This blog is devoted to fostering an appreciation for measurements, operations and statistics, through my appreciation for halfback options and safety blitzes.
Measurement/The "Basics":
First and foremost, football is a game of distance and of time. The benchmarks for success are a team's ability to move (or prevent movement) down the field, yard by yard. These tasks are complicated by a clock that limits game duration and one that hurries play selection. The team that can effectively "gain yardage" and "control the clock" is most often the team that wins. That said, the ability to measure distance and time accurately is crucial to a competitive and well-played game.
Not only is the game itself steeped in measurement, but the analysis and recruitment of new players is strongly dependent on attributes that can be assigned number values. Factors such as player speed, strength, height, weight, vertical and horizontal leaping ability, agility, flexibility and other "measurables" thought to be indicators of future success.
Operations:
With goals of gaining yards and scoring points, football is a game that is heavily dependent on the quick and accurate performance of basic operations. Distance traveled needs to be added or subtracted after each play, scores must be changed, educated estimates must be made. Even the aftermath of a brutal hit can be assessed through basic addition and subtraction:
Statistics:
A game of interchangeable parts and shifting strategies, football coaches and fans alike study a ridiculous number of statistics kept on individual players and teams. Stats are available for everything from team scoring averages in various weather conditions to success on third down with more than 7 yards to gain. Every penalty, completed pass, kick return and coaching decision is recorded, calculated, ranked and compared. Here's a small sampling.
...And the ultimate marriage of football-related operations and statistics, the always confounding Quarterback Passer Rating:
