Customer Reviews

The Hidden Game of Football: The Next Edition

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This book is an excellent read for anyone who has a genuine interest in football statistics. The authors are actually statisticians themselves, and they go through each phase of the game and attempt to come up with scientific ways to rate each position, including the offensive line!

The part I found most interesting was the chapter on quarterbacks and the conventional NFL QB rating system and why it is flawed. From there the authors go into a lengthy process of building a better rating system, which more accurately reflects who the most efficient passers in the NFL are.

You would think being written by a bunch of statisticians, this book would be dull, but it is far from it! It is lively and humorous throughout, and is very easy to read. Also, most of the heavy statistics are relegated to notes, so if you are not interested in that sort of thing you can skip it easily.

All told this is an outstanding book to read if you are interested in learning the "Nitty-gritty" behind football statistics.

This book is amazing. If you are interested in the theory behind football stats -- or are a fan of Football Outsiders -- you have to have this book.

For football lovers - this book will challenge your conventional thinking. The authors use statistics (and by statistics, I am talking standard deviation and regression analysis AS WELL AS yards, percentages and attempts) to debunk myths, challenge assumptions and help the reader understand the mathematics and the myths behind football. The writing style is easy to digest, sprinkled with humor, and very conversational.

Go for it on 4th and 1 on the opponents 6 yard line with 2 minutes to go and down by 3, or kick a field goal? The answwers may surprise you. Using complex but very logical data and mathematical equations, the "right" decision may not be so right mathematically.

The authors also look at players at all positions and how to statistically evaluate talent, measure immeasureables, gut check assumptions, even evaluate for the Hall of Fame. Moneyball, before Moneyball was written. A reminder, too, that we couch coaches are missing and probably misinterpreting a lot of information - and the pros use these methods as part of their scouting and game planning. A good book for the thinking football fan!