The emergence of iPads as the preferred way to distribute playbooks around the NFL has led to a lot of discoveries.
The Dolphins have discovered that they can be fined for using their iPads for things other than work, the Buccaneers discovered that they needed to be charged, Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams has learned that the team doesn’t appreciate it when you tweet pictures of the playbook screen to all of your followers and now the Redskins have discovered that they can use the devices to talk trash about their teammates. The Redskins’ playbook allows players to send anonymous comments to their teammates, a feature ostensibly designed to discuss plays but one that tight end Chris Cooley says has been adapted for other use.
“Niles Paul told me,” Cooley told Sarah Kogod of the Washington Post‘s DC Sports Bog. “I don’t know who figured it out or who started it. Like I said, they’re anonymous. As of today, there are maybe fifty postings. My opinion is that it will take off. I think Niles pointed it out because Niles was on there a couple of times. [Brandon] Banks is on there. I’m sure I’ll be on there. I’m an easy target.”
Kogod asked other Redskins about it on Monday and spilled the beans about the unexpected functionality to some of them in the process. While life on the internet has taught us all that nothing is ever fully erased or totally anonymous, the Redskins probably won’t have much problem with something that goes on in the locker room anyway. Especially since this razzing, unlike the locker room variety, can’t start until players have actually opened up their playbooks.