The New York Giants have come under fire in recent months for their seeming resistance to advanced analytics despite the presence of a program dating back to the Tom Coughlin era.
Fans may remember the surprise additions of player GPS, specialized nutritionists, the use of drones and other advanced analytical technology under Coughlin because the aging coach, at the time, had never before even sent a text.
Fast forward several years the the Giants’ analytical department hasn’t expanded at the same rate as other teams, which has led to false impression that they are either anti-analytics or have no such department.
That belief was compounded earlier this week when general manager Dave Gettleman misspoke and said the team add “four computer guys” to help with analytics.
That comments was spun and run all over the New York/New Jersey area with the implication that Gettleman was completely out of touch and only just now wading into the analytical waters due to his job being on the line.
That is not true.
The Giants have an existing analytics department and the “four computer guys” Gettleman spoke off were software engineers being added to an existing staff, which is essentially headed by long-time Giants employee Tyseer (Ty) Siam, whose official title is Football Operations/Data Analytics.
Under Siam’s guidance, the Giants were considered one of the most forward-thinking teams as recently as 2018 when it came to on-field analytical decisions, including going for it on fourth down.
Going into 2020, Gettleman promises a much greater emphasis on analytics with an increased input from Siam.
“We’ve got to re-organize here in terms of making use of technology and analytics, and we’re in the process of that,” Gettleman told Sports Illustrated. “We’ve got a plan in place. I’ve got to do a better job of that.
“We’re gonna look to [Siam] to lead us into a world where we have a robust analytics/technology program.”
In addition to Siam, the Giants will lean heavily on assistant general manager Kevin Abrams, who has quietly led this pro-analytics charge alongside Siam.
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