Too Much Static - Radio-Equipped Football Helmets ------------------------------------------------------- Bill Plaschke They've researched it. They've tested it. They've promoted it. When it comes to the new coach-to-quarterback radio, the NFL has done everything but offer to sell it to you for use in the privacy of your home. If last season was the year of the kicker, then 1994 must surely be the year of the ham operator. Or so they would have you believe. But before the Radio Shack Era officially begins Sunday, officials might want to take a closer look to see if the darn idea even makes sense. Start at the top. Say, with the quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champions. So, Troy Aikman, what do you think of the coach-to-quarterback radio? "I've never used it, and I'm not using it," Aikman says. "All of a sudden, a coach is talking into your ear? And if that coach gets excited, he is going to be telling you other things besides the play. "I don't need that coming at me in the middle of a game. I don't need those distractions." Uh, OK, let's find somebody not facing quite as much pressure. Say, one of the backup quarterbacks with the Raiders. So, Billy Joe Hobert, what do you think? "The problem is, the radio keeps going in and out," Hobert said after his team defeated the Rams in an exhibition game. "Three times tonight, I couldn't hear what play was being called, so I had to look at the sidelines and get them to scream it to me." And what's wrong with that? "Two of those times I misunderstood their screams and called the wrong play." We'll make a final stop in Buffalo, with a rookie who is surely impressed with this technology. And you, Matt Rodgers, what do you think? "The people in Suite 11 need more sausages," Rodgers Says. What? "The people in Suite 11 need more sausages." Rodgers, it turns out, is just repeating what he heard the first time he puffed on his radio-active helmet. (He won't be hearing any more calls from Bills coaches or for more sausages in Suite 11 any time soon. He was cut last week.) "That is absolutely not true; no quarterback has ever heard anybody ordering sausages over this radio," says Harvey Shuhart, president of Control Dynamics, the three-man company that manufactures the radios. Shuhart admits, however, food-service vendors at Rich Stadium had accidentally pirated the game frequency on their walkie-talkies before a recent exhibition. "But I went to them before the game and got them to change, because the NFL has exclusive rights to certain frequencies," Shuhart says. That is what this issue is all about, frequencies. As in, how many more things must go wrong before the league admits that this idea of sending in plays via radio is just not ready for prime time? The concept may have worked well in the old World League. But under the much harsher glare of the NFL, it still needs polishing. There is nothing wrong with the technology or the motivation behind it. From the time the previous play ends, until 15 seconds remain on the play clock before the upcoming snap, a line is activated between a coach and his quarterback. The coach speaks into a microphone, and the quarterback hears the play somewhere behind his ear. Gone should be the days of quarterbacks wasting time staring at the sideline for hand signals. Gone should be the days when quarterbacks must rush to the line of scrimmage to avoid delay-of-game penalties. The radio, approved last spring for play this season, ultimately should result in more plays per game, which should lead to more scoring, which should make everybody happy. Many in the league, in fact, are already happy. "We have no major. problems with it, it could work out just fine ... although we will have coaches over there prepared to give hand signals just in case," Raiders Coach Art Shell says. Then why the complaining? * Too many coaches tried to speak to their quarterbacks before the radio was activated at the end of a play. Maybe the coach spoke before the play officially ended, or the system operator didn't push a button fast enough. Either way, this confusion rendered the radio silent until the next play, leading to quarterbacks and coaches screaming. "It is a human problem, a problem of timing," Shuhart says. "But we have worked it out so, in some cases for example, the man upstairs is pushing that button a little quicker." * Even though deciphering each team's system for purposes of eavesdropping is impossible even for Shuhart, he admits that people such as the concessionaires in Buffalo can accidentally pirate the frequency and lead to confusion. "Nobody can officially use the frequency inside the stadium," he says. "But I suppose there can still be somebody in there unofficially on the same frequency, somebody who won't even know it." * At least one quarterback has complained that a sideline coach has taken advantage of the new system to curse him between plays. "That is not what this system is intended for," says Jerry Jones, Cowboys owner and member of the Competition Committee. "It is supposed to be for playing-calling only." Jones says he supports Aikman's refusal to use the radio, even though backup quarterback Rodney Peete win use it. "We would like to see how it works everywhere else before we get involved ourselves," Jones says. The league understands and emphasizes that nobody is forced to use the new device. The league also says it expected hesitancy among some teams. "The radio is just an option to assist in playing-calling, it is not a requirement," says Greg Aiello, NFL director of communications. "We know that anytime something new is implemented, there is a certain shakeout period." But for now, why not limit that shakeout period to games that don't count, at least until it is as unshakable as the rest of your product? The league could learn from its treatment of the Audibilizer, the sideline speaker system that allows offensive players to hear signals inside the 30-yard line. The Audibilizer has been tested in not one, but two preseasons. After the Bears claimed it helped them win an exhibition game against host Kansas City last week, the Audibilizer is probably destined to begin official play during this postseason. "One of the Bears' offensive linement told one of our guys it was the first time he had ever heard the signals in a noisy situation," says Randall May, the inventor. "We are confident it is ready." COPYRIGHT 1994 Sporting News Publishing Co. COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group