Tedford embraces tablet technology
New coach has brought the Leos into digital age by incorporating iPads into training regimen
The clock is about to strike midnight at the Ottawa hotel of the B.C. Lions after their first game of the regular season, and despite the result, Wally Buono is happy. He is leaving the lobby having just received game film to watch until sunrise.
At the airport the next morning, players are having the game uploaded to their tablets and comparing their actions with the corresponding video that is embedded into their digital playbook so they can watch on the ride home.
A few days later after the start of another work week, practice ends as scheduled in the early afternoon. But the day is not over for players until they check their email to see if a position coach has sent them a video clip for review of their performance that day, or a clip pertaining to their next opponent.
If the Lions happen to produce touchdowns at the pedestrian pace of one per game during the CFL season, it will not be because they are operating without a vast technology upgrade this year, not to mention assorted other infrastructure advancements.
It’s more than obvious what new coach Jeff Tedford needed in order to take the job of reviving the franchise, though he still wasn’t getting his wish-list fulfilled if owner David Braley wasn’t willing to acquire the additional assets for the franchise.
One of the biggest improvements has been a willingness to embrace cloud technology and what a football team can do when a coach asks for the purchase of 100 iPads.
Advancements in video gathering have been applied for some time by CFL teams that once had to dispatch staffers the morning after a game to fetch game film from the airport. But this year Tedford went further with a new way of coaching in a form many of his new-generation players can relate to.
In the lobby and airport is new Lions video coach Chris Ryder, a travelling member of the team’s entourage this year. His job is to push all forms of video to anyone in the organization.
The true advancements, however, lie in the fact the team now has the ability to monitor whether the player receiving the video has actually spent any time watching.
B.C. also has its entire playbook available online, including video of the plays in question in some cases, which brought a change this year to a time-honoured tradition for selected players at training camp.
“The new saying was ‘The Reaper’s coming; coach wants to see you … and bring your iPad’,” said Ryder, whose introduction to Tedford came in Tampa when he was fourth on the video depth chart on the staff of former Bucs coach Greg Schiano.
“Schiano was crazy. We would get him reports every single morning by 8 a.m. and highlight every guy’s name and what video they were watching. You want to know who really does care about their job.”
The transition has been received favourably by players, who arrived at the Surrey facility during the spring to see a daily string of changes, including expanded meeting room space that set the owner back close to $100,000 alone.
“(The iPads) hold you accountable,” veteran Jason Arakgi said. “Even without that, guys have been watching that much more film. But you can watch it at dinner, with the kids and at night. It’s just like cellphones; adapt with the times.”
But like cellphones and any other tech upgrade comes the threat of cyberattack. With all of the Lions’ choreographed movements stored online and in a 30-terabyte server, the team had to be convinced its proprietary data would be safe, no small task for coaches whose primary survival instinct is rooted in paranoia.
“I’m paranoid, but not that paranoid,” said Tedford. “The benefits outweigh the risks. (Opponents) may still think they know something, but they still have to stop things.”
Ryder, for one, didn’t have to think of the implications to the Lions about the alleged hacking by baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals seeking information this spring about possible trades and player evaluations of the Houston Astros. NFL owners spent a large portion of their winter meetings in March studying cyber-security.
“Almost every week some company is reaching out to us, (and) the first thing I ask is, ‘What are your security precautions’?” said the Lions video guy, still in shirt and tie in Surrey the afternoon following the league opener working alongside video assistant Andrew Millen.
Players can take screen shots of the playbook but are unable, Ryder said, to email them anywhere. A released player who walks away with an iPad will quickly also find the playbook has vanished.
Besides, big brother is always watching in all ways possible, even as the clock strikes midnight after the season opener.