Pro Football Prospectus 2006: Statistics, Analysis, and Insight for the Information Age by Aaron Schatz, FootballOutsiders.com Staff (Editor)

Product Details

Synopsis

Drawn from the groundbreaking intelligence at FootballOutsiders.com, the braintrust that, according to Salon.com, picked more correct playoff teams in the last two years than any other group of experts, here is the essential annual that features:

• Pioneering team and player ratings that correct for situation and opponent to reveal true contributions to success.

• Unique statistical toolbox and game charting data (unavailable in standard NFL stats) such as which receivers run the longest patterns on both complete and incomplete passes; which quarterbacks benefit the most from yards after catch; which teams most often blitz or run specific offensive formations; and which defensive backs stop the other team’s passing game, measuring pass coverage rather than just tackles.

• Exclusive 2006 Predictions and odds on each team as a Super Bowl contender…or a contender for the top pick in the 2007 draft.

• In-depth essays on blitzing effectiveness, which coaches are most aggressive on fourth downs, how playoff workload affects a running back’s career, forecasting fantasy team defense numbers as accurately as those for offensive players, and a revolutionary new method for projecting young quarterbacks based on college statistics.

Library Journal

Reporter Schatz and his crew at FootballOutsiders.com apply the same type of statistical analysis to football players and teams that Bill James and his followers devote to baseball. The best thing about the Schatz experts is that their complex statistical measurements can be read enjoyably by those without a degree in mathematics. Why? Because they offer pieces that provoke debate. This annual (last year's was the debut) is of interest both to general fans and to fantasy league enthusiasts.Briefly notedHere are other fall football titles of interest: Mattew Algeo's Last Team Standing: How the Stealers and the Eagles "The Steagles" Saved Pro Football During World War II (Da Capo); Keith Dunnavant's The Missing Ring: How Bear Bryant and the 1966 Alabama Crimson Tide Were Denied College Football's Most Elusive Prize (St. Martin's); Paul Hornung's (with Billy Reed) Lombardi and Me: Players, Coaches, and Colleagues Talk About the Man and the Myth (Triumph); Thom Loverro's Hail Victory: An Oral History of the Washington Redskins (Wiley); Mike Shropshire's Runnin' with the Big Dogs: The True, Unvarnished Story of the Texas-Oklahoma Football Wars (Morrow); and Mark St. Amant's Just Kick It: Tales of an Underdog, Over-Age, Out-of-Place Semi-Pro Football Player (Scribner). Additionally, H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, and a Dream (Da Capo) is being republished in mass market paperback in tandem with NBC's new TV series "inspired by the book." Ed. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Biography

Aaron Schatz founded FootballOutsiders.com. He is a regular contributor to Foxsports.com and covers NFL for the New York Sun. He also writes for The New York Times, the Boston Globe, and The New Republic Online. He lives in Framingham, Massachusetts. Other members of the Football Outsiders include: Russell Levine, a football writer who lives in northern New Jersey; Chicago-based Michael David Smith who writes for The New Republic Online and the New York Sun; Michael Tanier, a sportswriter who lives in southern New Jersey; and Will Carroll, an award-winning columnist for Baseball Prospectus.