Friday, February 01, 2008
'One of the most analytically advanced'
The New England Patriots -- of course. From the Technology Review article:
Tech Review piece via Mark.
Update -- The TR article mentions stats-crazy Football Outsiders. After crunching the numbers, FO concludes that the Pats will win: 'Not definitely. Just probably.' ... I like its Superbowl XXXI comparison. Sounds right. The Giants should give the Pats a tough game. But ...
Update II -- Bert has his own analysis and points out this excellent ESPN article on Pats nerd-in-chief Ernie Adams. From the article:
The New England Patriots -- of course. From the Technology Review article:
After the team's head coach, Bill Belichick, read a paper by well-known economist David Romer about how teams are generally too conservative on fourth down, he began using historical data to develop a table to determine when the team should punt and when it should go for the first down. In the past couple of years, Belichick has been one of the most aggressive coaches when it comes to going for it on fourth down, says Schatz.
Tech Review piece via Mark.
Update -- The TR article mentions stats-crazy Football Outsiders. After crunching the numbers, FO concludes that the Pats will win: 'Not definitely. Just probably.' ... I like its Superbowl XXXI comparison. Sounds right. The Giants should give the Pats a tough game. But ...
Update II -- Bert has his own analysis and points out this excellent ESPN article on Pats nerd-in-chief Ernie Adams. From the article:
Or there's Rutgers statistics professor Harold Sackrowitz, who got a call from Adams a few years back. Adams wanted to talk about some research Sackrowitz had just completed, dealing with how teams try two-point conversions far too often. Adams sent the professor the Patriots' when-to-go-for-two chart, and asked Sackrowitz to tear it apart. Of the 32 NFL teams, the statistician told the New York Times, only the Patriots called.
