One stat that matters for every NFL team

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar brings forth one stat that matters for every NFL team coming into the 2022 season.

When you ask NFL coaches, executives, and scouts about analytics, you’ll get all kinds of answers which tend to reveal which teams value them — and which teams are paying lip service, because they don’t really consider advanced metrics, but they don’t want to be pilloried on social media as dinosaurs.

The teams that don’t value analytics, or don’t want you to know that they do, will tend to give more generic answers. Teams that are all in will be more specific.

Whether you believe that analytics can help your player evaluation process or not, the simple fact is that they represent a tool that can be helpful in the right hands. In the wrong hands, it’s just statistical noise.

We’re not sure if my hands are the right ones or not, but in this article, I have endeavored to find one specific metric for each NFL team that reveals a larger strength or weakness each team will either benefit from, or must address, in the 2022 season.

So, get your tape-repaired glasses, dust off your pocket protectors, and let’s nerd out with one stat that matters for every NFL team!

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info SolutionsPro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

Pete Carroll can do these 4 things to help the Seahawks in 2022

Here are four things we’d like to see Carroll and his staff try to change in the 2022 season to help the Seahawks.

If the Seattle Seahawks were going to can head coach Pete Carroll over how their 2021 season turned out it would have happened by now. Carroll and general manager John Schneider have reportedly concluded their annual end-of-season meeting with team owner Jody Allen and nobody was dismissed as far as we are aware.

That means for better or worse the Carroll era will continue into its second decade. That’s probably smart – he is one of the best coaches in the NFL and very few have found more success in this era. He also has one of the best defensive minds in the business. That said, Carroll and his team would benefit if he made some adjustments to his approach.

Here are four things we’d like to see Carroll and his staff try to change in the 2022 season to help the Seahawks.

Play design, not analytics, doomed Ravens’ two-point attempt vs. Packers

Analytics didn’t stop the Ravens from beating the Packers on Sunday night. A flawed play design doomed Tyler Huntley outside of the numbers.

You’ve undoubtedly heard more about analytics in the NFL over the last week than you’d prefer. Following Chargers head coach Brandon Staley trying to convert fourth down after fourth down last Thursday, converting two of five attempts in a 34-28 overtime loss to the Chiefs, everybody on both sides of the argument were loaded for bear. Either old-school football cavemen didn’t understand the analytical argument in favor of going for it on fourth down, or new-school nerds weren’t up with the realities of the game.

It has been tiresome, no matter which side you’re on. And on Sunday night against the Packers, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was going to extend the debate with the decision to try a two-point conversion with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley. Baltimore was down 31-30 with 42 seconds left after scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the last five minutes of the game. They could have kicked the extra point and headed to overtime, or they could have tried to win it right there.

We all know what happened.

Huntley rolled to his right, tried to hit tight end Mark Andrews at the end of the end zone, and the Packers prevailed. It was the second time in three games that Harbaugh had tried a late two-point attempt, and it was the second time his team was unable to convert. That led to losses to the Packers last night, and to the Steelers in a 20-19 heartbreaker in Week 13.

Harbaugh was unapologetic after the fact.

“Yes, we were just trying to go get the win right there,” Harbaugh said about trying to steal the win from the Packers in regulation, as opposed to giving Aaron Rodgers another shot. “In overtime… I think our chances of winning right there were a little bit higher than in overtime, maybe, if you calculate it out. I felt good about it. I thought we had a good play. Again, they made a really good play. I have to give that safety a lot of credit for getting out there and tipping that ball.”

Harbaugh wasn’t wrong about the decision, per se. The problem was the failed play call.

Why some NFL head coaches refuse to embrace analytics

If you are running numbers for Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera, and your success rate isn’t 100%, don’t bother.

There are coaches and general managers in the NFL who swear by analytics, and there are coaches and general managers in the NFL who are more inclined to swear at anyone daring to bring advanced metrics into the discussion. Every NFL team has at least one person on staff whose responsibility is (to a greater or lesser degree) mining data and interpreting it for the hypothetical benefit of the organization. It could be great information; it could be junk science. The value is in the unraveling, the usage, and the ability (not to mention the willingness) to understand.

Recently on the Rich Eisen Show, Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera had a few things to say about analytics and probability as they apply to in-game situations.

“I’ve had situations where we’ve gone for it with the analytics, and it didn’t happen out, and I was told, ‘Hey — it’s okay. You did what the analytics said.’ And to me… I struggle with that, because if I did what analytics said, and it said, ‘Nine times out of 10, you’re going to complete it, there’s that one time out of 10 you don’t.’ You know what I’m saying? So, how do you you’re going to be that one time out of 10 where you don’t? Where it isn’t successful? There is no guarantee. You can tell me all you want that… hey, it’s 99%. That’s good, but what if you’re that 1%? What about that one time it doesn’t work? Nobody talks about that until it happens.”

Well, there’s a lot to unpack here. I’ve asked a lot of coaches and general managers about their approaches to, and thoughts about, analytics. One sure giveaway that they’re not really involved in the benefits advanced metrics may bring is referring to analytics as “the analytics.” It’s like referring to Led Zeppelin as “The Led Zeppelin.” I’m going to assume you’ve never shelled out cash to enjoy “When the Levee Breaks.”

Regarding the use of “the analytics,” if Rivera’s people with the stats had a probability model that allowed for, say, successful conversion of third or fourth downs at a 90% or 99% rate, those people should be working on things far more important than football. Last season, the Bills’ offense led the NFL in third-down conversion rate with 49.7%. Washington converted its third downs 39.1% of the time, one of the lowest rates in the league, so maybe that’s where Rivera isn’t happy. If you were converting 90% of your third downs, you’d never lose a game. In fact, most of your games would be blowouts to the point where the league would investigate.

The Bills and Dolphins tied for the highest fourth-down conversion rate at 80%, while Washington converted 11 of 19 fourth downs for a 57.9% conversion rate. If Rivera’s going on instinct here as opposed to probability, and he throws probability out the window, shouldn’t he have a more imposing success rate?

In 2018, Drew Brees set the NFL’s single-season record for completion percentage with a 74.4% completion rate. Had Brees been Rivera’s quarterback at the time, would Rivera have benched him at any point in the season when Brees’ passing attempts weren’t working out 25.6% of the time? Of course not, because Rivera would understand that in the history of football, to have a completion percentage of 74.4 would mean that you’re decidedly ahead of the average. He has a reasonable base of percentages from which to decide what success means.

As far as the people who are hired to crunch these numbers and feed them to the coaches who may or may not choose to use them, there is no one global number designed to suck the brains of coaches right out of their heads. The metrics, which account for everything from situation to opponent to recent success and scads of other things, are designed to help a coach in his decision-making process. They are not there to replace the coach’s instincts, or his in-game feelings about a particular situation.

Rivera may hear in his headset that he has a 90% chance of success in a particular endeavor. And he may respond, “Look, my starting quarterback is out, my two offensive tackles are hurt, we’re facing a defense that allows just 2.1 yards per carry up the middle, and my receivers have dropped five passes in the last five drives. I am punting, you nerds.”

And in that case, Rivera might be absolutely correct to do so. Probability varies based on all kinds of factors. But if you’re not willing to listen, there is no probability, there are no factors, and you may well be denying your team a better success rate in a particular fashion because you’ve decided the odds aren’t worth it, without knowing what the odds really are.

Browns voted as NFL team producing the highest level of analytical work

Berry and the Browns fared very well in the ESPN analytics survey

It should come as no surprise that the Cleveland Browns are well-regarded in the NFL analytics community. A recent survey from ESPN shows just how highly GM Andrew Berry and his staff are thought of by their peers.

The survey, conducted by Seth Walder of ESPN, gives a good indication of the respect for Berry and what the Browns are doing with and around the precocious GM.

So we surveyed 26 people who are current NFL analytics staffers or have been in the past year on a variety of topics during this past offseason — including the most and least analytically inclined teams — in what is no longer a niche area of football. (My list of analytics staffers around the league currently includes 85 people.) Some staffers left additional comments, and others were called by ESPN for contextual follow-ups. And all were granted anonymity so they could speak freely.

From those surveyed, the Browns got the most votes for the question, “Which NFL analytics team produces the highest level of work?”. Cleveland captured eight votes, three more than Baltimore.

The Browns finished second to the Ravens in every other category, including which teams are the top five most analytically advanced and which team incorporates analytics the most.

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Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey named to NFL.com’s All Analytics team

McCaffrey turns 24 years old today.

Even as his position is becoming devalued over time, the Carolina Panthers are extraordinarily lucky to have Christian McCaffrey on their roster – an obscenely talented playmaker at such a young age.

In fact, the numbers say that McCaffrey is one of the most valuable players in the league. Cynthia Frelund at NFL.com has put together an All Analytics team, comprised of players who offer production where it matters most based on Next Gen Stats. In McCaffrey’s case, that means getting the job done on first down. Derrick Henry is her starting running back, but McCaffrey made the cut as the flex player.

“On first down specifically, his 1,262 scrimmage yards were the most for any player by almost 200 (in second was Derrick Henry at 1,098), and he chipped in nine total first-down touchdowns. First-down production and middle-of-the-field work are strongly correlated with drive success (that is, compiling first downs and touchdowns). NGS shows that McCaffrey averaged 5.0 yards per rush inside the tackles (second in the NFL among those with a minimum of 75 inside runs).”

That’s good stuff.

McCaffrey turns 24 years old today.

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Panthers coach Ron Rivera’s inconsistent use of analytics is confusing

Rivera needs to make a choice.

Ron Rivera decided to go for two.

If it had been successful, the Packers’ lead would have been cut to just six points, bringing Carolina that much closer to a thrilling comeback win. Panthers fans would be sharing Riverboat Ron memes and praising the genius and daring of their coach, who understands how the modern game works and isn’t afraid to use analytics to his advantage.

The two-point conversion attempt didn’t work out. So instead, Panthers fans are calling him foolish and worse. The thing is Rivera made the right call – at least if you believe in numbers. That time, anyway.

The result isn’t always going to be there. The process is what matters. The more times you make the correct decision, the more often you will reap the benefits.

That’s what makes Rivera’s inconsistent use of analytics so frustrating.

Rivera set the wrong tone for the game on the very first drive, when he decided to punt on 4th and 3 inside Packers territory. Given the way last week’s win over the Titans went, it was a baffling decision, made all the more confusing by Rivera’s post-game comments when he talked about the decision to go for two, per the Athletic.

“Yes, that was purely analytics, 100 percent. . . If you don’t get it there, you get an opportunity to go for two again. We feel pretty good about the play we had called the first time, and we felt good about having the second one up. It’s most certainly something where we went ahead and followed the analytics of it.”

“Following the analytics of it” is what winning teams do, but in the next breath Rivera changed course and talked about his gut feelings and game flow.

Last week, Rivera’s instincts told him to go for it on two separate fourth downs against the Titans. Or maybe it was the analytics. It’s hard to tell when there’s no clear method of operating. In any case, after that win, several players remarked on how much confidence Rivera’s aggressive decisions gave them.

What were they to think when Rivera punted away inside Green Bay’s territory to begin the game?

For all the talk about Kyle Allen’s poise and grit and leadership ability, not trusting him to get three yards there when the analytics say otherwise and Allen’s opening drive looked strong doesn’t inspire confidence and raises questions about Rivera’s own leadership.

The Panthers have an analytics department, which they announced without much fanfare in June. We must assume that Taylor Rajack and whoever else works in that department get paid real money to do their jobs. David Tepper can afford it, in any case. Since the franchise is paying for it, they might as well put it to use on the field.

Rivera needs to make a choice.

Either the analytics trump his gut feelings and the “situation” or they don’t. This mix and mash he’s got going on is only going to lead to confusion and more of those infamous missed opportunities.

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