SANTA CLARA — Ranting about Microsoft’s unreliable, sideline tablets is not a priority for 49ers coach Chip Kelly and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, not with a five-game losing streak in tow for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But both Kelly and Kaepernick confirmed this week that they’ve experienced problems with the Microsoft Surface tablets. They’re just not as fed up with them as New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who’s lambasted the imperfect technology for years and finally declared this week: “I’m done with the tablets.”
“There have been times when there are some glitches in them,” Kelly said. “And there are some times when it’s really sunny out that it’s tough to see the tablets.
“I haven’t had any issues where they just don’t work,” Kelly added. “Sometimes it doesn’t work perfect and you have to shake it a little bit.”
Kaepernick also said, half-jokingly, he’s had to knock the tablet on the side to get the screen to unfreeze.
“That happens every once in a while and they have to reboot it,” Kaepernick said.
The tablets and helmet-to-coach radio weren’t problems Sunday when Kaepernick made his first start of the season in a 45-16 loss at Buffalo. “No, we didn’t really have too much of an issue there,” Kaepernick said.
Microsoft has supplied sideline tablets since 2013, but only still images may be shown during games; video was allowed during this past exhibition season.
“I don’t know if it’s because we are so close to home base but, shoot, I think the quality of our stuff has been great,” Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told the Seattle Times this week. (The Seahawks are owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.)
Belichick, in a 5-minute rant Tuesday about tablets, told reporters: “They’re just too undependable for me. I’m going to stick with (print) pictures, which several of our other coaches do, as well, because there just is not enough consistency in the performance of the tablets. I just can’t take it anymore.”
Microsoft responded with a statement:“We respect Coach Belichick’s decision, but stand behind the reliability of Surface. We continue to receive positive feedback on having Surface devices on the sidelines from coaches, players and team personnel across the league. In the instances where sideline issues are reported in NFL games, we work closely with the NFL to quickly address and resolve.”
The NFL, which owns and maintains the sideline technology equipment, issued its own statement: “Microsoft is an integral, strategic partner of the NFL and implementing their technology on our sidelines has increased the efficiency and speed of collaboration between coaches and players to an all-time high. Within our complex environment, many factors can affect the performance of a particular technology either related to or outside of our partner’s solutions. We continue to work with all of our partners to ensure the best systems are in place to most effectively assist the clubs in the execution of their game plan.”
