Steelers Hire Analytics And Football Research Coordinator

Yeah, what an IDIOT! If he was smarter he'd spend more money!

 

My thinking exactly, lets be prepared for tendencies, we really have problems game planning. Lets get this Steeler team prepared for what might await them.

 

analytics are important to the game. As an example if you go back through the amount of touches for a NE running back and the amount of fumbles it's disproportionate .

 

Not only could it give some insight on the opponents, but as you hint at, it could help diagnose some of our own tendencies. The team could use that to become more unpredictable (in the red zone for instance) if they choose to use it that way. I hope they use the analytics looking inward and outward.

 

But you are losing sight of the larger picture. The effect of Moneyball doesn’t necessarily translate over a 7 game series which is short compared to a 162 game season and the matchups of an elite pitcher or two can make all the difference. There is no doubt that Billy Beane’s approach revolutionized the game of baseball – it is why on base percentage and slugging percentage is valued so much more highly than batting average now. Also, you can say Beane hasn’t won a WS but he was interviewed for the GM job for Boston which he turned down. In comes Epstein who uses a lot of Moneyball techniques and the Red Sox win 2 more WS. The drafting of Kevin Youkilis was done specifically because he got on base, not because he was a 5 star talent. Also every team is now using analytics in baseball and it probably has helped more mid market teams like the Pirates and Royals be competitive.

Whether analytics will say so much about football is more difficult to say, but it may have a larger effect on showing the odds of things like going for 2 points against a certain team vs. going for one or when the right time is to go for it on 4th down. It may also show how effective more certain defensive approaches or offensive approaches play out which may increase the value of some players vs. others thus having an indirect effect on player evaluation.

 

it depends on what they use him for. Predicting both the Steelers' and opponents' tendencies can help get an edge in a game. It can help vet draft choices. It can help determine what types of plays we might face in certain situations, and can then influence practices pre-game. It also leads to may counter-intuitive decisions. Some analytics help decide when to go for it on 4th and when to punt, and the results support going for it on 4th and short much more often than coaches do. It tends to support the thought that coaches are very conservative. In hockey, one study suggested that when trailing by 1 goal, you should pull your goalie with about 12 minutes left in the game. The finding was that it takes this much time to have an opportunity to score. Sure, you will lose lots of games, but you are losing anyway.

Statistics coupled with good judgment should give an advantage.

 

Aw man, as someone who does analytics for a living, I.AM.SO.JEALOUS! I'll be sitting by my phone in case this guy doesn't work out. Just sayin'...