By: Nick Shepkowski
Chicagonow.com and 670 The Score
Those
around the Gug may find the Fighting Irish football team looking like
children with the amount of video games they will be seen playing.
However, its all for the better.
Head Coach Brian Kelly has
installed the XOS PlayAction Simulator to the televisions in the
players lounge, something he also did while at Cincinnati. The XOS
PlayAction Simulator is made by EA Sports, the same manufacturer that
creates the very successful Madden and NCAA Football series'.
The
difference between this being a regular video game and being used as a
teaching tool is that the actual offensive and defensive playbooks used
by Kelly's Fighting Irish are used in this game.
What does this mean in the whole realm of things?
I
feel this is near the best thing you can have when bringing in an
entirely new system. No player in a Notre Dame uniform in 2010 will
have played a previous down for Brian Kelly in years past. The
offensive and defensive schemes aren't going to be using the same play
calling, why not get reps (although simulated) early on and
Does
the addition of the system mean that every play will be run to the most
perfect degree, all season long? Absolutely not but I love the idea of
players being able to play a game, feel like they are part of a certain
play to some degree, and not have to worry about them having a freak
injury.
At the end of the day it ends up being a pretty small
thing as you still need great players in order to be a great team.
However, the challenge in learning an entirely new system, especially
for offensive players makes this a great tool for Brian Kelly and Notre
Dame to have.
Filed under: Brian Kelly
Tags: Brian Kelly, Charlie Weis, College Football, EA Sports, Notre Dame, Notre Dame Football, Video Games
