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What role should analytics/data science play in our organization?

DocBar said:
Interesting article. I had no idea Cris Collingsworth was the controlling owner of PFF. @steelbtexan @Texian I think I found new careers for you two.
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interesting little tidbit from that article......



"By way of example, the Houston Texans last season gave up a league-worst 62 sacks. Everyone knows that. It’s a stat.

What you don’t know is players not on the offensive line were responsible for over a third of those sacks (21 were spread across tight ends, running backs, and even Deshaun Watson, who accounted for 14 himself). The Texans offensive line was not good, but Houston had far from the league’s worst pass protection (we had them ranked 20th)."




Perfect example of why analytics will always be kept at a reasonable distance in football.
 
Mr teX said:
interesting little tidbit from that article......



"By way of example, the Houston Texans last season gave up a league-worst 62 sacks. Everyone knows that. It’s a stat.

What you don’t know is players not on the offensive line were responsible for over a third of those sacks (21 were spread across tight ends, running backs, and even Deshaun Watson, who accounted for 14 himself). The Texans offensive line was not good, but Houston had far from the league’s worst pass protection (we had them ranked 20th)."




Perfect example of why analytics will always be kept at a reasonable distance in football.
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The timeline of PFF getting so big falls perfectly in line with my virtual dismissal of using them as a good reference. I've been saying for at least a couple of years that their analysis doesn't pass the eyeball test.
Without knowing the exact responsibilities and particular protection called, how does a PFF nerd know that the blown assignment wasn't on an OL with a TE or RB trying to pick up that blown assignment.
 
I extract data for a living in the organ transplant community. Love my job & the game as well....................but you couldn't pay me to do that work based on the requirements they lay out there.
 
DocBar said:
The timeline of PFF getting so big falls perfectly in line with my virtual dismissal of using them as a good reference. I've been saying for at least a couple of years that their analysis doesn't pass the eyeball test.
Without knowing the exact responsibilities and particular protection called, how does a PFF nerd know that the blown assignment wasn't on an OL with a TE or RB trying to pick up that blown assignment.
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Exactly. Baseball & basketball don't have to account for things like audibles. There's just too many moving parts in football for analytics to really take hold in the game like in baseball & basketball.
 
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Mr teX said:
interesting little tidbit from that article......



"By way of example, the Houston Texans last season gave up a league-worst 62 sacks. Everyone knows that. It’s a stat.

What you don’t know is players not on the offensive line were responsible for over a third of those sacks (21 were spread across tight ends, running backs, and even Deshaun Watson, who accounted for 14 himself). The Texans offensive line was not good, but Houston had far from the league’s worst pass protection (we had them ranked 20th)."




Perfect example of why analytics will always be kept at a reasonable distance in football.
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Back in 2008, while a lot of people’s response to the lack of data was “Well, let’s work with what we’ve got,” our idea was slightly more ambitious. It was “Let’s try and collect the data we need.” In hindsight that plan seems more strategic than it really was. PFF was initially just a hobby based on collecting something that didn’t exist. The fact we now have all 32 NFL teams as customers, and by the time the 2019 season begins, over 60 NCAA clients, is still a matter of amazement to me. “How did that happen?” I sometimes catch myself wondering. We just got lucky I guess.
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What would be really interesting is an NFL team having an analytics dept. that could provide specific coverages, protection schemes, etc. to PFF.
 
I actually like Collingsworth as an analyst. He's probably my favorite TBH. Everyone's falling in love with Romo..not my cup of tea...I like watching the game, not a guy making funny noises & getting all pitchy when he sees a play he likes.
 
Mr teX said:
I actually like Collingsworth as an analyst. He's probably my favorite TBH. Everyone's falling in love with Romo..not my cup of tea...I like watching the game, not a guy making funny noises & getting all pitchy when he sees a play he likes.
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I'm more of a Frank Gifford/John Madden guy
 
Madden & Collingsworth..their enthusiasm comes off very authentic...Gruden, Romo.....................................Witten :wadepalm: come/came off fake as hell.
 
Mr teX said:
Madden & Collingsworth..their enthusiasm comes off very authentic...Gruden, Romo.....................................Witten :wadepalm: come/came off fake as hell.
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Collingsworth is just annoying as hell to me... he dwells on the obvious, and won't ever shut the hell up
 
JB said:
Collingsworth is just annoying as hell to me... he dwells on the obvious, and won't ever shut the hell up
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First time I ever heard anyone compliment Collinsworth. I've never liked that guy.

He'd still try to have the audiences believe that he was the best WR that ever lived. Lol!
 
Texecutioner said:
First time I ever heard anyone compliment Collinsworth. I've never liked that guy.

He'd still try to have the audiences believe that he was the best WR that ever lived. Lol!
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I've grown to like Collinsworth over the years but used to hate him. He's not a GOAT by any metric, but he was a pretty good receiver.
 
Texecutioner said:
First time I ever heard anyone compliment Collinsworth. I've never liked that guy.

He'd still try to have the audiences believe that he was the best WR that ever lived. Lol!
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Compliment? Is this sarcasm?
 
Texecutioner said:
First time I ever heard anyone compliment Collinsworth. I've never liked that guy.

He'd still try to have the audiences believe that he was the best WR that ever lived. Lol!
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Lol, dude stop. Its ok to say you don't like him just because. You don't have to lie on the dude to get your point across. Collingsworth hardly ever references his career except when he's goofing on himself (slow white guy etc...)...Matter fact, he does his best to downplay just how good he was when others like Al Micheals bring it up.
 
Mr teX said:
Lol, dude stop. Its ok to say you don't like him just because. You don't have to lie on the dude to get your point across. Collingsworth hardly ever references his career except when he's goofing on himself (slow white guy etc...)...Matter fact, he does his best to downplay just how good he was when others like Al Micheals bring it up.
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I've heard him speak for over 20 yrs calling games and as an analyst. I stand by what I said. He's arrogant as hell and always has been. I finally found a fan of his as a tv guy. Congrats, but you stand alone.
 
Texecutioner said:
I've heard him speak for over 20 yrs calling games and as an analyst. I stand by what I said. He's arrogant as hell and always has been. I finally found a fan of his as a tv guy. Congrats, but you stand alone.
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Apparently not since he's been doing it for 20 years.....lets just call a spade a spade. This is why you don't like him...lol.

 
So this is part of what you get after sending the initial email to pro-football focus:

Snippet:

This position is a foot in the door of the football industry, but only for someone who understands what Pro Football Focus is about and wants to be a part of the team. This is not a writing position. With experience in data collection, you may eventually get the opportunity to write, but that isn’t guaranteed. There are financial incentives during the season based on your quality and quantity of work. We are looking for people who will be able to dedicate at least 20 hours a week to PFF; applicants should either be available for 10+ hours on Saturdays or 7+ hours on Sunday during the NCAA and NFL season.

If your application form meets the criteria you will eventually receive a training guide that explains the data collection we will be asking you to do. Adhering to the guide, you will be required to complete two trial games, each having set start and end dates that will be announced later. After you return each game you will be given feedback on your performance and how to improve. After the trial game process, some applicants will get to the interview stage. If you are hired from there, you will be welcomed onto the team and be able to contribute to PFF in a number of ways.

Thank you again for your interest in Pro Football Focus. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Seems like a few people do this stuff for free anyways.
Might as well get paid for it if possible.
 
This stuff is still highly subjective...is a guy playing hurt, nicked up, LG when he was moved from RG due to injury, etc but it is data. I’ve read that it is the 0-100 grades that are the most subjective. Someone else posted it best. Just too many moving parts in football and, face it, intangibles can’t be measured. Too bad because I’d love to know exactly what makes very few QB’s special.
 
Toro Bravo said:
IMO, analytics should definitely be a portion of the process for determining your roster - maybe 40%. It's basically a statistical analysis of player performance vs. expense (which can include cost to acquire, bonuses, salary, etc...).

The Browns hired Paul DePodesta in 2016 and he has been a major contributor to their roster talent. Their odds to win SB LIV are 5th best according to versainsider.com.
Per DePodesta; “Analytics is not about sitting behind a computer and pushing enter and having it produce an answer,” he said, per ESPN. “This game is not a simulation. It’s played by real people and because of that, there’s just a tremendous amount of uncertainty that surrounds it. For us, it’s about how we use information, how we use data to really get our arms around that uncertainty.”

It's only as good as the data used but it should part of the evaluation process.
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It’s also about the high draft choices the Texans loaded on you. That crap won’t happen often.
 
Latest from pff:

Your application to PFF has been accepted. The next step in our hiring process will consist of preparing for and completing two trial games.

Attached to this email is the Base data collection) guide. This document explains the data that we will be asking you to collect and how to go about doing it. Over this next week, your task will be to read this over as much as you need to in order to be comfortable with it. The more familiar you are with it, the easier your first game will be. This document is for your eyes and your eyes only. Please do not post or share this document with anyone.Also attached at two cheat sheets which will help you learn abbreviations and how to identify field coordinates.

If you are hired, this is the type of work we would be asking you to do this season. You will have the opportunity to learn another data collection processes this year, but this would likely be your primary focus at least for your first year with us. Anyone hired would be asked to do at least one of these games on Saturday or one game on Sunday. This would be every week during the season.

On Monday, July 15th we'll give instructions for your first trial game and you will have a week to complete it. We will not be sending out these games early, so even if you read over the guide and are comfortable by mid week, you will need to wait until Monday. You will have a week to complete your first trial game. We will then give you feedback on that game, and you will have time to look over the feedback and ask any questions. Note: You will not be able to log into PFF’s Data Acquisition Tool (DAT) until next week
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I'll see how this part goes.
 
Email says not to share the data collection guide, but I asked if I could share the two cheat sheets with the abbreviations they use and the field coordinates they use. If they give the ok I'll post them here just so folks can see it. I hesitate to just post it without their ok since I did a quick search and didn't see them online.
 
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