Jump to content

Anyone else sick of the analytics talk?


zevo

Recommended Posts

I was into it when it started but honestly I use sports as an escape from everyday life which i think most fans do...the constant discussion of the analytics has started to take the fun out of it for me..why cant we just watch the games for what it is....why must we analyze every metric. I deal with metrics all day at work and I understand the reasoning behind it...talk on WGR has become way too analytical. I could be the only one that thinks this way.

 

I appreciate and enjoy the analytics. I'd even like to see more numbers during live play.

 

Like in baseball I would like to see the runners speed and speed of throws to bases as it is happening.

 

The understanding that putting numbers on performance motivates people to perform better is nothing new. Production numbers serve both as a positive and negative re-inforcement simultaneously which essentially covers all personality types.

 

What I am really going to enjoy though is when the numbers actually start making players mentally adapt.

 

Most people don't realize just how utterly predictable their behavior on the job is for management and it's not until they realize that they have to work to break tendency and to prevent their wiring from becoming fixed that they begin to reach their potential. Those people stand out from the crowd.

 

The wave of information coming in is only going to accelerate the ability of the athlete to make himself better. I look forward to that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sick of it as well. I've taken graduate level stats courses and can't stomach these talk show hosts who've likely never take a single course babble on like they're statisticians. Thye have the mike so they assume instant credibility, The term analytics seems big and powerful to the average person, but to someone who wants to use stats to their fullest advantage, they should be predictive, in the case of something like wins. You should able to predict a causal relationship. Instead, these WGR guys just state probabilities, like the probability of getting a first down when going for it on 4th down. What good is the probability of going for it on 4th and 1 if you can't predict the impact it will have on winning? As a standalone stat, it's elementary and obvious. But taken in the context of the game... down and distance, score, weather, injuries, etc. it tells us nothing about whether you should go for it.

 

Maybe some of the stats they discuss do that, but I turn the radio off if I am every listening and they discuss it because I prefer my stats lectures from PhDs. And as stated earlier, frankly I just want to watch sports for the randomness and the athleticism.

Isn't there a website that analyzes the choices and spits out win percentage chances based on all those variables? It's kind of like playing blackjack properly. It doesn't give much of an advantage but over hundreds or thousands of instances, it will make a difference in outcomes...whether a single 16 game season is enough of a sample size to have this occur is in question...now if you implemented this every year for 10 years then I'd have to say yes... Edited by matter2003
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Analytics are just a piece of the puzzle. People run into trouble when they base everything on them or ignore them completely.

Analytics have their place when used properly. For example, the Bills previous coaching staff should've used analytics to understand that running CJ Spiller up the middle hardly ever worked and usually ended up losing yardage when he tried to kick it outside. But they did not so they continued to run that play multiple times a game throughout the season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Analytics have their place when used properly. For example, the Bills previous coaching staff should've used analytics to understand that running CJ Spiller up the middle hardly ever worked and usually ended up losing yardage when he tried to kick it outside. But they did not so they continued to run that play multiple times a game throughout the season.

That didn't require analytics, that just required watching a single game

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...