In-game reviews get a technology upgrade Carter dominating Jets’ raw offense
New York — Alberto Riveron sounds genuinely excited about the NFL’s decision to use Microsoft Surface tablets for referees to watch replay.
That procedure began in earnest with last week’s Hall of Fame game between Dallas and Arizona. The technology worked like a charm, with the one coach’s challenge settled in quick order by referee Jerome Boger and the officiating staff in New York.
“It definitely offers an opportunity after the referee signals there is a review to expedite the process of getting to the video,” Riveron says. “We’re not hurrying the process of reviewing the videos or of the decisions.”
Unlike in the past, the referee no longer will be charged with making that final decision; Riveron and his crew at league headquarters will do so in consultation with the ref.
“The only thing that’s changed about the process, that instead of the final decision being with the referee on the field, it’s now with New York,” he said. “The consultation process, the way we look at the film, the plays we show him, the angles, that hasn’t changed.
“Microsoft has been very sensitive to our needs to get the job done,” Riveron adds. “They worked hard on weather conditions and glare and the like. They have worked hard to make this process work.”
Already, the Surface tablets were being used by coaches and players on the sidelines to download photos of the action. Troy Vincent, who oversees football operations for the league, says the NFL is moving carefully on the use of video by coaches, rather than just photos, during the regular season.
“Some have embraced it, some oppose it,” he says, adding with a laugh, “It’s part of my greatest challenge: when innovation and tradition meet.”
In using the Surface tablets for officiating reviews, two systems will be set up, one at each end of the field, as opposed to the single under-thehood procedure of the past.
This will be the most visual use of the tablet, but it’s hardly the only one. All 32 teams have been utilizing it for virtually every task.
“Microsoft Surface devices have become ubiquitous on NFL sidelines and in the coaches’ booth,” Microsoft general manager Robert Matthews said in an email.
“Currently, every NFL team is using Microsoft Surface in some capacity throughout their organization — ranging from serving as playbooks to film review being conducted on Surface Hubs, to in-stadium and business operations teams using Microsoft Surface in their front office.
“We have organizations around the league, such as the Buccaneers and Jaguars, fully embracing our technology ... as the solution to every technology need a team could have, on and off the field.”
Florham Park, N.J. — The pass came down the middle of the field, was tipped by one Jets defender and then linebacker Bruce Carter tried to corral it. The ball hit the turf and Carter pounded the ground.
A few plays later, a running back swept to the outside, only to find Carter firmly standing his ground and ruining the play.
It was that kind of practice Thursday for the seven-year veteran Carter. He was everywhere. But that interception that wasn’t ... “The ball came in on me late,” Carter said, “and my teammate tipped it. I didn’t get a bead on it quick enough. “Hopefully in a game, I catch it.” Carter figures to see plenty of action in Saturday night’s preseason opener against Tennessee. He likely will be a backup to begin this season because the Jets envision 2016 firstround draft pick Darron Lee, returning veteran DeMario Davis (reacquired from Cleveland) and thirdyear LB Lorenzo Mauldin ahead of him. Carter offers leadership, savvy and versatility, though.
“I like the versatility the defense offers at each position,” he said. “It allows guys at each position to do a lot of things. It brings out the ability of everyone: linebackers, safeties, DEs, everyone.
“For a guy like me, one with athletic ability, it adds more that I am able to individually do. I can do a lot of things in this defense.”
That defense did a lot of nasty things to the offense on Thursday. The Jets are a work in progress, to be kind, when they have the ball. They are much more dangerous on D.
But Carter and the other Jets defenders don’t want to hear about how the defense must carry the team.
“I think everyone has to be carrying the team,” standout defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “That’s all part: offense, and defense and specials teams. Not just one unit.”
Still, while the offense goes through major growing pains, New York’s defense will need to be dynamic. With a pair of rookie safeties — top pick Jamal Adams and second-rounder Marcus Maye — along with a mixture of youth and experience elsewhere, it’s a group with more promise than anything seen on offense this summer.
Carter, who played his first four pro seasons in Dallas, then spent a year with Tampa Bay and last season was a Jet, recognizes what he can offer to the younger players, particularly Lee and Mauldin at linebacker.
“Leadership. Doing the right thing and putting in the work,” said Carter, a second-round pick in 2011 out of North Carolina. “Showing that nobody is taking a day off, because on another team, nobody is taking time off. They are putting in the extra work and so are we.
“I was lucky that when I came in (to the NFL), I got around good players who had been successful and I followed their lead. Guys who were going to Pro Bowls in Dallas. Sean Lee and DeMarcus Ware, I would see them be successful and how they did it.
“It’s knowing what you’re supposed to do and where you need to be, being accountable on and off the field. You’re always being judged.”