Sports Statistics

[Jason Strasser (strassa2)]

Im really sick of the results oriented nature of sports and sports statistics. Part of what makes sports fun is the ability to be results oriented--to balance it with poker is very fun for me because I totally shun the results oriented side of my brain when im gambling, but when I watch sports I let myself get carried away.

However, there is a need for some better, more complicated statistics. The gist of what I want is to see more efficiency-based calculations. There are so many skewed stats that could be replaced by more meaningful efficiency stats:

Football is full of crap stats, almost every stat is meaninless. The XYZ team is 5th in rush defense, for example, is generally meaningless. Rush defense as a function of total yards is more of a function of how good your team is. If you get up big, the other team must throw the ball a lot. Comparing one team to another in their rush defense rankings is fairly useless, except for extreme examples. If there was a way to express rush defense as a function of: number of yards/carry, strength of opposing backs, strength of opposing D line, etc.

How about total rushing yards for a running back. I find this pretty useless as a judge for RB skill. How about some sort of efficiency rating that incorporates skill of the O-line, yards/carry, ability to break tackles, strength of the system, etc. ?

On ESPN there is some ranking system for the NBA and I find it very interesting. Allen iverson and Arenas are both way down the list.

I think more advanced calculations (like Passer Rating) would be great for sports fans.