Typically, the responsibilities of an NFL sideline report consist of largely reporting on in-game injuries and whatever other interesting storylines emerge around the game as it is happening. But on Sunday, CBS sideline reporter Melanie Collins got a chance to be a crime reporter.
Each player is given a team-issued iPad that they can take home to help their process of studying the playbook or watching game film.
During Sunday’s matchup between the Rams and the Las Vegas Raiders, Collins reported on a recent string of robberies in the neighborhood of Rams lineman Conor McDermott, which resulted in his iPad being stolen out of his car.
“I caught up with him pregame,” Collins said. “He said when he noticed it the following morning he immediately notified the team and they wiped it clear. He said, ‘Of course the one time I leave my iPad in my car.’ The thief hit five other houses on his street. They haven’t caught the guy yet, but forensics got involved. They swabbed the car for DNA. But it sounds like the Rams playbook is safe for now.”
In a game where both teams find themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff picture in their respective conferences, this kind of story certainly adds another element to the broadcast that could entice the casual football viewer.
Outside of a story like this, we probably would never hear about what’s going on with an offensive tackle on injured reserve like McDermott. And to Collins’ credit, she did a great job of not leaving any of the important details of the crime out in her report.