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Robots are invading NFL training camps.Actually, they are the love children of robots and tackling dummies, and they are not technological fads.The Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens have placed orders for a batch of Mobile Virtual Players for their camps later this month, according to MVP president John Currier. Each robot, costing about $8,000, weighs between 160 and 180 pounds, runs a 5-second 40-yard dash and cuts in the open field.In May, the Steelers showcased their experiment with the MVPs on their website, while the rival Ravens tested theirs in secret. The Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears also have inquired about using them in the future.What started as an experiment at Dartmouth College football practices to promote safe tackling is now a full-fledged business that is penetrating the highest levels of football.The NFLs flirtation with technology can be fickle. Remember the drone experiment? Exactly.This seems different, though. At the least, teams see functionality and the chance to rest players.They have a future, said one NFL assistant coach whose team has tested the robots. A few kinks to be worked out, but you can find ways to make them work for you.To separate gimmick from game-changer, lets dive into some questions about the robots and their viability at the NFL level. For guidance, we consulted the people from the MVP company and a few NFL observers who have tested the product.So what is it exactly?The MVP is a tackling dummy made of foam rubber thats controlled by a remote, which teams can operate. The engine, built into the base of the dummy, is protected by a cushion. It runs on two small skateboard-like wheels. The dummies birthplace is the Dartmouth campus in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens and former player Elliot Kastner were the catalysts for developing the technology. Now the dummies are manufactured at Rogers Athletic in Farwell, Michigan, and transported by truck to your NFL doorstep, usually two or three at a time.How did teams find out about this?Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stumbled across a YouTube video of the dummies and inquired about them to staffer Dan Rooney, who played quarterback for the Big Green. The Ravens declined comment on the MVPs, but word of mouth was spreading. Teevens first heard from now-49ers coach Chip Kelly about potentially using the robots over a year ago.Whats the appeal?The dummy is relatively easy to use and requires less manpower to run a practice. Most spring rosters are 90 players, and everyone can get more reps if the dummies are doing the dirty work, such as simulating scout-team formations. Picture a set screen play, with the defensive players taking their angles and the dummy streaking down the sideline. The dummy is perfect for such a noncontact setting, Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats said. It has good speed on it, so youre not running your players to death, Moats said. Youre not going to want to run that fast all practice. It saves players legs.But isnt the point of a tackling dummy for ... tackling?Yes. In fact, the Dartmouth staff implemented the use of the dummies mostly to eliminate helmet contact. Falcons media relations director Brian Cearns said his coach, Dan Quinn, is interested in using the robots for the same reason. The MVPs are forgiving but take a little force to move because of the weight, Teevens said.Where does concussion prevention come into play?Well, this area is harder to evaluate, because NFL teams dont hit much in practices anymore, and the dummies dont have sensors to track where on the body players routinely hit. Dartmouth is exploring the addition of accelerometers that would measure the magnitude of hits, Teevens said. But even with the base model, the concept of hitting a soft moving target could help mitigate potential damage. Medical science is becoming aware that [the brain disease] CTE is related to a history of many subconcussive hits and not just the bell-ringers that make the highlight reel, Currier said. Its that reduction -- hopefully near elimination -- of the repetitive, subconcussive hits in practice that may be the greatest contribution of MVP.Whats the downside?Once he got over the paranoia of rolling an ankle when tackling engine-powered machinery, Moats had one concern upon first glance -- the dummy cant truly simulate player movements and reactions of a shifty player. It looks different, feels different and isnt all that natural, Moats said. You know, a dummy is standing straight up -- a running back or receiver wont be standing that way, Moats said. So its not really a football play. They can advance the technology to simulate the real play, perhaps. So as far as straight line, its really good. Side to side is the issue.But problems can be fixed, right?Yep. The product can improve its authenticity on the field. It also has some goofy arms that can be attached to the sides with Velcro. After gathering feedback from the Steelers and Ravens, MVP transported its dummies to the Rogers lab for tweaks. MVP wants the dummies to maintain high-level speed while simulating open-field cuts. We want it to be evasive, Currier said. Thats part of its value. We want it to shift directly sideways for elusive purposes.What about quarterback play?If a coach is creative and wants to buy, say, 11 robots, perhaps he can disguise blitzes at the line of scrimmage to confuse a young quarterback in offseason work. That would require deft remote work from the sidelines, but thats sort of the point -- Tomlin says the experimental options are endless. You just really put it on the field and watch the guys and they show you the applications, he said. They say, Hey, get it to do this.Five years from now, will most teams be using these?We wont know that answer until after this years training camps, but heres what we do know: Teams are meticulous about player usage. Many teams track every step of practice. Now the dummies can do some of the running for you. Nike Air Max 95 Sale Outlet . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Cheap Nike Air Max 95 Online .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. http://www.airmax95outlet.com/ . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. 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LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Swimmings world governing body FINA says it has agreed to reduce a doping ban for Russian swimmer Vitalina Simonova from four to two years.Simonova, a former European championship silver medalist, was given the original four-year ban in July after testing positive in 2015 for excessive testosterone.She said this occurred by accident after she took a supplement named Testosterol 250 and claimed she did not know it contained subsstances which would break down into testosterone.ddddddddddddAfter Simonova appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, FINA says it agreed to cut her ban to two years because she could identify the source in contaminated supplements and had promptly admitted the anti-doping rule violation.Her ban now ends June 28, 2017. ' ' '