Defensive Radio Receivers

Until reading a recent Matt Barrows post, I had forgotten about the NFL's solution to the issue of teams (I won't mention any names) stealing defensive play signals. Much like the ear pieces Californian drivers must sport, the NFL approved the use of a communication device for defensive players, so that quarterbacks are no longer the only players who get to where helmets with radio receiving headsets.

Teams around the league are still figuring out how to use this new defensive advantage. The NFL imposed strict limitations of use:

- Only two defensive players can use radio receiver helmets
- Only one of those two helmets can be on the field at once

This presents annoying, but minor, issues. For an instance, if both of the wired defensive players are needed on the field at once, one needs to switch to an unwired helmet. Or if both wired players need to be off the field, teams must revert back to hand-signals.

Matt Barrows quotes Nolan, talking about who on the 49ers should wear the radio-helmet:

"Obviously, you want to say that Patrick Willis is the natural to have it," Nolan said. Still, he said he'd be purposely vague about who will have the receiver because he sees it as a competitive advantage. "I'd like to know what 31 other teams are doing with it," he said. (Read Full Article)

The limitations of use are more of an issue for the Patriots because they tend to use more defensive substitutions than other teams. Head Coach Bill Belichick has decided to ditch the headsets for now:

"We're not going to deal with the headset issue until next week," Belichick said. "We have enough to do to try to get ourselves straightened out with our normal stuff before we tackle something new. I'm sure there are going to be times where we are not going to be able to use the [radio system] for various reasons. We're going to have to operate without it anyway so we want to make sure we have that system down. (Read Full Article)

While most defensive players perceive this as a welcomed leg-up on offenses, not everybody is bought in.

"Personally, I don't like it. I just don't deem it necessary...I don't think I'd be able to hear John at Qwest [loudest NFL stadium] anyway...So what good is that?" -- Lofa Tatupu of the Seatle Seagulls.

Some NFL teams were agaisnt it as well. The Packers, Raiders, Eagles, Rams, Seahawks, Buccaneers, and Redskins all voted agaisnt the adoption of defensive headsets.

As Bill Belichick said, teams will still need to be prepared to use hand signals. Communication systems are known for malfunctioning at the worst of times. Also, certain defensive packages might require both players with headsets to be out of the lineup.

I'm not sure how we'll be able to tell whether or not the headsets make any difference. Because most of the 49ers talent is on defense, the headsets should be an advantage for us.