Bruce Arians: 'Bad coaches' benefit from in-game video experiment

The NFL has been adding in-game technology for its coaches slowly, from speakers in quarterbacks’ and linebackers’ helmets to tablets on the sideline. It makes sense that the next step is allowing them to view video in game. It’s not like the league hasn’t had the technology for it.

Teams have been allowed to use video in one game this preseason. Everyone should be happy about that, right?

“It helps bad coaches,” Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.

Arians is not a wallflower, so it’s not surprising he’d speak out against video use. And his argument against video use during games — when the regular season starts coaches will still be allowed to only use still photos, so don’t bother tagging your favorite coach on that Vine you made in the first quarter — makes sense. Arians said the video would help offensive coaches more, because offenses rarely run the same play but many blitz packages can be the same.

“Defensively, you spend a lot of hours and time on a blitz and a guy can sit there, watch it on tape, show it to his guys and fix it in the first quarter,” Arians said. “That’s not what it’s all about.”

Arians isn’t the only coach who doesn’t like the idea.

“I’m against it,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said, according to the Associated Press. “As coaches, we work Monday through Saturday preparing for Sunday’s game. I work. I game plan. I put all of my thoughts together. I’m attacking you, I’m beating you. And then, all of a sudden, they give you a tablet where you get to watch the play, rewind the play and see what happens on the play where you can say, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s what they’re doing to us?’ Now you can make an adjustment and change what you’re doing and have success. I don’t think that’s right.”

Rivera used an example from last year’s Pro Bowl, a game in which the NFL allowed video use. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees examined a play on video, saw an adjustment to be made and threw a touchdown to Antonio Brown the next time they ran it.

“I thought to myself, that’s exactly why right there,” Rivera said. “Hey if you can’t get in practice, if your coaches can’t see it on the sideline, why should you get a tool to help you?”

Other coaches like Gary Kubiak of the Denver Broncos, Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons and Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins were quoted in the AP piece saying they’re for video use or don’t think it matters much. No word on what Arians thinks of their coaching prowess.

The debate is interesting. The points made by Arians and Rivera make sense, and there should be some challenge in figuring out in-game adjustments. Though, with still photos and the ability to easily look at them on a tablet, it doesn’t seem like an earth-shaking change to add video to coaches’ arsenals as well. It just seems like the natural next step.

In a world in which everyone seems to be looking for the next technological edge, some NFL coaches are hoping to keep things right where they are.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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