Cleveland Browns hire Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer

[BillScottCanRake]

I'm not sure where this belongs (Major Leagues, Off Topic, Lambeau Leap?) but the Cleveland Browns have hired Paul DePodesta from the Mets.

 

Linkage

 

I will be interested to see how this works out. I think MLB is pretty far ahead of the NFL in the use of analytic, and it will be interesting to see how that might translate to football. Of course, this is the Browns, so we might not really know how it works out until someone else tries it.

[CheezWizHed]

I think they just hired him to analyze Johnny football's Las Vegas gambling tendencies.

[Point Beer Is Best]

The last 5 coaches to have been fired from the AFC North were all the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. They have hit the reset button more than any team in recent memory.

 

I thought they might actually try something smart this offseason (I don't know why I would ever give them the benefit of the doubt), but then the first thing they did after cleaning house was to move the general counsel (head lawyer) to run the football department AND have final say over the 53 man roster. Good luck attracting those up and coming GM prospects when they won't even have control over who's on the roster.

[3and2Fastball]

Someday teams in the NFL will rarely punt. It might not be until my (not born yet) grandchildren are in the old folks home, but at some point the stubborn old monolithic of football coach groupthink will figure out the mathematical probabilities of actually using 4 downs to get 10 yeards instead of 3.

 

I could spend months on end explaining why I prefer Baseball more than Football.

[DHonks]

3and2, they should usually punt on their own side of the field, but rarely when a touchback is reasonably possible.

[3and2Fastball]

3and2, they should usually punt on their own side of the field, but rarely when a touchback is reasonably possible.

 

I would never punt beyond my own 35 yard line. Depending on the makeup of my team I might extend that back 10 yards even. With a strong offensive line you really should be able to average 2.5 to 3 yards per carry, and dink & dunk enough screen passes and pick passes to keep defenses honest.

 

Anyways the evolution of the NFL at this point is somewhat similar to MLB back in Babe Ruth's day when a pitcher with a runner on 3rd still pitched out of the windup, allowing for players to frequently steal home, or the "genius" who thought that the Maury Wills types were leadoff hitters because they were fast.

[Bombers]

I'm not sure where this belongs (Major Leagues, Off Topic, Lambeau Leap?) but the Cleveland Browns have hired Paul DePodesta from the Mets.

 

Linkage

 

I will be interested to see how this works out. I think MLB is pretty far ahead of the NFL in the use of analytic, and it will be interesting to see how that might translate to football. Of course, this is the Browns, so we might not really know how it works out until someone else tries it.

Lol. This made me chuckle. I like it. A Browns fan on Twitter said "why not try it, nothing has worked for us". I agree with the definition of insanity (trying the same thing over and over and hoping for different results).

 

I have long said, since the boom of baseball analytics other sports will catch up. For instance, when it is the 2nd half of the season and you can see what type of plays are successful vs another defense on 3rd and 3, 2nd and 8, or what type of routes in certain situations on certain defenders give you better probabilities.

[Jimbo]

Someday teams in the NFL will rarely punt. It might not be until my (not born yet) grandchildren are in the old folks home, but at some point the stubborn old monolithic of football coach groupthink will figure out the mathematical probabilities of actually using 4 downs to get 10 yeards instead of 3.

 

Off the top of my head, I believe the term is "risk aversion". One of the "Freakonomics" books elaborates on this subject and specifically calls out NFL coaches. Coaches are so afraid of arm-chair quarterbacks and being second-guessed, they take the safe option in a situation even if results in a lower expectation. I'll see if I can go back and find it.

[homer]

Someday teams in the NFL will rarely punt. It might not be until my (not born yet) grandchildren are in the old folks home, but at some point the stubborn old monolithic of football coach groupthink will figure out the mathematical probabilities of actually using 4 downs to get 10 yeards instead of 3.

 

Off the top of my head, I believe the term is "risk aversion". One of the "Freakonomics" books elaborates on this subject and specifically calls out NFL coaches. Coaches are so afraid of arm-chair quarterbacks and being second-guessed, they take the safe option in a situation even if results in a lower expectation. I'll see if I can go back and find it.

 

 

That also goes along with deciding to kick a field goal or go for a touchdown on 4th and goal.