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Microsoft sends out the defensive unit as Patriots punt NFL Surface Pro

Microsoft’s earnings report this week showed healthy Surface Pro sales, but not everyone thinks the Windows 10 device is a Super Bowl-worthy device.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has said he’s ditching the league-mandated tablets and going back to good old printed play books.

Earlier this week he told the press corps: ”I’m going to stick with pictures, which several of our other coaches do, as well, because there just isn’t enough consistency in the performance of the tablets. I just can’t take it anymore.”

Oh and here he is beating the bejesus out of it during a rare instance of something not going right for the Patriots.

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As it did following criticism of the tablets during last season’s AFC Championship game (also featuring the Patriots), Microsoft issued a stout defense of the Surface Pro tablets provided to teams as part of a sponsorship deal with the NFL.

It has enlisted top players like Russell Wilson, Drew Brees and the League’s commissioner Roger Goodell with a series of totally not scripted quotes about how the Surface is “changing the game for the better.”

While stopping short of blaming network infrastructure in stadiums for the instances of poor performance, Microsoft sure hinted at it.

Related: Microsoft Surface Pro 4 review

Yusuf Mehdi of the Windows and Devices group wrote: “It’s an ever-changing, fast-paced technical environment – truly one of the toughest IT jobs on one of the world’s biggest stages, with hundreds of millions of viewers watching. We applaud these hard-working technical experts and appreciate their great partnership.”

Microsoft points out 2,000 devices are deployed each week to 330 games.

From the frozen turf of Green Bay, Wisconsin to the 120-degree temperatures at pitch level in Miami, you’ll still see Surface Pro tablets everywhere but in the hands of the game’s best coach.

iPad Pro vs Surface Pro 4

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