Every weekend, NFL fans try to soak up as much football as entirely possible. They try to squeeze every single thing out of each weekend, devouring any sort of angle they can get.
Turns out, there’s even more footage that goes unseen every week, and it doesn’t sound like the NFL will be giving up those tapes any time soon.
The Wall Street Journal recently took a look at the story behind what’s called “All-22” video footage, which is comprised of video taken from high above the stadium. It’s tape that is used by coaches when they dissect film, as it gives them a view of every single player on the field, hence the name.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy underscored the tape’s exclusivity in an email to the Journal.
“NO ONE gets that,” he said in the email.
While fans aren’t privy to those videos just yet, the footage is absolutely necessary to success for NFL coaches.
“I don’t think you can get a full understanding without watching the entirety of the game,” former NFL head coach Bill Parcells told the Journal.
If the footage was able to be viewed by fans, it’s obvious that it would allow them to see the game in an entirely different way. It would also give fans a chance to understand certain intricacies that make up an NFL game plan.
That is part of the reason some don’t want the All-22 footage to be released.
CBS Sports’ Charlie Casserly thinks allowing the public to see the game in this matter may even give fans more reasons to second-guess coaches and players.
“I was concerned about misinformation being spread about players and coaches and their ability to do their job,” he said. “It becomes a distraction that you have to deal with.”
Fans can see select plays from the coaches’ film on NFL.com — for a price — and the league recently got positive reaction when it asked fans whether they would be willing to pay money to see the All-22 video.
