One thing you learn quickly about Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is that he is always experimenting. Few men work harder to stay on the cutting edge of football. Johnson is constantly looking for new ways to improve his offense. His recent embracing of the “12” personnel trend is a perfect example, weaponizing tight ends like never before. However, he is also a head coach now. That means his efforts must extend to the entire football team. What are ways he can make it better?
It appears he found one method that can help, at least when it comes to practice efficiency. One problem the Bears and other teams have is assembling video footage following practice. It appears Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles decided to attack the problem with a massive technological upgrade. It involves installing a dozen camera poles around all the practice fields at Halas Hall, ensuring players are observed at all times. It shouldn’t be surprising from a computer science nerd like Johnson. Adam Jahns of CHGO had the details.
The team has installed 12 permanent camera poles around their four practice fields. They each have concrete foundations. Six poles cover two fields from the end zones and the 50-yard lines. There are two cameras atop each pole.
The film is fed instantly to the Bears’ video staff inside Halas Hall after each period. It’s cut up and immediately ready for the coaches after practice concludes.
In the past, the Bears used movable cameras to record practice. The placement of the cameras was a sign of which field would be used for team drills for fans (and reporters) during training camp. Now, every field is covered at all times.
Ben Johnson stole a page from the Orwell playbook.
For those who don’t get the title reference, George Orwell was the author of the novel “1984,” widely considered the greatest dystopian novel ever written. It follows a character living in a futuristic state run by an oppressive regime that uses mass surveillance as one of the ways to control the population. It was called Big Brother. Cameras were everywhere, keeping an eye out for potential dissidents so they could be arrested. Having 12 cameras installed solely for observing practice makes it hard not to see the parallels.
It seems fitting that Ben Johnson would be the one to embrace something like this. The man studied computer science and mathematics in college. He has a very analytical brain. That means finding every possible way to improve efficiency should take priority. He wants things to run as smoothly as possible. The fewer minutes you waste on menial tasks, the more time you have to devote to improving the team. If you weren’t sure how serious Johnson was about practice, this change should clear that up.
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Eerie similarities aside, the idea is a good one.
You can’t deny how effective this approach should be for the team. Now coaches will be able to evaluate players in practice from several angles, not just one or two. That was the drawback of having a couple of camera crews shooting the action. Now they’ll have something akin to actual game footage. Receivers will know if they cut their routes off too short or broke too late. Offensive linemen will know if they set too wide in protection or miss picking up a linebacker on run plays. The benefits are plentiful.
They won’t be felt immediately. Fans will have to wait until the actual games to see anything. If the Bears show more discipline and fundamentals compared to last season, it will be proof that the shift in approach had an impact. Sure, this isn’t what you would call a groundshaking change, but Johnson understands the reality of football. Every decision matters. Even the small ones. It is a game of inches, after all.
