Rams playbooks go high tech - KSDK

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Written by

Kristen Gosling

Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams posted a picture of his iPad

By Sara Dayley

St. Louis (KSDK) -- On Sunday, the St. Louis Rams open their season on the road in Detroit against the Lions with a new head coach and 17 rookies in tow. Their action on the field may look a little different, but so does their playbook.

In the past, football players would lug around more than 500 pages of plays about slants, routes, and patterns. That action will soon be just a memory as more and more teams make the transition to iPad playbooks.

Last season, two NFL teams made the swap, and since then, 14 teams have jumped on board, including the Rams.

Itinerary updates, diagrams and video are automatically pushed to each iPad providing players almost instant access.

Integrating iPads has saved the organization over 75,000 pieces of paper per camp, not including binders, copies and side notes, adding to the going green theme the Rams have in place.

With such a young team, the new teaching tool is poplar, but that comes along with assuring players, staff and other members of the team that they understand how to keep information safe and secure. 

For example, last summer Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams posted a picture of his iPad during camp that revealed some of Denver's basic defensive formations, exposing those plays to the entire world. 

Consequences for similar actions may result in hefty fines.

When it comes to surfing the net or being online, many teams have multi-layered, password security systems and all data is securely stored on the teams' own servers, even opting out of third party involvement. It has been such a hit, that the trend has even trickled down to the collegiate level, seen in the hands of athletes at Ohio State, Duke and many others.

The steps taken to keep information secure have been extremely successful.  For the first time this season, the league is allowing players and coaches to have access to their tablets until they head out to the field for kickoff. Last year, they had to be removed from the locker room 90 minutes prior to the game.

The Jets, Giants, Seahawks and 49ers are also testing the devices to assist them in neurological testing. They hope to use  the iPad to view X-rays and players' medical records.

KSDK