The Ravens players need to enter a user name and password to unlock their iPads. Gaining access to the playbook application requires a second set of credentials. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the app destroys the data on the computer. The Buccaneers’ front office has access to the data on its iPads and can remotely destroy information on a device. Certain features are enabled only when the device is logged on to the wireless network at the team’s facility. Of course, another security advantage electronic playbacks have over their paper counterparts is the simplest: they cannot be photocopied.

Nick Fusee, the Ravens’ director of information technology, said the team’s technological foray began last year, shortly after Baltimore’s offensive coordinator, Cam Cameron, bought an iPad for personal use and asked Fusee to make an application that would serve as a playbook. The Buccaneers began using iPads for their scouts last season, then developed their own playbook application over the summer.

The electronic tablets for both teams include a file containing the playbook, which the application automatically updates as coaches adjust strategies throughout the season. It also notifies players about things like changes to practice and training schedules and individual nutritional guidelines.

The playbook and video functions are separate. But the Ravens and the Bucs say they plan to integrate them, so that a player can look at a diagram of a play and immediately watch a video of it in action. The tablets can also be used to do things like monitor how much time each player spends studying.

Ravens center Matt Birk noted that his younger teammates seemed to enjoy the new playbooks, but that at age 35 he was used to his routine and was loath to give up the notebook and pencil that serve as the main tools for his weekly preparation. He took some satisfaction when he realized how hard it was to type out detailed notes on the iPad’s glass screen.