If you feel that TV networks have too much access when they are broadcasting live games, you are not alone. Aaron Rodgers feels the same way.
Many TV networks load up fields with over a dozen cameras and microphones so they can get every shot and bring viewers every sound of the game. While it completely enhances the at-home viewing experience, bringing fans that much closer to the game comes at a cost to players, who now have to be much more careful about their playcalls.
“With the new microphones on the guards, and the nationally-televised games with the low camera and the mike, it picks up a lot of stuff,” Rodgers told CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco. “You are constantly changing what words are live and what words are dead. You know the D is watching that for words and cadence, so we have to change it all the time. That part is stupid. It’s too much access. Fans like it, so the NFL will keep doing it.”
This sort of rant/complaint probably seems familiar to anyone who follows the NBA. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is notorious for giving reporters a hard time during in-game sideline interviews because he does not want to reveal too much information. Worse yet, when ABC cameras invaded a huddle before an NBA Finals game, they caught LeBron James with his pants down, revealing his private parts to the world.
To combat the extra access, Rodgers says he and his team go to great length to disguise their calls. He says they have tons of code words, some of which mean something and some of which are “dummy” calls as he says.
While this may make things more difficult for players, Rodgers is right; fans love hearing all the sounds and play calls, so that aspect of telecasts will not be going away. The only thing he can do is at least make it fun by using great code names such as this one.
