Football Fix

During the NFL's offseason, finding interesting things to satisfy my need for football can be as tricky as finding real science in Kentucky--there isn't a lot available. News about players having trouble with negotiating contracts, obeying the law, or not making boneheaded decisions doesn't quench my football thirst. From the draft to the first preseason game, there's only noise and posturing, and even that comes in taunting blips.

I did find a site that explained some football statistics, and not just the mostly meaningless ones normally tracked by most sports pages. Much like how baseball has evolved from comparing just batting average and RBIs to more accurate WARP3 and VORP, statistical scientists at Football Outsiders have found ways to break down a football game into events which allow for better comparisons of players, offense and defense units, and teams. Their explanations are clear, and they acknowledge known shortcomings with their current model.

Additionally, they feature detailed breakdowns of particular plays actually run during the season, explaining how they worked (or didn't work), and how they could be improved. This is the kind of thing I absolutely crave. It's the kind of thing that makes me go through the tutorials on Madden Football each release so I can listen to John Madden describe how each block is set up, and the primary role of each receiving route.