HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. -- If you’ve been watching and listening to sports recently on TV, you’re probably tired of the fake cheers. Or, maybe you appreciate them.
To me, it's way better than just hearing basketball shoes squeak on the court. Seeing the cardboard cutouts of season-ticket holders behind home plate at baseball games and the virtual fans during basketball games is a new norm. It’s a really good quick fix for the absence of real human beings.
It's created challenges, too. There’s a lot more edited production of what the athletes say during the games because players do seem to curse. Anytime I hear that long pause in the commentary of a game, I always say to myself: 'Curse word.' The ambient noise is necessary because kids are watching, and we’d all like their role models to remain good people.
On any stage where sports are played, there’s always a ton of communication. It’s just as important as having a baseball, basketball, football or even new tires for you NASCAR watchers. Ask any coach or player and they will tell you: Communication is key! Even though some guys gel so well, the way I did with my compadres on the Steelers' offensive line, and we tell people we didn’t have to talk to know what the other is doing. We still do.
With this extra communication and the lack of an actual crowd, there could be some sportsmanship issues that come up, though.
The main issue: Cheating.
As I mention this, let’s not frown at the use of that word. Everyone’s heard the old saying, 'If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,' and it holds some weight. But the type of cheating I’m speaking of isn’t the taping of sideline signals, leaving video cameras in opponents' stadiums, having the visiting team scan their locker rooms for listening devices, under-inflated balls or pumping in crowd noise. To not leave out other sports, that also includes beating on trash cans and having wiring mechanisms under your jersey.
Ok, y’all get what I’m saying. It felt good to say those as a retired player and not worrying about penalizing my team or answering about it to the media.
The type of cheating I speak of is the craftsmanship of just being smart. Along the line of scrimmage, with a quarterback giving calls and audibles, there’s so much that can be done to ruin a play.
I distinctly remember the last time we played the Seahawks and Ben Roethlisberger gave DeAngelo Williams a hot route. I’m looking back at Ben because I had to tap Cody Wallace's hip to snap the ball. As you know Seattle, with that '12th Man,' is loud! DeAngelo couldn’t hear Ben with which hot route he was to run, so Ben literally drew the route in the air with his finger to DeAngelo and then proceeded to throw him the ball. What's funny is this: With all the noise in the stadium, the Seahawks were distracted, too, so they missed Ben showing them what the route was and potentially getting an interception.
Without a full crowd this season for an extended time, players and coaches will have the ability to hear everything.
And hey, to be honest, I was a guy who listened for everything.
When you’re around long enough, you pick up on the smallest things. I used to love it when an older defensive lineman had to teach up a young guy during the games. The vet would get so mad because he had to tell them where to line up and what to do. My next play, of course, was usually easy. And when it was over, I’d just smile at the vet and shake my head, and he'd do the same in return.
Those are the kinds of 'cheats' I'm describing. Hearing the defensive play call -- say, key words like, “fire, shoot the back, NASCAR right or left” -- can be an advantage to the ones who know to what they are listening. It’s not a predetermined recording or playbook thievery. It’s simply savvy guys learning using what they hear to their advantage.
And to think, these are the things I’d hear with 60,000 or more fans in the stadium.
The ways plays are called past might have to change. In mound visits in baseball, they cover their mouths to prevent information from getting out. We don't do that in football, other than offensive and defensive coordinators using papers while calling plays -- those play sheets also have the smallest font you could imagine because it could get picked up on -- but there are microphones everywhere on the field these days, and we have to think about how we communicate and what we might give up to other teams or to the fans.
NFL coaches and their staffs are some of the smartest and detailed I’ve been around. The smallest of details can win games. The way a guy holds his hands in his stance can determine a run or pass, or the way a quarterback has his feet squared or staggered can show if he’s going to pass the ball or roll out to a run play. It’s very intricate.
I’m not suggesting that we go with more green-dot helmets on the field, but the line of communication between coaches and players is about to get elevated and possibly exposed quite a bit. I wonder if coaches will operate their camps with the acknowledgement of plays being able to be heard more by opponents, or if they'll stick to the same script. I won’t say they should scrap the way they do everything, but it deserves a look. If I’ve picked up code words or plays or sideline signals with a full stadium, I’m sure I won’t be the only one hearing a whole play being called this season.
It's just food for thought on the art of cheating.
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