iPads Spell Trouble For Some NFL Teams

As is widely known, the Denver Broncos moved toward the iPad this year. The team put all of its plays on the Apple device to make it easier to study. Instead of carrying 500+ pages of football around, each Denver Broncos player can carry around the ipad which also has game film uploaded onto it.

Convenience and accessibility, however, don’t always spell success.

D.J. Williams already Tweeted a page of the playbook to the world. While showcasing that particular page doesn’t put the Broncos at a competitive disadvantage, it does show just how easy it is for more to be leaked.

There’s already one team that is going back to the “old-school” approach. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are backing away from the iPads after using them last season. Bucs running back Ernest Graham said that iPads may not work for young (read: immature) teams.

"“I think the concept of the iPads was excellent but at times a bit too much for players and coaches alike. The problem was that at times guys would forget to charge them overnight or to update them when they came into the building because everything needed to download before meetings. That would cause problems.  Also the fact that it’s an unnecessary distraction with being able to access the Internet, games, and so on.I thought the idea was great but it was definitely more negatives than positives with a young team.  I enjoyed being able to access the opposing teams’ cut-ups and video of that day’s practice, but in my opinion most guys did not use them.  If you keep it simple and do your installations using your [paper] playbooks, you don’t have to guess whether a guy is on Facebook or not.  Based on that experience I would never use them if I went into coaching.” – Ernest Graham (JoeBucsFan.com)"

While the Broncos have a lot of youth on the team, they also have some key veteran leaders on offense, defense, and special teams. You think Peyton Manning, Champ Bailey, and Wesley Woodyard are going to be pleased if they see one of their teammates on an “unauthorized” site or if they forget to charge/update their iPad?

Moving toward the iPad for the Broncos this year is a wise move, and perhaps one that will make a difference in team success.

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