Steelers: Analytics? We don't need no stinking analytics!

since I have no idea what analytics are I will not comment nor will I look it up. Carry on

 

Analytics are pretty important and have been used in every sport for a long time. The difference of late is that there's more creativity and data used to generate those analytics some of which have unvalidated value. For example, football teams have been scouting opponents' and their own tendencies on down and distance forever. Now of course it's broken down way more than that and analytics to determine individual player performance is used more often.

My personal opinion is that analytics in the other sports, especially baseball, are valuable, but less so in football. Not due to the game itself per se, but simply due to sample size. You've got 10 times the number of games in baseball. In football with the limited sample size you're going to have bigger error bars making the certainty of any value less. Analytics in any sport are a tool. The best teams generate them and use those tools appropriately.

 

Obviously, all teams "scout" other teams. They watch film. Scouting implies more "eyes-on" analysis. Analytics takes into account far more data over time. It's much more comprehensive and efficient. It isn't, however, a replacement for the eyeball test and old-school scouting.

 

Analytics is smarter than Ben, he should realize that & change it up now & then.

 

My dog is smarter than Ben.

Intelligence has never been his strong point.

 

I think you're selling him short. He relied too much on his physical gifts earlier in his career, but he's a much more cerebral QB now.

 

Hateful Man you are.

 

Good thread and points by all.

Working as an Engineer is a small steel plant I get metrics thrown at me all the time but just like football....continues processing of material is a little different than putting widgets together.

My point is $/lb is calculated by lbs/hr or feet/hr and setup time and they just call them key performance indicators or kpi's

I dont have anything better to study but I think metric analytics still needs to be better defined and developed in that industry to get true profit to make the bean counters more accurate.

The same with the NFL as well as well the scouting of the draft prospects.

I dont think we are there yet.

For example...we all remember when Blake Bortles ripped up the defense in that championship game.

Towards the end of the game Tomlin went with an offside kick that pissed off many.

If a computer was to generate an algorithm ...it would give a high percentage answer for the defense to go back on the field and make the 3 stops.

Tomlin took a pulse of his defense and saw that whether they had a high snap count or not ...they looked winded and basically defeated.

So he tells the media that his gut told him to do the onside kick.

A computer program just wills see its the inept Blake Bortles and pathetic offense and would say there would be a high % chance the Steelers D could stop them.

 

I hate giving the Pats and Brady credit because I do believe strongly that they cheated but I have to give them props about using this guy Ernie who is like a rain man stat analytics guy.

If you want to see analytics and good film study on display ...just watch the game up in Foxboro where Bell I thin had a hamstring.

Brady and the OC is able to get the Steelers to show man to man vs zone and what coverage they were in by having Eddlemen go in motion to see if someone is following him to dictate man 2 man.

He also was able to take the defense Steelers formations and tendencies and exploit them when he was doing a flea flicker and Burns and Mitchell and the LB all bit hard. I think three guys were wide open on that play where the Steelers were showing way too much aggressiveness and were not staying with their guy and cheating by peaking in the backfield.

There are a lot more but that was one clear one I thought.

 

Or any time a team in heavy personnel motions the only WR into the slot to be covered by a slow LB, and the Steelers dutifully obey. Landry on Spillane was the most recent example.

And that's not being caught with your pants down, either - it's the design of the D. Spillane admitted as much and said it's not a mismatch.

 

Bortles didn't exactly rip them up with 214 yards and 1 TD

 

Point taken but here is an excellent example where stats or metrics dont tell the tale of how effective he was in certain down and distances.

Thanks for reading. I always feel that nobody takes the time because it is difficult to make point in 5 words. lol

 

This is something I have noticed ...If you can afford it...I sometimes cant....the All 22 will show you LBs trailing going back to Timmons.

Its what Steeler Depot uses to make a case and its a view that shows you how many time Vince or safety was matched up against a number one receiver.

Im wondering if that is good film study or analytics that the opponents are using. lol

 

Teams create those matchups all the time.

Do you want Spillane ("a slow LB") on the outside or inside in coverage? Where can the defense provide better help to Spillane? Inside or outside?

There are other variables to consider. It doesn't simply boil down to playing man coverage. Because if Spillane isn't very good in man coverage it's better to keep him in zone and not isolated in man coverage on the outside. Sometimes coaches have to make decisions based on the players they have.

One solution to the problem is to have better players on the field. Unfortunately, the Steelers were snake bit at the ILB position in recent years.

 

Why leave him isolated, though? You can't motion help down?

And yes, I'd rather have him outside on a 260-lb TE than in the slot giving up free first down after free first down.

 

I believe they gave him safety help at times. Often times MLBs get isolated in the middle of the defense in zone coverage. Can't give players help all the time. Have to pick and chose spots to help based on formations, offensive tendencies, ect.

So you would rather Spillane get beat over the top for a TD on the outside than in the middle of the field where there is more help? Ok coach. I'll take my chances leaving Spillane in the middle of the field where there is more help.

Maybe Spillane just isn't comfortable playing on the outside in man coverage? Maybe he isn't very good in man coverage?

The coaches break down their players and know their strengths and weakness from practice and game time situations. So does the opposition. The opposition can find ways to exploit weaknesses.

 

Maybe call a TO and change personnel. I'd rather they have more success running than picking at the same scab over and over.

 

Never mind man. You just don't get it.

 

Enlighten me. The Steelers get caught in base defending heavy personnel groupings of teams with versatile TEs, who then motion out of run and get these mismatches.

What am I not getting?

The answer to everything is not simply "execute better". When the coaches are outflanked, they need a better response.

 

The defense wasting a TO preparing for a passing play, and the other team motioning INTO a run.
It can go both ways. Sometimes you have to pick your poison.
(Especially with the league changing rules to favor the offense to drive up scores.)

The Steelers have been top-5 the last two years.
Not saying fans should be happy about bad scheme match-ups, but at least 80% of the league are doing worse.

 

The coaches attempt to give help. That help depends on various factors. Sometimes offenses and defenses create unfavorable matchups regardless of what you believe. How many resources/players should the Steelers commit to helping Spillane?

Can't call a TO every time the offense or defense is in a bad situation coach Maddog.

Three solutions are to execute/play better, acquire better players, or don't become decimated by injuries like the Steelers were at LB last season.

All the scheming in the world can't overcome units that are decimated by injuries. This isn't anything new though.

And sometimes the other players/teams wins the matchup battle. This isn't anything new either.

 

Pass D is more important than run D in today's NFL. You can always add bodies to the box in sub packages to help,