My soccer team, FC Barcelona, won their fourth Champion’s league on Saturday. Felicidades!
You are currently browsing articles tagged Football.
I am taking a break from blogging about health care and focusing on the health of the Green Bay Packers. For those appreciate the quantitative focus of this blog, do not dispair, there will be lots of numbers.
Rodgers vs. Favre
At the beginning of the NFL season, the Packers jettisoned their hall of fame quarterback in favor of a young quarterback who had never started a profession game. Did the Packers choose wisely? A statistical comparison of the two quarterbacks clearly shows that Aaron Rodgers has a superior season to Brett Favre. As shown in this table, Rodgers surpassed Favre in every statistical category except completion percetage. Most importantly, Rodgers is 25 and Favre is 39.
The Packers Season: Talent without execution
Despite the superior play of Aaron Rodgers, the Packers were only 6-10. Should Packers fans expect another poor season next year? I don’t believe so.
In baseball, statisticians use Bill James’ Pythagorean Record to measure how many games a team should have won according to their talent. According to Pro-football Reference, a team’s Pythagorean Record in the NFL is:
- (Points For)2.37/[(Points For)2.37 + (Points Against)2.37].
According to actual Wins and Losses, the Packers had the 24th best team in the NFL. According to my Pythagorean Record calculations, however, the Packers had the 15th best team. In fact, the Packers were the most under-preforming team in the NFL. This table shows that the Packers should have expected a win percentage of .558 (8.9 wins), but they only won 6 games. This means that either 1) the Packers were very unlucky or 2) the Packers lost a large portion of close games.
Better luck next year for the green and gold.
Tags: Football, Green Bay Packers, NFL
The NFL season began yesterday. To celebrate, here are three football related links:
Football and Randomness
Two quarterbacks? Six eligible receivers? An undermanned California high school football teamed use the untraditional A-11 formation to win 7 of 11 games. The key?
“In a standard formation with five fixed linemen, a play can unfold with 36 different scenarios for who receives the snap and who ends up with the ball—including a quarterback sneak. In the A-11 offense, because the receivers and linemen (and even quarterbacks) are interchangeable, the number of different possibilities for what can happen on a given play skyrockets to 16,632.”
Virtual Rehabilitation
Wireless motion sensors are being used to help football players recuperate from injuries.
“The technology works somewhat like Nintendo’s Wii Fit in that it is able to track motion. A physical therapystroke victim wears a small, wireless sensor near the joint or muscle group being rehabilitated. Software guides the user through an exercise program, measures their range of motion and provides instant feedback on his or her rehab progress.”
Favre Getting that Retirement Itch Again
The Onion provides its always hilarious commentary about the Brett Favre saga:
Although veteran Jets quarterback Brett Favre claims he still loves the game, dwindling enthusiasm and a desire to bow out while on top has him contemplating retirement again, Favre confirmed Monday.
“I always told myself I’d know when it was time to walk away,” the guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer told reporters at the Jets practice facility. “But after 17 or 18, you know, practices as the quarterback of this team, I’m just tired, mentally and physically.”
Recent comments