Pittsburgh Steelers Utilize In-Helmet Cameras For Film Study

Technology advancements are happening all the time throughout all sporting disciplines.  The Pittsburgh Steelers this season have picked up a helmet camera that will allow them to study practice film from the player’s point of view.

If anyone out there is an avid gamer, then you might be familiar with the ESPN version of an NFL game – the 2K series.  Until EA were dealt exclusive rights to creating anything gaming that dealt with the NFL, there were some innovative aspects to ESPN’s cheaper (and much oft better) game.  Within the 2K series, the gamer had an option to play the game completely from the player’s POV.  It was awesome and disorienting all at the same time, but you were able to experience what a player sees through the face mask of their helmet.

Well now coaches and players have an opportunity to have this perspective upfront in thanks to Schutt Vision helmets.  According to the NFL.com article, the helmets are full contact helmets and embedded with HD cameras.  The Steelers are one of 33 other NFL and college teams to utilize this type of technology.  Mike Tomlin likes the idea of using it.

"This time of year, I think it’s appropriate to be open to the growth of technology in our game.  So I’ll do things such as that and look at innovative things and see if it can be useful to us."

A frame from footage recorded from the Schutt Vision camera at a Miami (FL) University practice.

How about a clock that can tell you when it’s appropriate to call time outs or run the no huddle late in a half?  Just kidding.  But seriously, can someone give that as a stocking stuffer for Tomlin this year (Christmas in July, of course)?

While Tomlin appears that he likes the cameras, he admits that that at times the film gives him headaches.

I think this is a useful tool to use.  In agreeing with the article, this is as great a tool for the backups as it is for the starters and coaches.  Nothing beats reps on the field – practice or game time – but, it can be very useful to help guys who are limited to snap counts to still see a play develop as they would were they the one on the field.