The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have traded in their phonebook-sized playbooks for iPads, and each of the 90 players on the team got one of his own, reports Rick Stroud at the St. Petersburg Times.

Coach Raheem Morris came up with the idea of outfitting players with the tablets so they can watch videos of their games and practices as well as videos of other teams.

But prior to the iPad deployment, players would have to get copies of DVDs to watch their plays.

"How would [Josh] Freeman like to go home and watch practice again? How would 'Free' like to sit there and watch third down from Detroit and Miami so when he comes to work the next morning, he's seeing the tape again and putting it all together?'" Morris said.

Player reaction has been good: "It's crazy how much technology has changed the game," second-year safety Cody Grimm said. "Back in the day, I think probably the whole team had to sit down with a projector and a reel, and watch the film together. They'd have the whole offense in the same meeting room. Now we all have our own iPad. Stuff that we used to come in here to see, we can sit on our couch at home and have access to it 24-7. It's awesome."

Stroud notes that for the Buccaneers, the iPad is "a perfect study enticement for the youngest roster in the NFL, a group of 20-somethings who are gadget-giddy and technologically savvy to begin with."

The iPads cost the team between $500 and $600 apiece. If one is lost, the content can be remotely wiped, making it a safer medium than the team's old playbooks, Morris said.

For more:
- see Rick Stroud's article at the St. Petersburg Times

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