Mike Glennon and Kevin White high-fived as they jogged back to the Bears' huddle early on the first day of training camp, satisfied they had just taken a baby step forward in the offense's evolution.
Glennon had zipped a pass smoothly over the middle. White was open and caught it in stride, just as the coaches drew it up. It was the type of play the Bears need to make more often to pull the parachute cord on their NFL plummet.
And they now have a new tool in that quest.
Ten yards behind the line of scrimmage for that play and most others this summer, there's a 360-degree video camera perched atop a skinny, 8-foot pole.
That addition to Bears practices this year marks their entry into the realm of virtual reality. As the latest NFL team to invest in the burgeoning video technology, it could help thrust them upward as they start a chapter defined by their quarterback overhaul.
The Bears mainly hope it will help them overcome the shortage of practice repetitions for Glennon, second-overall pick Mitch Trubisky and veteran Mark Sanchez. There's also an evaluative component that's different from conventional overhead video.
Trubisky, for example, can strap on a VR headset in the comfort of a classroom and see and hear exactly what Glennon did as he dropped back on that crisp completion Thursday.
"I'm really surprised what that technology has allowed us to do," Trubisky said. "Especially calling plays in the huddle — I call the play, go out and practice it, and Coach can see on the screen where my eyes are going. So it has helped me with progression and timing without actually going onto the field and having to do it."
General manager Ryan Pace began exploring the use of VR in 2016 as part of his priority to push the Bears into fledgling areas of sports science and technology. The clarity and processing time in VR technology has continued to improve, and the Bears' quarterback changes this offseason increased its value to the franchise.
After a tryout period in the spring with STRIVR Labs, a Silicon Valley-based company with roots in Stanford's football program, the Bears finalized their deal before training camp. They're the seventh NFL team to partner with STRIVR, joining the Cowboys, Cardinals, 49ers, Vikings, Bills and Jets.
"I'm excited about it," Glennon said. "It gives a unique perspective on how you see things. Sometimes you may see something on the field, and that's not exactly how it looks on the (All-22 overhead) film. But when you watch it on the virtual reality, you're like, 'OK, I was right.'"
Here's how it works:
The 360-degree cameras are placed around the field during practice. For the quarterbacks' sake, they're in the backfield.
After practice, memory cards are plugged into a computer, and the footage is uploaded in about 45 minutes. STRIVR software then divides the video into individual plays and classifies it per team specifications.
Then it's ready for the Bears' quarterback meetings with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and position coach Dave Ragone. One quarterback puts on the VR headset over his head and eyes and holds a small controller, actually an Apple TV remote, Glennon said. He runs through plays that either he or one of the other quarterbacks actually ran in practice.
What the player sees inside the helmet is displayed simultaneously on a laptop or big screen for the others in the room. From there, collaborative evaluations begin.
Said Sanchez: "If I'm looking left and I'm supposed to look right, Dowell can pause it and say, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not what we want. Remember, on this concept versus this specific look, see the corner, see the leverage — boom — we want to look right.'
Sanchez finds VR particularly helpful for throws over the middle or throws affected by something flashing directly in front of him, like a cornerback's angle defending it. Factors that the overhead video doesn't show clearly. And it helps for quarterback coaches to see through the passer's eyes.
"When you're (watching) the big eye in the sky, All-22 film, it's easy to say, 'Throw it to that guy,' " Sanchez said. "Well, in the pocket you can see a little more if a guy is breathing down your neck. That's why I dumped it down to the back or that's why I threw it away."
STRIVR has evolved quickly since CEO Derek Belch was a graduate assistant on Stanford's coaching staff in 2014. The former Stanford kicker developed the technology as part of his master's thesis, then left coaching to build the company full-time on the advice of head coach David Shaw. In addition to expanding in the NFL, they have branched out to help companies such as Wal-Mart train employees.
"The Bears are very, very much on the leading edge, even though we're in Year 3 as a company," Belch said. "This is still something that scares people. It's still something that's going to take time to permeate every part of the NFL. Chicago is one of the teams diving in. It's a perfect storm with the quarterback situation, but it's going to be so much bigger there."
Indeed, the Bears are starting out slowly with the technology. Although VR can serve other decision-making positions like safety and linebacker, the Bears are applying it only to their quarterbacks for now. If all goes well, they eventually will expand it and apply the data analysis component Belch's company continues to advance.
In the meantime, the quarterbacks are using it daily in training camp. It doesn't replace conventional film study, but it augments it in a way that has quelled any skepticism among them and energized the entire group.
"Experience is worth its weight in gold, right?" Sanchez said. "That's the ultimate idea, and this is trying to get you close to that."
About the Author
