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Vantage Point
Josh Bass
Mike Brenner slowly changed out of his custom black Armani suit. NFL players are
meant to wear helmets and pads, he thought, not suits and ties. A lanky, but chiseled,
six-footer with neatly combed black hair and almond colored eyes, Mike’s mind was
distant. The clock read 11:15, fifteen minutes until a routine practice, but to Mike, it
felt like one of the longest days of his life.
As a backup quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Mike Brenner spent the majority of
his time on the sideline. Four years he stood and waited. He tried anything he could
think of to improve: different nutrition habits, different workout routines, and
different coaches – none of it worked - until he met Ray.
Ray Wench was a crusty man; he felt he was chewed up and spit out by the world. A
50-year-old unsuccessful photographer with no family, Ray begrudgingly accepted a
job as the Chicago Bears assistant videographer. Ray joined the team last season
when his bank account ran low and his favorite diner raised their prices. He
previously worked as a freelancer, taking photographs of endangered species for
TIME magazine. Ray thought he wasted his time and talent recording practice play
after play perched on his 40-foot tower; however, Ray never missed a play. He
always captured the perfect angle.
Most of the guys on the team didn’t know Ray. If they did, he was “the video guy
with the royal blue scarf.”
Backup quarterback is a unique position. Unlike the other 52 men on the roster,
chances of seeing the field are limited. Injuries happen to every position, every game
except to the quarterback. Therefore, Mike rarely had moments to bond with his
teammates because there was never any play from the game to discuss with them.
From the time Mike was an infant to the time he graduated college he was an
athletic superstar, the kind of guy everyone wants to be around. This was a contract
year for the 26-year old. Mike’s lack of playing time and stale jokes prohibited him
from bonding with his teammates. Mike began casually chatting with any staffer
who would listen to feel a part of the team, especially Ray.
Mike and Ray bonded after practices. Both second-stringers and both seeking more
fulfilling roles, Ray edited the practice video down for the head coach. Mike studied
the tape while Ray worked, hoping to find any routes, protections or blitz
recognitions that would help elevate Mike off the bench.
Ray would also shoot extra recordings of Mike during practice when he was
supposed to be recording the starting quarterback. Mike found the extra video
extremely beneficial. He was able to see things quicker. For example, a small
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hesitation in his 3-step drop that threw off his timing on slant routes. He began
realizing his limitations were mental.
During one session with Ray, Mike noticed a cutback lane open constantly on a
certain quarterback draw, almost like a counter. The team’s starting quarterback
frequently ran the play during games unsuccessfully. Mike began to run the play
successfully during practice using the cutback lane. He consistently broke big gains
against the defense. At first the head coach, Cliff Ryan, yelled at his defense for
allowing Mike to gain yardage. Gradually, he complimented Mike when he realized
Mike was making a great play instead of his defense’s shortcoming.
“I think we may use that one this weekend against the Packers.” Said Coach.
The play was never run. Coach blamed it on: “inopportune timing.”
Despite the letdown, Ray would zoom in to Mike and follow his every practice move.
Instead of videoing sideline to sideline, the footage was as if the camera was 10 feet
behind Mike. It was just like the Monday Night Football Skycam stream.
The Skycam works on a cable-suspended system. Situated several feet behind the
quarterback, the view provides a brilliant landscape of the field, every play of the
entire game. For a quarterback – it is a dream, assuming you play well. If not every
bad play is sure to be broadcasted on film the next day. The Bears, due to poor
recent performance, are lucky to play one Monday night game a year, if any at all.
Traditionally coaches view the game from the third deck and offset at a 90-degree
angle. The Skycam, however, broadcast a brilliant view as if the coach sees the game
from the quarterback’s own eyes.
As the he watched more practice footage with Ray, Mike saw himself locking onto a
receiver too early; he saw himself missing a late blitzer to his blind side. All those
things the coaches tell you didn’t resonate with Mike until he sought and answered
them for himself.
Just like the quarterback scans the field behind the center, Ray was the
quarterback’s quarterback. His panoramic view caught the entire field at a desirable
angle. If only Mike could have the view on every play. The view of the entire field
helped him understand his reads. He was becoming a better quarterback.
That was until three days ago, when Ray fell from the hydraulic scissor lift on a
windy Chicago day.
Ray landed less than twenty feet from Mike. Ten teammates showed up for the
funeral this morning. Cliff Ryan didn’t bother.
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Mike finished dressing for practice. He wore his red DO NOT TOUCH quarterback
jersey. Ironic, he thought.
“Warm up the starter,” barked coach Ryan.
“Yes, sir,” replied Mike.
Mike usually gave practice his all, since it was his only time on the field. Today,
Mike’s passes didn’t have the usual zip as he tossed the ball back and forth. His
fingers perspired excessively, making it hard to grip the seams.
“Second team, show me something!” said coach Ryan. “Double-Right-Close-HalfbackToss-200-on-two.”
Mike Brenner assumed position under center. Surveying the field he viewed two
high safeties, press coverage on the outside and normal ‘backer depth.
“Hut Hike!” Mike snapped the ball, tossing a perfectly placed lob to his running back.
The running back took two steps and was clobbered by a wall of defenders.
“What the hell was that? Brenner, did you not see the line shift pre-snap!” yelled
Ryan.
“No, sir”
“What do we do when you see the line shift?”
“Audible, Coach. I’m supposed to flip the play.”
Mike knew he messed up. He struggled to survey the entire field, missing the
defensive line shift.
“Motion Flex Scat-Triple-Slant-Thunder-on-One. Run it right this time, Mike.”
Mike motioned his receiver left to right in a teacup formation. Hiking the ball, Mike
hit the open wide receiver on a slant route.
“Good read Mike! We’ll fire that one up to watch later,” said coach Ryan.
Mike jogged to the sidelines. “Coach, why do we still have people on the lifts? How
can you possibly allow that to happen after what happened to Ray?”
“Who?”
Mike became angry. “Ray Wench! The man who died recording our practice!”
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“Oh, blue scarf Ray.” Mike winced. “Tragic, unbelievably tragic, but we need the
recordings. How else are we supposed evaluate and teach? We’ve been using that
vantage point forever.”
Mike was livid. He wanted to scream at Coach Ryan. No regard for safety, no more
personal recordings, no more Ray. Mike loved winning as much as the next guy, but
at what cost?
The rest of practice dragged on for Mike. Post-practice recording session provided
another sentimental reminder of his lost friend.
“Use the damn cut back lane!” Coach screamed at the running backs.
“Slide the protection!” He yelled at the quarterbacks.
“Left hand, outside shoulder! Set your feet on the drop!” He scolded the left tackle.
The vein in his neck popped and residue of his dip rained from his mouth. “Open
your damn eyes team!”
There has to be a better way, thought Mike. The current recording system is
designed to fail everyone. No harness means no safety for the videographer. Because
of the lack of safety and distance of the camera, offensive players will continue to
misread their cues and make mistakes.
Mike knew there was no way to capture individual footage of every player on every
play, but if the personalized recording helped Mike, it could help everyone. Mike
thought of the best game tape he viewed with the team and suddenly it hit him,
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AND THE SKYCAM. This is the ticket, if not for himself,
Mike would make the team better.
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As he exited the meeting room, Mike sought coach Ryan.
“Coach, I have a something for the team” said Mike.
“Make it quick,” Coach Ryan grunted, “I’ve got special teams meeting in 10.”
“Coach, this team needs better video footage. Better video will help each player.”
“Better recordings? What the hell do you mean, son? Why do you think we watch so
much damn practice?”
“I’m not about talking quantity, Coach. I’m talking about quality. When Ray used
to…”
“Ray?” Said Coach.
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“Blue scarf Ray!” said a bitter Mike. “Blue scarf Ray would zoom in from his tower
until he was just a few feet behind me. The shot was perfect. I could see my
idiosyncrasies. Instead of just seeing the play, I noticed a misstep on my 5-step drop.
Instead of just missing a defensive line shift, I could see I was looking at the wrong
side of the field when I snapped the ball.”
“Look, I know you were close with Ray, but this is the way we do things. I’m a twotime super bowl champion…”
“As an assistant,” Mike uttered under his breath.
“We don’t need better film, we need better performance,” said Coach.
“Coach, this is it. This is the edge we need. It’s a mind game, the recording now
paints the picture but loses the details.”
“Mike, we love having you here, but I don’t have time for this. I don’t see how it will
help.”
“Coach, just watch some of Ray’s recordings with me. I promise it’ll chance your
perspective.”
“Even if I had that kind of time, what good would it do? We can’t get any closer than
where the towers are now. What do you expect me to do? Hire 10 more
videographers?”
“If we could set something up like the Skycam for every practice.” Said Mike.
“Are you out of your mind? I’m no engineer but there isn’t a roof to attach the cables
and suspend the camera.”
“What if we don’t need the wires? What if we used a drone?”
“Mike, enough is enough. Concentrate on improving your performance; that’s the
way to get accepted; not this stuff.”
Gut punch.
As Coach rounded the corner Mike’s helmet felt the brunt of his frustration as he
slammed it against the wall. “This is bull crap.” He thought.
Mike, still grieving the loss of Ray, pondered his options.
I need to take things into my own hands. What do I have to lose?
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Mike sought out the team manager. The manager, “the glue guy,” as the team called
him, took care of all the players’ special requests. Your son needs those new Jordan
brand shoes for Christmas? He’ll find them. Need your car custom detailed? He
knows the guy. He makes everything happen. Manager, a 27-year old ItalianAmerican with slicked back hair, wore a different color Nike sweat suit every day.
“I need a drone.” Said Mike
“A drone? That’s a new one. I guess those are pretty popular right now,” the
manager said in his Italian accent.
“What can you do for me? Said Mike.
“The best product is the DJI Phantom 4. It’s the latest model with some cool new
features. I just bought one for myself. It has this new feature called ActiveTrack. It
makes tracking a moving object pretty simple. The company even upgraded the
magnesium core to improve the balance. Extended battery time over the previous
model too.”
Manager’s description reminded Mike of a Best Buy salesman. He chuckled.
“I need that one, as soon as possible.” Said Mike.
“It’s in my car right now, to be honest. I was going to take it to a park with my son
later today.”
“I need it in time for afternoon practice. Can you go get it for me?”
“Why can’t I just order you one? I’ll use Amazon Prime, it will be here in two days.”
“I need it for this afternoon.”
“Come to the park with us later, I can show you how to fly one. It’s really simple and
they have a feature that brings it right back to home base, so long as it doesn’t get
too far away.”
“I’m going to use it at afternoon practice today.”
“This seems like a bad idea, Mike. I don’t even think we’re allowed to fly this at
practice.”
“The NFL gained approval for use of drones. We are allowed to use drones and
teams may film their own practices if they comply with local, state and federal
guidelines,” Mike said. “I did my homework.”
“What does the law say?” Said the manager.
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“The rules are simple, it’s okay to take photos for your personal use is recreational;
using the same device to take photographs or videos for compensation or sale to
another individual would be considered a non-recreational operation, and you have
to have FAA authorization.”
The manager stared at Mike, perplexed. “Clearly, this isn’t the first time you’ve
thought about this.”
“It is not. But, I haven’t told you the best part. You’re going to fly this DJI Phantom 4
during the second practice; I’m going to take the recording to Coach Ryan. Neither of
us is receiving a compensation for our extra efforts. If we’re not selling it and we’re
not receiving a larger salary, it’s recreational use.”
“Slow down Mike,” said the manager. “This is a lot to swallow.”
“What’s so complicated? You know how to fly the drone, correct?” Said Mike.
“Yes, I do. But, I’ve never helped a player acquire something for practice. Shouldn’t
you talk to the legal team?”
“No need, Manager. We can’t possibly get caught and even if we do, you were flying
the drone for fun. That’s the definition of recreation, isn’t it? No harm no foul.”
“I think you mean, no harm no penalty flag.” The two laughed together.
“I don’t like it. I’m not even sure about the recreational part, but I’ll do it.”
Begrudgingly the manager kept his word and appeared at afternoon practice. It was
customary to see him at practice, so he drew no extra attention.
The drone blended in with the clouds. The only noise that could be heard was the
sound of shoulder pads connecting with one another. The manager pressed the
throttle stick and brought the drone to life and into the air using the pitch lever. A
slight roll drone turned toward the quarterback and a yaw brought the camera left
and behind the quarterback.
Mike directed him specifically to take video only of the offense. The drone hovered
behind the quarterback some 15 feet, almost 25 feet closer than the hydraulic lift.
“What are you doing? Whose drone is this? You’re in my way, jackass!” Ray’s
replacement yelled from his tower to the manager.
“Settle down,” Manager shouted to the tower, “once a week we use drones instead.”
His second day on the job, Ray’s replacement accepted the manager’s order.
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Practice was uneventful. Mike nearly forgot the drone was behind scrimmage. He
was not sure the drone even caught any of his practice reps during its 28-minute
battery life. Mike didn’t care at this point. This was for Ray and proving Coach Ryan
wrong.
Mike’s own voice reverberated throughout his head, as if someone had turned the
volume higher. Perhaps this was his way to finally contribute to the Chicago Bears.
Four years on the bench takes a toll on a man.
“Coach Ryan, do you have a minute?”
“Again, Mike?!”
“Follow me to the quarterback room, Coach,” said Mike.
The manager had already cued the drone video up on the big screen.
“Take a seat, Coach.” Said Mike.
“Manager? What are you doing here?” Said Coach.
“Roll the tape.” Said Mike
The crisp picture of an offense working in harmony radiated across the projection
screen. The first play was a basic trap block and handoff.
“Foot work!” Coach Ryan screamed in disapproval. “Get to the next level center!”
Mike patiently waited. Play after play, without interruption.
“Did you see that?” asked Coach. “Running back missed his chip block. I would have
never caught that on our old tape.”
Surprisingly, Coach let the entire video run. Play by play. Mike and Coach bantered
over finer details like ball placement, precise routes and blocking techniques. A few
complements were directed at Mike’s improvement.
“Is this video even legal?”
“Purely recreational.” Said Mike with a smirk.
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