Most football fans have seen a quarterback head to the sideline after an offensive series to look at what appears to be a photo album. Its most often seen after an interception or a failed third down. The camera just loves to follow the poor quarterback after failure. The photos are of the defensive alignment just before the snap. They help reveal what the defense is doing based upon the offensive formation and situation. Presnap reads are important and sometimes the quarterback needs to make sure that he saw everything. Everything happens so fast on the field. The photos help slow it down. The reverse is also done. Teams will review photos of the opponent's offense to aid the defense.
With today's technology its amazing how quickly these snapshots can get from the source to the photo albums. By the time Peyton Manning has made it to the bench the album is ready. It didn't always work like that. In the 1950s, The New York Giants were on the cutting edge of relaying this information to the sideline. Surprisingly, owner Wellington Mara was involved. Owners typically aren't much help on gameday. Mara and one of the assistant coaches would be up in the press box with a Polaroid camera. If the Giants were on offense, they would take a picture of the defensive alignment against their offensive formation. They would put that photo in a sock with a rock in it and throw it out of the press box onto the sideline, where the Giants had somebody assigned to retrieve it. The offensive coaches and players would use it to better understand where the defense was lining up and to formulate an attack. Eventually other teams started using variations of this methods. Some involving a weighted photo on a zip line.
It may seem cute and primitive now, but the "photo in a sock" was quite the innovation in the '50s. It helped set the Giants apart. From 1956-63 the Giants made it to six championship games. Talent and coaches Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry certainly helped make New York an elite team, but that success was enhanced by communicating with a sock.
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