9781422285237 - Analytics: Sports Stats & More

When it comes to football, many agree that we are in the infancy stages of analytics. “There were times when we all wondered if football would ever get it,” John Pollard, the general manager of STATS LLC’s Sports Solutions Group, told ESPN The Magazine a few years ago. “Once football grabs hold of analytics—and that’s where we are heading—it can redefine the sport.”

How much do special teams plays such as field goals affect games? NFL analytics are still trying to put a number on some of that information.

57

T he N itty -G ritty