Last season, for the first time, two NFL teams were allowed to use 64 GB iPad 2s as their official playbooks. The teams were the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The digital playbooks stored all the key information players needed and allowed them to interact by taking notes and drawing in changes right on their devices. Coach were able to make changes on their device and every player was able to have the update in no time. The iPad has also been used unofficially around the NFL in other ways too. From viewing videos to checking out scouting reports, coaches and players have been viewing and sharing information this way for seasons.
The major question is, of course, security. Many argue that data on the iPad is actually safer than in the physical playbook. According to Popular Mechanics, the tablets are password-protected with two layers of security. Additionally the tablets can be remotely wiped clean if the iPad is compromised (if a tablet is lost, a player is traded, etc).
What’s perhaps more exciting is the software that teams are coupling with their portable devices. A leading video edit software, XOS, offers coaches the capability to pull up a video and send it to a specific player’s device. XOS is very interesting because it cuts video clips from different viewpoints so all aspects of plays can be evaluated. Coaches can pick which videos/angles are most important for their players to review and send them out immediately.
Currently the NFL does not allow iPads or other such devices on the sidelines during a game, however changes in could be coming soon. Ref. popularmechanics.com, xosdigital.com
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