Control over the DVD player used to be a nightly power struggle at the Driver household.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver didn't always win, either.
His children watch everything - "Cars 2," "Dolphin Tale" - whatever's current. The movies "go on and on and on," Driver said. He'd often take refuge in the basement to watch game film, and his son would follow.
"And then my son wants to play Madden on PS3," Driver said. "So then you have to give him the TV and go somewhere else. But then, he wants you to play with him."
Driver doesn't have those problems anymore. Like all of Green Bay's receivers, he's bringing his work home and seeing the results. The Packers tied an NFL record this season with 51 touchdowns through the air. Each week, the receivers find and exploit mismatches.
Their secret weapon? The iPad.
Like some other position groups, the Packers receivers watch film through an application on their personal iPad. Driver can spend time with his three kids and study film all at once.
"It makes it easy, it makes it easy," Driver said. "It's more convenient for me so I don't have to force a DVD in or say to my wife, 'Hey, babe, can I put a DVD in so I can watch film?' and she leaves up to the bedroom. I kind of like that intimate time with my whole family. I'm still able to sit there with my iPad."
Technology blended harmoniously with strategy. Coach Mike McCarthy has built this offense on abusing mismatches. He zigzags receivers across every possible contour of a defense and has arguably the best triggerman in the game. Green Bay went 15-1, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers likely will win most valuable player honors. But for this system to work, receivers must all be on the same page.
They don't necessarily need pre-snap audibles. They recognize coverages and - through football telepathy - adjust. This app fosters such synergy. It carefully categorizes film of each opponent. All receivers study what coverages a defense plays on first down, second down and third down.
Receivers stalk players for hours. They target a cornerback's tendencies in specific situations.
"You watch so much and watch the individual so much, you know his weaknesses," said James Jones, who caught 38 passes for 635 yards and seven touchdowns. "You know on certain routes you can do this to him and he can't cover that. From watching film, that's what we catch up on. We use some of that in our routes.
"You can say, 'OK, this guy, when he's in press coverage he likes to use his hands a lot. He likes to get his hands on you. And this guy, when he's in press coverage, he likes to mirror you and not put his hands on you.' It's 'OK, No. 29 is on me. He's going to put his hands on me. I have to be ready to knock his hands down. If I knock his hands down, he's in trouble.' "
Each Wednesday, the team loads film of that week's opponent onto the iPad app. From that point, it's up to the player. Coaches don't demand that receivers watch a certain amount of film. Jones says he invests four to five hours a day.
"This is your own preparation," Jones said. "When you leave the stadium, it's all on you. So if you want to prepare longer and get better, you do. If you don't, you don't. But everybody's a pro in here. They want to get better."
No, they didn't have these contraptions back in Edgar Bennett's day. When he played running back for the Packers in the mid-1990s, players toted home VHS tapes. Nothing was organized. Those held a small amount of footage that required constant rewinding and fast-forwarding to find certain plays. DVDs could hold more film, but even those remain finite.
That's what the wide receivers coach admires most about the iPad - the sheer wealth of film the app allows. They still have group meetings, of course. The receivers haven't gone 100% digital.
But now when the receivers reconvene, there are more advanced discussions about players and schemes.
"You go more in depth from that on a technique standpoint," Bennett said, "breaking it down from each position - what their linebackers are doing, what their D-Linemen are doing, what their perimeter guys, the DBs and safeties are doing.
"It's another way to stay mentally sharp off the field. You're focusing, you're ready to go."
Probably most important, players are more likely to watch film. The iPad is portable. As Bennett said, they don't need to lug around a television. Jones sets son "Little James" on his lap, and the two watch film together.
It has become a wallet, a cellphone, car keys. He brings it everywhere.
"On the plane. At the hotel. Wherever you go, you're taking this iPad with you," Jones said. "Wherever you go, you have game film with you. Even if it's before the game and A-Rod says, 'Man, did you see this play? Did you see that play?' And we can say, 'What play? Let's look at it.' It's a lot easier."
And a lot easier for Driver, too.
"I can still be in the conversation while I'm watching film," Driver said. "If I had to put a DVD in, my family's not going to sit and watch film with me. They're going to leave. It's hands on. The good thing about the iPad is it's all in one."
Source : JSOnline | By Tyler Dunne
Original Content : iPad becomes newest weapon for Packers
