Few conversations in pro football might be as polarizing as the implementation of analytics. Whereas many teams, like, say, the Chargers, have started to realize that it pays to be a little more aggressive with basic mathematical probability, there’s still an old guard of the game that steadfastly refuses to see the benefits behind these detailed numbers.
On Monday night, during a pregame conversation about Broncos-Chargers, ESPN’s Steve Young tried to argue against “analytics” by saying L.A. coach Brandon Staley (and other coaches, by extension) should only go for it in high-percentage situations when they also have a play they particularly like.
In other words, Young tried to, in his words — “bury analytics” — by saying the Chargers should appropriately leverage the percentages in their favor during games — also known as using analytics.
I’m not sure Young realizes what he actually said:
Steve Young just tried to bury analytics…with analytics pic.twitter.com/yj70tRQ4O0
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) October 18, 2022
Thank you, Mr. Young, for embracing analytics, inadvertently or not — like the majority of the modern NFL.
