It's Time To Get Nerds Out Of Football And Be Done With Analytics For Good
Wagner Meier. Getty Images.We've become much more accepting and inclusive over the years. Society today is significantly less racist and homophobic than it used to be just 50 years ago. However, I'd say society got it wrong and went too far when we included nerds into the groups of people we needed to start being nicer to.
There was a time when a nerd would have to be worried about getting stuffed into a locker or their head dunked into a toilet when they crossed paths with a football player. But nowadays, not only have we invited nerds to take part in football games, but we've put them in charge of some of the most consequential decisions in the games with their bullshit analytics.
Coaches have become so damn reliant on these stats and numbers from a bunch of dorks punching numbers into a calculator up in the press box. Literally every single grandfather in the Philadelphia area was screaming at the TV last night to just take the points in the 1st quarter with a chance to put 3 on the board with a chip shot field goal. But instead, Nick Sirianni has a bunch of nerds in his ear telling him he should go for it because their spreadsheet says so.
It just seems like coaches have completely lost having a feel for the game. They've completely having having a feel for their team and what kind of performance they're getting during the game. There's nothing about this Eagles offense right now that makes them seem like they're "unstoppable". They're not shoving the ball down their opponent's throats every time they have the chance. This is a team that needs all the points they can get so that 1) they feel comfortable seeing a number besides 0 on the scoreboard, and 2) to take a little pressure off the defense that can hardly ever get themselves off the field.
I'm almost convinced that analytics are a way for the nerds to get back at athletes. Just lying about the numbers to make guys like Nick Sirianni look like the biggest putz on the planet for not taking the easy 3 points there. You take the points there and now it's a 9-point game with under 1:40 to go with the Falcons out of timeouts. Sure, you could make the argument that maybe the game doesn't play out the exact same way if the Eagles went with the field goal there. But still. I'm a firm believer that 24 points are better than 21 points. At the end of the day, those are the only numbers that actually matter in football.
And yeah, all of this would be moot had Saquon Barkley just made this easy catch to pick up the 1st down late in the 4th quarter to seal the game.
You can be mad at Kellen Moore all you want for going with a pass there instead of just trying to pick up the first down with a run that would keep the clock going. But it was a perfect play that gave them the exact look they were hoping for, and Barkley just dropped it. High risk, high reward, and the risk ended up being too much. But the Eagles should have been able to make it a 2-possession game at that point had Nick Sirianni just taken the points in the 1st quarter. And whichever group of dorks were in his ear telling him to go for it should have to walk around with their underwear pulled up over their head for the rest of the week at the facility.
All I'm saying is that Belichick wouldn't get bullied by a bunch of nerds to go for it at that point in the game.
What a pathetic loss. From top to bottom, just disgusting work by everyone involved.