footballipad
It's not just pilots who are finding iPads help them at work. Football players are too.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have given all 90 of their players iPad 2s, loaded with playbooks, and practice and situational videos from any NFL team. The iPads are considerably easier to use, and carry around, than thick books the size of Yellow Pages, and spending hours sitting around a projector watching game film.

Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris:

With this iPad, I can just flick through, and if that play doesn't apply to me, I just touch it and get out of there and go here, and there's third down. Get out of there, and let's go to the red zone. Okay, there's the nickel. It's a different deal now.

It goes further than simply being more convenient. The younger players grew up using technology much more than their veteran counterparts. Today's football players grew up playing the Madden video game series and are very comfortable with technology like the iPad. Running back Earnest Graham:

It's not that guys don't want to look at plays, but it's the convenience ... Guys are accustomed to already doing things on their iPads anyway.

But, the most important feature of the iPad playbooks? If one gets lost, it can be wiped clean via Find My iPad to keep team strategy a secret.

(Image via Justin S./Shutterstock)

Top Rated Comments

blizaine Avatar
174 months ago
I bet RIM is pissed that iPads are being used as Playbooks.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hobo.hopkins Avatar
174 months ago
But, the most important feature of the iPad playbooks? If one gets lost, it can be wiped clean via Find My iPad to keep team strategy a secret.

That's really cool. Sounds like an iPad fits the bill perfectly for their needs.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tlevier Avatar
174 months ago
except for the fact the Find my iPhone can be completely disabled in what? 3, maybe 4 taps of the screen? Not to mention there is absolutely no way to password protect the feature from being disabled. It should have a lock setting just like the actual "pass code" pane in the settings. Not all of us want to pass code protect our phones everytime it locks.

Actually, if the Find my iPad feature is linked to an email account like my iPhone is to mobileME, you can apply a restriction that changes to email accounts are not permitted. To change restrictions, you need a passcode.

4 taps just went out the window.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Navdakilla Avatar
174 months ago
As soon as I saw this article (being a football fan). I thought of what would happen if they lost their ipad (there was a huge spygate scandel recently, related to cheating, and finding out play calls)

Then I read this
"But, the most important feature of the iPad playbooks? If one gets lost, it can be wiped clean via Find My iPad to keep team strategy a secret. "


Perfect idea
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
marksman Avatar
174 months ago
It is awesome. Not to mention they could attach actual game footage to the plays so players could see the film.

Really good idea.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheOrioles33 Avatar
174 months ago
I don't get it.

People are advertising all of these "new" uses for ipads.

Couldn't all of this be done before on a laptop? (airline pilots maps, these playbooks, etc)?

The only difference is the ipad is slightly lighter and smaller. As a man, I would have to carry both around in a messenger type bag anyway, so I don't really see the big deal.

Would you rather hold a bulky laptop the whole game that would probably die before the game ended or a nice light iPad?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...