Steve Young hilariously tried to ‘bury analytics’ by saying Chargers’ Brandon Staley should use analytics

Uh, Young probably didn’t realize what he actually said.

Few conversations in pro football might be as polarizing as the implementation of analytics. Whereas many teams, like, say, the Chargers, have started to realize that it pays to be a little more aggressive with basic mathematical probability, there’s still an old guard of the game that steadfastly refuses to see the benefits behind these detailed numbers.

On Monday night, during a pregame conversation about Broncos-Chargers, ESPN’s Steve Young tried to argue against “analytics” by saying L.A. coach Brandon Staley (and other coaches, by extension) should only go for it in high-percentage situations when they also have a play they particularly like.

In other words, Young tried to, in his words — “bury analytics” — by saying the Chargers should appropriately leverage the percentages in their favor during games — also known as using analytics.

I’m not sure Young realizes what he actually said:

Thank you, Mr. Young, for embracing analytics, inadvertently or not — like the majority of the modern NFL.

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