Cbz40
The Grand Poobah
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October 25, 2007
Lines of communication
When the controversy surrounding "SpyGate" and the Patriots reached its hilt in September, one solution floated was to put earpieces in the helmets of defensive players, the same way it's done with quarterbacks, to cut down on the ability of opponents to steal signals on that side of the ball.
The NFL hasn't acted on the idea yet. But the Arena League has. Starting with the 2008 season, AFL will allow each team to place a communication device in the helmet of one defensive player.
“The atmosphere and the energy that the fans emit during an Arena Football game is such that both teams need to be on equal footing with communication from coaches,” said Dallas Desperados COO Shy Anderson, Jerry Jones' son-in-law who also serves as Chairman of the AFL Rules and Competition Committee. “The main concern was competition, but we are excited as this will also provide ESPN an opportunity to allow the viewing fans to get a look at what both teams are thinking pre-snap.”
As many of you already know, my last week of work in New England was the week SpyGate broke, and we all asked the question about putting the wireless devices in defenders' helmets. The one consistent reason it wouldn't work that I remember hearing was that substitutions defensively make it tough to guarantee any one player will be on the field for all the snaps, the way the quarterback is. The middle linebacker, for example, is quite often the front seven's signal caller, but a lot of those guys -- the big, burly types -- come off the field in passing situations.
And it wasn't considered feasible to have those devices in everyone's helmets. Either way, the AFL's success or failure with this could prove a litmus test for the NFL.
Posted by Albert Breer http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 8:03 PM (E-mail this entry)
Lines of communication
When the controversy surrounding "SpyGate" and the Patriots reached its hilt in September, one solution floated was to put earpieces in the helmets of defensive players, the same way it's done with quarterbacks, to cut down on the ability of opponents to steal signals on that side of the ball.
The NFL hasn't acted on the idea yet. But the Arena League has. Starting with the 2008 season, AFL will allow each team to place a communication device in the helmet of one defensive player.
“The atmosphere and the energy that the fans emit during an Arena Football game is such that both teams need to be on equal footing with communication from coaches,” said Dallas Desperados COO Shy Anderson, Jerry Jones' son-in-law who also serves as Chairman of the AFL Rules and Competition Committee. “The main concern was competition, but we are excited as this will also provide ESPN an opportunity to allow the viewing fans to get a look at what both teams are thinking pre-snap.”
As many of you already know, my last week of work in New England was the week SpyGate broke, and we all asked the question about putting the wireless devices in defenders' helmets. The one consistent reason it wouldn't work that I remember hearing was that substitutions defensively make it tough to guarantee any one player will be on the field for all the snaps, the way the quarterback is. The middle linebacker, for example, is quite often the front seven's signal caller, but a lot of those guys -- the big, burly types -- come off the field in passing situations.
And it wasn't considered feasible to have those devices in everyone's helmets. Either way, the AFL's success or failure with this could prove a litmus test for the NFL.
Posted by Albert Breer http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 8:03 PM (E-mail this entry)
