Pro Football Prospectus: 2002 Edition [Paperback]

Sean Lahman (Author), Todd Greanier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002

For 30 million fantasy football players and countless millions of sports fans, PRO FOOTBALL PROSPECTUS offers an unmatched caliber of quality analysis. Fans will enjoy the projections and predictions as they also learn about their favorite team's chances to make the playoffs, their coach's tendencies on second and long, and why their team's middle linebacker is one of the best in the league.

PRO FOOTBALL PROSPECTUS draws its information from a new and innovative system created by the Football Project, which creates a play-by-play database unlike any other. This unique resource provides fans a window into football that fans have never seen before by evaluating every team's offensive and defensive series. There are essays evaluating the key issues for each team in the coming season and sections that rate players at all of the positions. PRO FOOTBALL PROSPECTUS answers the questions that transcend any one team's players, strengths, or problems. For example, how have rookies performed over time? How does age affect a player's productivity? Is drafting the franchise quarterback the way to revive a struggling team? No other football annual has ever provided so much information about the present and the past of the game. PRO FOOTBALL PROSPECTUS gives fans the ultimate football experience!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean Lahman is a pioneer of making sports data publicly available on the Web, starting with his Baseball Archive site. As a writer, he has contributed to THE FOOTBALL ANALYST, TOTAL BASEBALL, and BASEBALL: THE BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA. As a senior editor for Total Sports, he was the editor of TOTAL STOCK CAR RACING and coeditor of TOTAL BASKETBALL. Lahman and Todd Greanier are cofounders of the Football Project, and both live in Rochester, New York.

Todd Greanier is a cofounder of The Football Project, he lives in Rochester, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books; 2002 edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157488557X
• ISBN-13: 978-1574885576
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,883,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fills a Niche, but lots of Room for Improvement, September 17, 2002

By 

Adam Strasberg (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pro Football Prospectus: 2002 Edition (Paperback)

When I heard about Football Prospectus, I was very excited. For years, I have wished for a book on football with the depth and breakthrough research that the Baseball Prospectus provides.

For those of you who don't know, Football Prospectus is the spin off of Baseball Prospectus, in my opinion the best baseball book on the market year in and year out.

That being said, I have to say I was disappointed with the content of this book. Most of the articles amount to little more than opinion. There isn't the research and analysis to back up the opinions like there is in the Baseball version.

The book is organized by team with a general essay, a section on the o-line, a section on the defensive front 7, and a section on the defensive backfield. There is a skill players section organized by position in the back.

I wanted more analysis, I wanted a different way to look at the game, some new statistical tools, I didn't get it. What I got was some interesting writing from a group that I respect but nothing really special.

Would I buy this book again? Well, if you're going to buy a couple of $7.50 magazines, then I would buy this book instead. I would only buy it to support the guys at Baseball Prospectus and encourage them to keep going and refine this product.

Would I buy this book again next year? I think yes because I believe in the Prospectus people, and I think this is a work in progress. Given another year and some feedback, I think they can make something special and needed -- a book dedicated to football that offers cutting edge statistical analysis and insight.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Extremely disappointing, September 13, 2002

By 

Michael C. Bennett "http://habloennui.blogspo... (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pro Football Prospectus: 2002 Edition (Paperback)

To apparently justify the publisher's attempt to expand the 'Prospectus' brand name (i.e., the successful Baseball Prospectus annuals), the authors proudly proclaim that they watched a tape of every NFL game played last year. Apparently, this experience was solely for entertainment purposes, as it is nearly impossible to determine what new statistical information they derived from this exercise. Most of their statistical analysis is comprised of taking common stats and haphazardly throwing them together to come to some predetermined conclusion.

For example, in the Pittsburgh Steelers' chapter, the writers attempt to show Kordell Stewart's escapability. The authors conjure up the Quarterback Elusiveness Score, a ratio between quarterback rushes to sacks. Chicago Bear QB Jim Miller places number two on this list, by virtue of his low sack total (a product, in part, of his chucking the ball away at the slightest sign of pressure) and his rushes, which were primarily kneel downs (30 att., -23 yds.). The only thing elusive is what this is trying to tell us.

With the information at their disposal, they could have analyzed the times a QB forced a throw, fumbled while scrambling, sidestepped in the pocket to throw for yardage, etc. However, such creative thoughts seem to elude the writers again and again.

Thus, much of this book isn't a whole lot different than your average yearly football magazine. It's even chock full of cliches -- halfway into the book, the authors have credited the aftermath of 9/11 in aiding the efforts of three different teams to 'come together'.

When you put together a football annual, the reader should expect more than rote analysis, particularly when you boast that you have much more up your sleeve. This book is below average.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good start, despite unfair comparisons, September 21, 2002

By 

Albert Woods (Dayton, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pro Football Prospectus: 2002 Edition (Paperback)

Some of the reviewers here rip the book for not living up to the standard of the Baseball Prospectus, but that's not really fair. The BP guys are building on a 20-year foundation of baseball analysis, and that book has been around for five or six years. There isn't a similar foundation of hardore football analysis to build on. I think these guys deserve some credit for what they did do in their first edition. Compare it to the first edition of BP, or the first Baseball Abstract by Bill James, and this book compares very favorably.

There are some new analytical tools here that other reviwers are simply ignoring. I think the system for objectively rating defensive players is intersting -- the first effort to do this that I've ever seen. There are special team stats that you're not going to find in football magazines, and data on offensive and defensive coordinators. They analyze the offensive lines and the secondary, adn the defensive front seven. Say that this pales in comparison to BP if you must, but give them credit for covering topics that aren't generally covered in football books.

Rather than blasting the book for what it didn't do, I'm excited about the things that they did do. Futuer editions will only get better, and I'm grateful that my favorite sport is finally getting some serious attention.