of a new initiative from coach Raheem Morris. With the tablets, the Bucs can spend their free time reviewing their downloaded plays, while analyzing video footage from practices, games and opposing teams. In related tech news, the Detroit Lions just discovered fire.
Daily Update for August 25, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers give each player an iPad as a playbook
When is a football playbook not a PlayBook? When it's an iPad! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now equipping all of the players on the team with iPads, and both players and management seem to love the idea. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the Tampa Bay players now just turn on their iPads to get up to speed rather than leafing through a phone directory-sized printed book to memorize plays. The team started its love affair with iPads when coach Raheem Morris apparently used one to watch video of team prospects with GM Mark Dominik and player personnel director Dennis Hickey. Buccaneer players used to need to request a copy of a DVD if they wanted to watch film of past games, and then they were constantly using the fast-forward button on the remote to view plays that were applicable to their position. Now, the players simply flick through plays to watch those that are important to them. Morris said that it took about two minutes for Buccaneer co-chairman Bryan Glazer to approve the purchase of 90 iPad 2s. Many of the players listen to their own personal soundtracks while watching past game footage and studying plays that are downloaded to the devices automatically. Should a player lose one of the iPads on the road -- while visiting the New England Patriots, for example -- the team can wipe all of the plays from the device remotely. The Bucs are the first NFL team to embrace the iPad, but certainly won't be the last. As a baseball fan, I won't be happy until MLB players are using their iPads in the dugouts.
