20250227 - video and examples

Author: isaactpetersen

images/commentatorOnAnalytics.mp4

@@ -53,20 +53,21 @@ Some of these analytics-driven changes in play style eventually led Major League
 Although baseball was one of the first major sports to embrace analytics, other sports have been transformed by analytics, as well.
 For instance, in basketball, there has been a greater focus on three points and buckets close to the rim (e.g., dunks and layups), with way fewer midrange shots.
 Moreover, star players rest more games.
+Here is an article on how Shane Battier, who was not the quickest, fastest, or most athletic player, used analytics successfully to guard players who were quicker or more athletic than him: <https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html> (archived at <https://web.archive.org/web/20250219225627/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html>).
 
 Football has also seen greater use of analytics, although its uptake has been somewhat slower than in many other sports.
 When asked about how he makes the decision about whether to go for two after a touchdown, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin stated:
 
 > We work a menu of plays in that area over the course of the week.
 > We rank them at the latter part of the week, and then we get into the stadium and we play it by ear.
-> A lot of it has to do wiht the feel or the flow of the game.
+> A lot of it has to do with the feel or the flow of the game.
 > Maybe what personnel group we think they're going to match our personnel group with.
 > As we start to play and work the ball down the field on the drives that produce the touchdowns before the point after, we have a little inclination of what their personality might be at least in terms of matching our personnel.
 > All of those things weigh into the decision.
 > It legitimately is a feel thing.
 > I think that's why you play the game.
 > You can take analytics to baseball and things like that but football is always going to be football.
-> I got a lot of respect for analytics and numbers, but I'm not going to make judgements based on those numbers.
+> I got a lot of respect for analytics and numbers, but I'm not going to make judgments based on those numbers.
 > The game is the game.
 > It's an emotional one played by emotional and driven men.
 > That's an element of the game you can't measure.
@@ -78,10 +79,19 @@ That is, Mike Tomlin, suggested that he does not take into account analytics whe
 Perhaps that is why the Pittsburgh Steelers were voted [one of the least analytically advanced teams](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29939438/2020-nfl-analytics-survey-which-teams-most-least-analytically-inclined) in the NFL in 2020 (archived at <https://perma.cc/R7FA-HGGB>).
 
 A player talent evaluator for the NFL noted that [many people around the league believe that the use of analytics is better suited for baseball than football](https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2016/01/in_an_nfl_divided_over_analyti.html) because baseball involves more games, players, and one-on-one matchups (archived at <https://web.archive.org/web/20200803205803/https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2016/01/in_an_nfl_divided_over_analyti.html>).
-By contrast, player performance in football may be more dependent on teammates and playcalls.
+By contrast, player performance in football may be more dependent on teammates and play calls.
 The [player talent evaluator noted](https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2016/01/in_an_nfl_divided_over_analyti.html), "In football they don't know how to use all the numbers yet...They have the data, they have all these different stats but the people I have talked to aren't completely sure how to use it." (archived at <https://web.archive.org/web/20200803205803/https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2016/01/in_an_nfl_divided_over_analyti.html>).
+Some dismiss analytics entirely.
 
-Nevertheless, more and more people around the league are using analytics; for examples of articles, see [here](https://www.theringer.com/2018/12/19/nfl/nfl-analytics-revolution) (archived at <https://perma.cc/7BKP-A4GJ>)  and [here](https://www.samford.edu/sports-analytics/fans/2020/The-Future-of-NFL-Data-Analytics) (archived at <https://perma.cc/WXE3-53E6>).
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+
+For instance, here is a video clip of a football commentator, Mike Patrick, making fun of people who compile statistics for informing decision-making in football, calling the people who compile the numbers "guys who wear socks with flip-flops."
+
+![Football Commentator Making Fun of Analytics in Football. From: <https://streamable.com/1hw8>.](images/commentatorOnAnalytics.mp4){width=100%}\
+
+:::
+
+Nevertheless, more and more people around the league are using analytics—likely because it works; for examples of articles, see [here](https://www.theringer.com/2018/12/19/nfl/nfl-analytics-revolution) (archived at <https://perma.cc/7BKP-A4GJ>) and [here](https://www.samford.edu/sports-analytics/fans/2020/The-Future-of-NFL-Data-Analytics) (archived at <https://perma.cc/WXE3-53E6>).
 Head Coach Doug Peterson heavily relied on analytics with the Philadelphia Eagles to help them win the 2017 Super Bowl; for more information, see [here](https://www.forbes.com/sites/liamfox/2021/08/12/how-the-nfl-uses-analytics-according-to-the-lead-analyst-of-a-super-bowl-champion/) (archived at <https://perma.cc/49KQ-R785>) and [here](https://www.nfl.com/news/super-bowl-lii-how-the-2017-philadelphia-eagles-were-built-0ap3000000912753) (archived at <https://perma.cc/2GRF-8Z5K>).
 
 Examples of changes in football due to the use of analytics include more often going for it on fourth down, a greater emphasis on the passing game, drafting Running Backs later in the draft (and, more generally, valuing Running Backs less), and trading down in the draft to obtain more low picks (rather than having fewer high picks) because top picks are frequently overvalued [@Massey2013].