WP: ESPN the Magazine ranks the Redskins 120th of 122 teams in use of analytics

[pjfootballer]

Whenever I think of analytics in the NFL, I think of Ahmad Bradshaw's super awkward touchdown at the end of the Super Bowl against the Pats a few years ago.

 

Basically, old school football logic says you pound it in and kick it off to the Pats and give Tom Brady ~45 seconds to try to respond.  But the new school analytics showed it was actually better to run down the clock and take your chances with the field goal.  That was incredibly obvious when it looked like Bradshaw was trying to fall down at the 1 yard line and it looked like the Patriots were trying to let him score.  So he kind of fell into the end zone rather than pound his way in like you'd expect an RB to do. So it looked like both Bellichick and Coughlin had analytics guys working for them.

 

As an aside, when I was a sophomore in college, my alma mater, the University of Illinois, was playing Michigan (coincidentally also led by Tom Brady at QB), and had a 1-point lead near the end of the game.  Suddenly our RB, Rocky Harvey, busted off a ~55 yard run to put the Illini up by 8 with ~1:30 left.  Michigan attempted to drive down the field but a holding call followed by a sack led to a 3rd and 35 that was essentially hopeless for the Wolverines.  YEARS later I saw clips of that game and it was very obvious Michigan let Harvey score to get the ball back (and hopefully score the 8-point TD).  This was 1999 so football analytics weren't a big thing then, but Lloyd Carr clearly knew what he was doing.

 

The Illini took a safety at the very end of the game to get better punting position, so they ultimately won by 6.

 

Is both really what you would call analytics or just good old fashioned game strategy?  I mean, how could someone working on advanced statistics in the front office relay any of this information to the coaches during the game?  I think the advanced analytics would be good more for player acquisition and less for actual game strategy.  I'm not a big believer in advanced metrics.  Just my own personal opinion and I really don't want to delve into why at this time.  Game strategy is game strategy. I don't think it took a "moneyball" guy sitting on the sidelines or like the nerd with the computer in the movie "The Little Giants" to come up with the "Annexation of Puerto Rico," for coaches to know what to do and what not to do while the game is in progress. 

There is an old school thing called 'breaking down film" which identifes that kind of thing really well.

Look I'm not actually arguing that use and anaylsis of data is a bad thing. I'm all for using whatever information you can. My point was that this article is actually not based on anything more than some nebulous "research" and a subjective judgement. The Post article admits that.

 

Was just about to say the same thing. Coaches and GMs have broken down film and picked up tendencies for years. That's why each team has a full time staff dedicated to breaking down the films for the coaches and GMs.

[elkabong82]

There are actually tons of football-related things the Redskins are ranked highly in, but the Post doesn't cover those, just to spite Dan.

 

Good sarcasm, but doesn't address my point at all. Their agenda is obvious to anyone who applies critical thinking instead of letting such be blinded by their disdain with the W-L column.

 

When we do make good moves, ComPost immediately criticizes, case in point hiring of GMSM this offseason. Almost universally praised, except for by the local rag.

[Bonez3]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't we among the lowest with guaranteed money in 2016 for players?How is that bloated contracts?

 

Analytics are for nerds who couldn't play in real life

[Corcaigh]

Are they talking about analytics for strength and conditioning?

 

There's a lot of great work being done in this area to help develop individualized training in team sports using GPS and other monitors, such as tuning the aerobic and anaerobic work a player needs, and recovery, rather than treating all players in a particular position the same. All based on real data.

 

Here's one example from football: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11121315/florida-state-seminoles-coach-jimbo-fisher-use-gps-technology-win-national-championship

 

Here's one chart illustrating that the 'fastest player' may not be your fastest player based on repeat sprint ability.

 

[JoeSkins]

The Nats are listed as believers eh?  Could explain the decision to sit Strasburg; only an accountant could arrive at that decision.  Also, the fact that ESPN didn't publish its own methodology makes me question the legitimacy of their rankings.

 

Edit:  And by question the legitimacy, I mean they obviously used subjective elements, meaning they didn't even use analytics to measure analytics.

[Warhead36]

Not really a surprise. In fact I figured we'd be last. We do everything wrong when it comes to running our team so why would we put any value in something as significant as analytics?

[MartinC]

Not really a surprise. In fact I figured we'd be last. We do everything wrong when it comes to running our team so why would we put any value in something as significant as analytics?

Based on this article and the 'research' behind it we have no idea if we are last or first. Though I suspect we are closer to the former than the later.