Analytics in the NFL

[Ravenswintitle]

Story from yesterday's USAToday. I found it very interesting although it's a long read:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...s-nfl/2164723/

Couple extracts:

"That's the value of it," Banner says. "It's one thing to say a guy had nine sacks. How many times was he blocked by the tight end, rather than the right tackle?"

On trading up to get Julio Jones

"We knocked off statistic after statistic," Dimitroff says.

He says the offer didn't hinge on the first- and second-round picks dealt. "Everybody understands the first- and second-round picks," he says. "We needed to figure out the value of the other picks."
What did the research reveal? Less than 15% of fourth-round picks become starters.

[GOTA]

Thanks! That is a really interesting article. Great post

[Captain Silver]

Yeah, thanks for that enlightenment.

[Ravenswintitle]

There's no doubt that BIG DATA is here when it comes to most NFL teams. I find it interesting that the same companies like SAP, Bain and Company are getting into this market.

It's no wonder that 18 NFL teams — including already-established analytics-influenced operations such as the 49ers and Falcons — were represented at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston in March.