For a very, very long time, football fans have heard of the mythical "All-22" game film. It was only made available to NFL employees (coaches, mainly, as they were the ones breaking down film); outsiders had no access to it. It was the Yeti of NFL film and fandom.
Until now.
The NFL announced today that it will make "All-22" footage (a/k/a "Coaches Film") available to the public as part of the Season-Plus package of its Game Rewind offering for the 2012 season. For $59.99, you'll have access to "special camera angles that let you watch and analyze the game like a pro football coach" for every play of the 2012 season.
As SB Nation's Ryan Van Bibber put it:
Coaches Film shows the entire field of play, a bird's eye view of all 22 players on the field and what they are doing, or not doing in some cases. Utilizing a number of different camera angles it facilitates a better understanding of what transpires all over field rather than the television broadcast which typically follows possession of the ball.
This is what teams use to breakdown plays, evaluate players and all those other things that get lumped into the term "watching film."
This is a game-changer for football fanatics. It has the potential to change the way we watch games as fans, particularly in terms of how we watch how players perform away from the ball. Will you be forking over the $60.00 to get it?