Broncos using STRIVR?

[Hawgdriver]

A few years ago I complained that the Broncos could have been using VR to help their QBs get more mental reps. To me this seemed critical given the limited practice times and how important the mental side is at that position. It looks like they are on board.

Keenum
http://www.espn.com/blog/minnesota-vikings/post/_/id/25242/virtual-reality-played-a-role-in-transforming-case-keenums-game

Hogan
https://www.strivr.com/case-studies/success-story-stanford-qb-vr/


One of the first Cardinal players to start swearing by VR was quarterback Kevin Hogan, now a backup quarterback with the Cleveland Browns. He was sold on it after sitting out a few games due to injury, because while he couldn’t physically practice, he could still get in all the mental reps he was missing. It became a huge part of his preparation process at the Farm, and, later, something he discussed frequently with his peers throughout the NFL draft process in 2015.

It wasn’t just that other programs didn’t have what Stanford was using. It was that most NFL teams didn’t have what Stanford was using, Hogan’s current employer included.

“We don’t use it here with the Browns,” Hogan said. “It’s something that I miss. I think it’s an extra tool that would really help my preparation and be very useful, especially when you might not be getting as many reps as you did in college.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesports/article/Now-used-far-beyond-Stanford-virtual-reality-12451227.php

Now they just need to hire Shaw.

Good work Elway.

[Freyaka]

A few years ago I complained that the Broncos could have been using VR to help their QBs get more mental reps. To me this seemed critical given the limited practice times and how important the mental side is at that position. It looks like they are on board.

Keenum
http://www.espn.com/blog/minnesota-vikings/post/_/id/25242/virtual-reality-played-a-role-in-transforming-case-keenums-game

Hogan
https://www.strivr.com/case-studies/success-story-stanford-qb-vr/



https://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesports/article/Now-used-far-beyond-Stanford-virtual-reality-12451227.php

Now they just need to hire Shaw.

Good work Elway.

A year too late... This might have been the only thing to save Paxton's career :D A video game that helps you improve at football.

[NightTrainLayne]

A few years ago I complained that the Broncos could have been using VR to help their QBs get more mental reps. To me this seemed critical given the limited practice times and how important the mental side is at that position. It looks like they are on board.

Keenum
http://www.espn.com/blog/minnesota-vikings/post/_/id/25242/virtual-reality-played-a-role-in-transforming-case-keenums-game

Hogan
https://www.strivr.com/case-studies/success-story-stanford-qb-vr/



https://www.sfchronicle.com/collegesports/article/Now-used-far-beyond-Stanford-virtual-reality-12451227.php

Now they just need to hire Shaw.

Good work Elway.



I'm missing where it says that the Broncos are using this? I see where Stanford, Minnesota, and several others are, but I don't see the Broncos listed.

[Hawgdriver]

Maybe everyone gets how useful this is, but maybe not. So I'll share a story.

The hardest part of pilot training for most is the Instrument phase, about 7-8 months into the gig. The gist of it is that you have to maintain heading, altitude, airspeed and you are in a black box. There is no autopilot. The aircraft naturally drifts away from the desired heading, altitude, and airspeed just like a boat in open water. So you have to be ultra hyper vigilant and constantly check your attitude indicator and all these other indicators for the first sign of deviation. Then you add layers on top of that. You have to make precise radio calls at precise times. You have to set your navigation system and radio the right way. Sometimes you'll get interrupted in the middle of a task with something more important.

You get the idea, it's pretty easy to get blindsided with all the crap you have to process. When my dad came out for graduation, he crashed the thing in fifteen seconds.

Reason for the analogy: I was motivated to do well. Really, I wanted complete perfection lol. My goal was a zero-downgrade checkride, a remarkable thing for the Instrument phase.

So what did I do? Spent hours upon hours getting mental reps in the simulator. Cranked up the turbulence and variability factors. Went ham!

The checkride went great, and the phase as a whole was one of my better ones. Our class as a whole got crushed during that phase for external reasons (one of our classmates reported an instructor and student for cheating, but it was a longstanding practice that was condoned, but after my buddy's 12 page manifesto on the moral ills of pilot training we were in deep shit).

For anyone with a natural desire to compete and win the use of best technology to simulate the mental processes that will best *hard tested* on gameday, this seems like a must to me. So much of Manning's greatness was anticipation, and so much of that skill was just drilling, drilling, drilling until it's a background process.

And if you can't get 21 guys together to get all the nuance and visual detail from the real thing, why not simulate it?

To me, bringing in Keenum and Hogan signals a revival of that Manning-style focus on putting in the reps. Would we like the QBs with the physical tools we associate with the elite ones? Hell yea. But until then, at least we can demand they have that fast-twitch mental process and anticipation, and it looks like that's the direction the Broncos have gone.

I'm stoked and optimistic about the franchise.

[Freyaka]

I'm missing where it says that the Broncos are using this? I see where Stanford, Minnesota, and several others are, but I don't see the Broncos listed.

Lol, I love how he's responded to he post, but still isn't clearing this up.

Unless something has changed, we aren't one of the 6 teams using STRIVR. Its creator showed it to us and 10 other teams and the combine and Elway seemed impressed, but I'm not seeing where we adopted it. That article says 6 teams are using it, if you go to the STRIVR website https://www.strivr.com/sports/

It lists Jets, Cardinals, Cowboys, Vikings, Bears and Niners. The NFL is also using it to help train refs.

[Hawgdriver]

I'm missing where it says that the Broncos are using this? I see where Stanford, Minnesota, and several others are, but I don't see the Broncos listed.

Does that matter?

[Freyaka]

Also, I didn't realize this, but former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist also has a QB VR training program that he created.

[Freyaka]

Does that matter?

It does if you are saying we're using something and all evidence points to the contrary. Give us the sauce Hawg...

[Hawgdriver]

Lol, I love how he's responded to he post, but still isn't clearing this up.

Unless something has changed, we aren't one of the 6 teams using STRIVR. Its creator showed it to us and 10 other teams and the combine and Elway seemed impressed, but I'm not seeing where we adopted it. That article says 6 teams are using it, if you go to the STRIVR website https://www.strivr.com/sports/

It lists Jets, Cardinals, Cowboys, Vikings, Bears and Niners. The NFL is also using it to help train refs.

Don't you have some paste to eat somewhere else?

[Hawgdriver]

There is no requirement that a team grant permission to use their name in marketing. Patriots don't advertise it. If 2/3 of your QB room are hardcore STRIVR users, that's good enough for me.

[Freyaka]

There is no requirement that a team grant permission to use their name in marketing. Patriots don't advertise it. If 2/3 of your QB room are hardcore STRIVR users, that's good enough for me.

Hawg, you are missing the point here. No one is saying you are lying, but where are you getting this information from? Because you saying we are using it doesn't mean that we are. How did you hear that we are using it? This isn't an unreasonable question to ask man, no paste eating required, just a little sourcing of your statements.

It sounds like you are just assuming since two of our QB's used it in the past, we are now. That doesn't make it a fact. It makes your post potentially misinformation and if it is speculation the title is misleading.

[NightTrainLayne]

There is no requirement that a team grant permission to use their name in marketing. Patriots don't advertise it. If 2/3 of your QB room are hardcore STRIVR users, that's good enough for me.

You've sold me. I sincerely HOPE that we're using it.

From my perspective it looks like something Keenum used at Minnesota, but I'm not seeing that he's (Broncos) using it here. .. . I hope he is.

[Freyaka]

You've sold me. I sincerely HOPE that we're using it.

From my perspective it looks like something Keenum used at Minnesota, but I'm not seeing that he's (Broncos) using it here. .. . I hope he is.

I hope we're using it, but there is really no evidence anywhere to say that we are aside from the fact that Keenum and Hogan used it in the past.

[Hawgdriver]

I offer an inference no one had yet made based on the fact that two Broncos are poster-children for STRIVR, use it as you will. I should have put a question mark at the end of the title, I realize this now, it would have better addressed reader expectations. That's fair.

Freyaka, thanks for not calling me a liar, that warmed my heart.

[Hawgdriver]

Could a mod add a question mark please?

[Freyaka]

I offer an inference no one had yet made based on the fact that two Broncos are poster-children for STRIVR, use it as you will. I should have put a question mark at the end of the title, I realize this now, it would have better addressed reader expectations. That's fair.

Freyaka, thanks for not calling me a liar, that warmed my heart.

I just wanted to figure out if we were actually using it or not. If you had a source awesome, if it was speculation, I'd say based on the fact that we were shown it at the combine and Elway responded very positively and we've got a couple QB's who used it previously, that's a fair assumption that we might at least consider it, if we're not already using it.

Just wanted to figure out if it's speculation or fact. Hopefully if we aren't already secretly using it, we start using it going forward. I think it would be an imensely helpful tool in developing QBs. I cracked a joke about Paxton above, but I think it actually would have benefited paxton a lot to have something like this while he was here.

[Hawgdriver]

I am speculating. When I connected these dots it seemed like too much to be coincidence. But it may just be coincidence. That would be sad.

[Freyaka]

I am speculating. When I connected these dots it seemed like too much to be coincidence. But it may just be coincidence. That would be sad.

I hope we're using something. Strivr seems really cool. I don't know a lot about Ted Sundquist's VR setup, but you'd think with him being a former GM here he'd have approached us to try it out too. I think the NFL will start heading more in this direction with technology going forward so it'll be interesting to see how quickly other teams start adopting this. Especially with the success of guys like Keenum.

[PatriotsGuy]

There is no requirement that a team grant permission to use their name in marketing. Patriots don't advertise it. If 2/3 of your QB room are hardcore STRIVR users, that's good enough for me.

Wait so the Patriots are using this?

[Hawgdriver]

Wait so the Patriots are using this?

Same thing, verified facts are fuzzy. Not sure how much of this is confidential secret sauce teams are keeping close-held. I can only say a year or two ago when I was looking that I read the Patriots signed a license but didn't let them market it. Maybe this was it.

https://venturebeat.com/2017/02/05/will-the-patriots-vr-training-help-them-win-the-super-bowl/

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Could a mod add a question mark please?

Is this what we’ve come to?

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Wait so the Patriots are using this?

Take a step back dude. We never said it was cheating.

[wayninja]

Wait so the Patriots are using this?

Does that matter?

[PatriotsGuy]

Does that matter?

To me it does

[Hawgdriver]

It is possible that a team doesn't share all information with the public. No point in telling everyone you are holding pocket kings. Sometimes you tell them you are holding pocket kings when you have pocket aces. Maybe the Pats use it, maybe they don't. There are things called NDAs that billion dollar entities use to maintain information security.

Maybe they like Sundquist's toys...Sundquist seems to think he's got the goods even though it's computer generated and the human performance labs dudes at Stanford think that's a no-no. Maybe STRIVR. Maybe something else. Maybe nothing.

I find meaning in the fact that the last two quarterbacks the Broncos have acquired for their roster are VR experts who obsess over perfecting their craft through its use. There have been many other options. There is a math equation in there and when you work it out there is information.

[NightTrainLayne]

It is possible that a team doesn't share all information with the public. No point in telling everyone you are holding pocket kings. Sometimes you tell them you are holding pocket kings when you have pocket aces. Maybe the Pats use it, maybe they don't. There are things called NDAs that billion dollar entities use to maintain information security.

Maybe they like Sundquist's toys...Sundquist seems to think he's got the goods even though it's computer generated and the human performance labs dudes at Stanford think that's a no-no. Maybe STRIVR. Maybe something else. Maybe nothing.

I find meaning in the fact that the last two quarterbacks the Broncos have acquired for their roster are VR experts who obsess over perfecting their craft through its use. There have been many other options. There is a math equation in there and when you work it out there is information.



The jury is instructed to disregard these statements. It is merely speculation!

:D

[Hawgdriver]

:mad:

:laugh:

[Hawgdriver]

The jury is instructed to disregard these statements. It is merely speculation!

:D

Hey wait. You are an insurance guy. You should get the underlying Bayesian analysis here!

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Hey wait. You are an insurance guy. You should get the underlying Bayesian analysis here!

The insurance guy has a disclaimer against speculation.

[Hawgdriver]

Last thing if a player realizes that a tool helps them become a better QB and makes them more money etc., they will find a way to continue using it if at all possible. On their own if they must. Idk, maybe not. I sure as hell would. Probably more for Case than Hogan if the cost of contract and equipment is a factor.

Just a thought.

[aberdien]

Get your shit together Hawg!!!!

[wayninja]

So, the pats and the broncos, may, or may not, be using an enhanced VR platform that may, or may not, increase their performance?

Capisce?

Also, I was told there would be no math. Ever.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Get your shit together Hawg!!!!

Yeah Hawg!

[Nomad]

Some of you guys are really on that Shaw bandwagon.

[nevcraw]

It is possible that a team doesn't share all information with the public. No point in telling everyone you are holding pocket kings. Sometimes you tell them you are holding pocket kings when you have pocket aces. Maybe the Pats use it, maybe they don't. There are things called NDAs that billion dollar entities use to maintain information security.

Maybe they like Sundquist's toys...Sundquist seems to think he's got the goods even though it's computer generated and the human performance labs dudes at Stanford think that's a no-no. Maybe STRIVR. Maybe something else. Maybe nothing.

I find meaning in the fact that the last two quarterbacks the Broncos have acquired for their roster are VR experts who obsess over perfecting their craft through its use. There have been many other options. There is a math equation in there and when you work it out there is information.

“ back and to the left” back and to the left”

[Dapper Dan]

So the starting Denver Broncos QB used it to improve his game. Broncos boss and legend John Elway watched it used at a combine along with the newest Broncos QB. And it was invented by a former Broncos GM.

But hey. What does this have to do with the Broncos?

[nevcraw]

The BSN podcast guys asked VJ directly If the broncos used it now b/c case used in in Minny and he said no. He could be lying or it could be a conspiracy. But asked and addressed by HC of the broncos.

[NightTrainLayne]

The BSN podcast guys asked VJ directly If the broncos used it now b/c case used in in Minny and he said no. He could be lying or it could be a conspiracy. But asked and addressed by HC of the broncos.

THIS is what I was afraid of.

When Keenum's performance drops spectacularly this season, the coaching staff/organization can certainly take some of the blame for not supplying the best tools.

[Hawgdriver]

THIS is what I was afraid of.

When Keenum's performance drops spectacularly this season, the coaching staff/organization can certainly take some of the blame for not supplying the best tools.

This organization/staff is too enlightened for such a misstep. Right?

Nevcraw, thanks for bringing that interview back to the front. It's puzzling.

I mean, it really is. How is it possible you hire two QBs whose excellence seems strongly linked to extra mental reps, then ignore that?

I was in a dark place in 2017 with leadership. I'm not ready to go back there this early in the season.

So....lalalalalalala

[Slick]

Maybe everyone gets how useful this is, but maybe not. So I'll share a story.

The hardest part of pilot training for most is the Instrument phase, about 7-8 months into the gig. The gist of it is that you have to maintain heading, altitude, airspeed and you are in a black box. There is no autopilot. The aircraft naturally drifts away from the desired heading, altitude, and airspeed just like a boat in open water. So you have to be ultra hyper vigilant and constantly check your attitude indicator and all these other indicators for the first sign of deviation. Then you add layers on top of that. You have to make precise radio calls at precise times. You have to set your navigation system and radio the right way. Sometimes you'll get interrupted in the middle of a task with something more important.

You get the idea, it's pretty easy to get blindsided with all the crap you have to process. When my dad came out for graduation, he crashed the thing in fifteen seconds.

Reason for the analogy: I was motivated to do well. Really, I wanted complete perfection lol. My goal was a zero-downgrade checkride, a remarkable thing for the Instrument phase.

So what did I do? Spent hours upon hours getting mental reps in the simulator. Cranked up the turbulence and variability factors. Went ham!

The checkride went great, and the phase as a whole was one of my better ones. Our class as a whole got crushed during that phase for external reasons (one of our classmates reported an instructor and student for cheating, but it was a longstanding practice that was condoned, but after my buddy's 12 page manifesto on the moral ills of pilot training we were in deep shit).

For anyone with a natural desire to compete and win the use of best technology to simulate the mental processes that will best *hard tested* on gameday, this seems like a must to me. So much of Manning's greatness was anticipation, and so much of that skill was just drilling, drilling, drilling until it's a background process.

And if you can't get 21 guys together to get all the nuance and visual detail from the real thing, why not simulate it?

To me, bringing in Keenum and Hogan signals a revival of that Manning-style focus on putting in the reps. Would we like the QBs with the physical tools we associate with the elite ones? Hell yea. But until then, at least we can demand they have that fast-twitch mental process and anticipation, and it looks like that's the direction the Broncos have gone.

I'm stoked and optimistic about the franchise.

I high fived this way earlier in the day but I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading this post, Hawg. I would love to get a beer and listen to more stories one of these days.

[Dapper Dan]

Fire Vance Joseph.

[Tangerine]

The question with these things is always "does it really help? Or just make you think it helps?"

I remember years ago Saints players wearing custom mouthpieces that were supossed to somehow make them stronger and faster.... years before that it was the balance bracelets...

VR is the popular thing right now, so it's only logical that NFL players would gravitate towards that in a never ending effort to try to get an edge over the other players. Keenum swears by it, just like the Saints players swore by their silly mouth pieces, so who knows.

Would strapping on a VR headset really benefit more than just watching film and actual real practice reps? I don't know, maybe.... maybe not.

[wayninja]

I would think VR would be more effective than a bracelet. But maybe I'm delusional.

[Freyaka]

The question with these things is always "does it really help? Or just make you think it helps?"

I remember years ago Saints players wearing custom mouthpieces that were supossed to somehow make them stronger and faster.... years before that it was the balance bracelets...

VR is the popular thing right now, so it's only logical that NFL players would gravitate towards that in a never ending effort to try to get an edge over the other players. Keenum swears by it, just like the Saints players swore by their silly mouth pieces, so who knows.

Would strapping on a VR headset really benefit more than just watching film and actual real practice reps? I don't know, maybe.... maybe not.

I don't think the two situations are comparable. The VR is going to have an impact on their mental reps. Watching film is great, you can see how things played out in a specific situation. In VR, you actually have to make decisions which helps the QB's decision making process in an actual game situation.

A lot of people learn by doing not by watching. There is only so much you can learn from watching film and you this doesn't take away from actual real practice reps, it is in substitute to it. I think it is something that genuinely would be beneficial unlike some silly mouthpiece or bracelet,

[Tangerine]

I don't think the two situations are comparable. The VR is going to have an impact on their mental reps. Watching film is great, you can see how things played out in a specific situation. In VR, you actually have to make decisions which helps the QB's decision making process in an actual game situation.

A lot of people learn by doing not by watching. There is only so much you can learn from watching film and you this doesn't take away from actual real practice reps, it is in substitute to it. I think it is something that genuinely would be beneficial unlike some silly mouthpiece or bracelet,

I agree... but if you were a coach, and you only had limited amount of practice time, how much time would you dedicate to this? I would probably tell my QBs this is something they need to work with in their own time as the practice time we're allowed is already filled.

[Hawgdriver]

Mike Hawk wants action and results. No problem with that.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I I'm delusional.

This is not relevant to the point.

[NightTrainLayne]

The question with these things is always "does it really help? Or just make you think it helps?"

I remember years ago Saints players wearing custom mouthpieces that were supossed to somehow make them stronger and faster.... years before that it was the balance bracelets...

VR is the popular thing right now, so it's only logical that NFL players would gravitate towards that in a never ending effort to try to get an edge over the other players. Keenum swears by it, just like the Saints players swore by their silly mouth pieces, so who knows.

Would strapping on a VR headset really benefit more than just watching film and actual real practice reps? I don't know, maybe.... maybe not.


I bet Mike Hawk wears a special ring that helps him.

[wayninja]

I agree... but if you were a coach, and you only had limited amount of practice time, how much time would you dedicate to this? I would probably tell my QBs this is something they need to work with in their own time as the practice time we're allowed is already filled.

Hasn't practice time been severely limited due to NFLPA agreements?

Mike Hawk begging for practice, but sometimes VR is the only way to get turf time.

[Tangerine]

Hasn't practice time been severely limited due to NFLPA agreements?

Mike Hawk begging for practice, but sometimes VR is the only way to get turf time.

That's the point I was trying to make, I wouldn't waste any practice on this, but if the QBs wanted to come in early and work with this thing, then that should be encouraged.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

We talkin’ Bout’ practice.

[wayninja]

That's the point I was trying to make, I wouldn't waste any practice on this, but if the QBs wanted to come in early and work with this thing, then that should be encouraged.

Agreed Mike Hawk. If you can get the real thing, you should do so. But there are limits imposed by agreements with the NFLPA on max "real" practice time. I'm not sure if those limits are imposed for VR.

I think we are spittin the same truth.

[Hawgdriver]

Mike Hawk sometimes comes across a bit dense.

[wayninja]

On the other hand, Mike Hawk can surely at times drop pearls of wisdom.

[Hawgdriver]

On the other hand, Mike Hawk can surely at times drop pearls of wisdom.

Looks like you are soaking them up!

[Hawgdriver]

:laugh:

If there's a party, Mike Hawk's there. He's infectious!

[Dapper Dan]

:laugh:

If there's a party, Mike Hawk's there. He's infectious!


I havent seen Mike Hawk very often.

[WARHORSE]

A year too late... This might have been the only thing to save Paxton's career :D A video game that helps you improve at football.


Nah. Only thing that would have saved Paxton is a box of tissues.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

:laugh:

If there's a party, Mike Hawk's there. He's infectious!

I think they have a shot for that...

[Nomad]

Mike Hawk's pretty sore with all the hand jobs he's getting in here. :D

[NightTrainLayne]

You've sold me. I sincerely HOPE that we're using it.

From my perspective it looks like something Keenum used at Minnesota, but I'm not seeing that he's (Broncos) using it here. .. . I hope he is.



Narrator: He wasn't. Thanks to Head Coach Vance Joseph.





https://twitter.com/NickiJhabvala/status/1164616703336222726



https://twitter.com/NickiJhabvala/status/1164617043607457792



https://twitter.com/NickiJhabvala/status/1164617384252125184



https://twitter.com/NickiJhabvala/status/1164618491711905797







However, another plus in the Fangio column. Looks like Fangio is utilizing it.

[Cugel]

Just another example of how VJ was hopelessly inept. Obviously this could be a useful technology.

On the other hand Kevin Hogan swears how awesome the technology is, and how it's helped him to prepare for games. So, maybe it still needs some work. :coffee:

[NightTrainLayne]

I just can't fathom how anyone could dismiss it out of hand like VJ. "I'm not sure how that helps." Meanwhile, Keenum was coming off of his best season ever after utilizing it, and gave a lot of that credit to that system. Freaking buffoon.

[Hawgdriver]

VJ to Reid, watching Showtime...

14809

[Simple Jaded]

Just when they get rid of PL they bring in the only PlayStation game that could help him.

[Davii]

Just another example of how VJ was hopelessly inept. Obviously this could be a useful technology.

On the other hand Kevin Hogan swears how awesome the technology is, and how it's helped him to prepare for games. So, maybe it still needs some work. :coffee:

Imagine how bad he'd be without it!

[Simple Jaded]

Hogan shoulda went undrafted and had a ragarm, get a little spek round here.

[Hawgdriver]

From 2019

https://www.espn.com/blog/denver-broncos/post/_/id/34312/how-virtual-reality-training-is-helping-broncos-rookie-drew-lock


....

Lock will try to make his case in practice, and should he succeed he may have technology to thank -- a technology that wasn't available to Broncos quarterbacks before this past July.

The Broncos are one of eight NFL teams to use Strivr, a virtual reality system ...

The Broncos didn't add the system in Gary Kubiak's two years as coach or in Vance Joseph's two seasons, but offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello had seen the benefits of the system as the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach last season.

"It's the future," Scangarello said.

First-year Broncos coach Vic Fangio agrees, and Strivr is now part of the daily routine of quarterbacks in Denver. For Lock, it meant twice-a-day sessions with Strivr following team practices, in which he could not participate.

"With how we prepared in this whole time when I wasn't actually out here physically, doing anything to be able to be mentally ready ... helped put me a step ahead," Lock said.

From 2018

https://thevikingage.com/2017/11/09/bridgewater-used-virtual-reality-to-prepare-for-return/


... Since the quarterback last played in an actual game, Minnesota has promoted Pat Shurmer to offensive coordinator and the team has a different scheme on offense than it did under Norv Turner during Bridgewater’s first two seasons with the Vikings.

However, as he spoke to members of the local Minnesota media on Thursday, the quarterback possibly quieted some of his doubters when he shared that he has used the team’s virtual reality system to stay up to date with the offense during his injury rehab.

“I would definitely steal (practice) reps with the virtual reality that we do around here, especially when I wasn’t practicing. I would go in and watch Wednesday’s practice, Thursday’s practice, and Friday’s practice and steal those virtual reps and it helped.”

...

The Vikings began letting their players use virtual reality devices provided by STRIVR Labs back in 2015 after general manager Rick Spielman floated the idea to head coach Mike Zimmer.



From 2020

https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonogus/2020/01/05/drew-brees-and-teddy-bridgewater-turned-to-technology-to-recover-from-injury-and-hope-to-lead-saints-back-to-the-super-bowl/?sh=4f0b3b6543a1



Bridgewater turned to technology, specifically virtual reality, to stay sharp off the field and keep gaining reps even though he knew he’d be off the practice field for a very long time. The Vikings were one of the first teams to use the STRIVR virtual reality system, in 2015 when the team was an early adopter of the technology which allows players to use the 360-degree cameras that capture practice from different perspectives to read defenses and scan the field in game situations, sometimes from the comfort of their own home.

"He (Bridgewater) was one of our original users in the NFL," Derek Belch, CEO of STRIVR told KARE back in 2017. "They actually have a room at the facility and there's enough space for a player to move around a little bit and feel as if he's on the field. Is he throwing the ball? Is he sweating? No. But he's doing things at 10-20 percent speed, going through the mental mechanics along with the physical mechanics, that make his brain feel like he's there."

[Hawgdriver]

My take: Bridgewater gets it. Paton seems to get it. Scangarello got it. Shurmur & Fangio & Shula--I have no idea.

It seems to me like it would be a good tool to help Bridgewater get up to speed on new offense.

I am not sure what to think about Scangarello using STRIVR to prep Lock and then Fangio moving on from that. Shurmur was apparently on board with STRIVR while in MINN, but he walked into a Spielman/(Paton?)/Turner environment where that decision was already made.

I think mental reps are particularly important since the position of QB is chiefly one of getting the ball to the place on the field where it belongs within about 2-3 seconds...processing all the visual information of the defensive look pre-snap, instant reactions post-snap, eye tracking from field to center to field to progression 1, progression 2, etc., following a logic tree.

But hey, that's just me.

It would be interesting to know if and how they are using VR/AR to improve QB execution. It would be interesting to have some data on how effective it is.

There's an uptick in VR/AR QB sim gear, for example:

Lamar Jackson-Backed Virtual Reality Business Gets Fresh Funding
https://virtualrealityinsider.com/index.php/2021/08/12/lamar-jackson-backed-virtual-reality-business-gets-fresh-funding/


Venture capital firms KB Partners and TitletownTech, a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft Corp., led the $5.2 million round. Other investors included Greycroft, Verizon Ventures and 49ers Enterprises, which is affiliated with San Francisco’s NFL team, and the Cleveland Browns-linked Haslam Sports Group.

[aberdien]

Seems truly idiotic to not use something like this.