Ten years ago (or thereabouts), stories began to emerge about NFL quarterbacks using virtual reality to augment their training. <\/p>\n
The talk quieted fairly quickly, apparently because teams that were using it didn\u2019t want to publicize how well it works.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what made the inclusion of an extended look at Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels using a VR headset in the new season of Quarterback on Netflix a bit surprising.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey select the play and I\u2019ve got seven seconds to kind of process what coverage I think they\u2019re in and the ball snaps and you\u2019ve got to go out there and make a quick decision,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n
The two-plus-minute segment includes both head coach Dan Quinn and then-quarterbacks coach (now offensive coordinator) David Blough talking about the benefits of the system.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can say, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re expecting this play against three coverages. Can I get these three coverages brought into the system,\u2019\u201d Blough said. \u201cAnd then he\u2019s able to see different defenses and operate from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might have not had that exact play at practice,\u201d Quinn said, \u201cbut now that you do, there\u2019s recall that goes with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also gives a quarterback a chance to see, as explained by Cognilize CEO Verena Krakau, everything in the next stadium where a team will be playing, such as the location of the play clock.<\/p>\n
One coach who, in recent years, was fairly talkative about the VR system was former Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians. In June 2019, he expressed hope<\/a> that then-starter Jameis Winston had embraced it. (Given that Winston threw 30 interceptions in his first and only season with Arians, Winston possibly didn\u2019t.) <\/p>\n