Photo by Cpl. Michelle M. Dickson
by Johnny Hirschauer
By any measure, this was the best Pro Bowl in recent memory. The hits were fierce, the pass rushes wild, and the game intense and exciting. Skeptical as anyone upon hearing the new format, I am a believer in it. Rice and Sanders drafted well, and it was refreshing to see actual football and not the garbage we saw two years ago. No doubt, the uniforms were garish, the effort rarely lackluster, but it was undoubtedly aggressive and physical football.
One of the most interesting parts of the Pro Bowl and the primary reason I would vouch for its continuance is the fact that it provides a laboratory to view a few rules/strategies in a vacuum. For instance, they implemented a two minute warning at the end of each quarter with an ensuing alternating possession format at the beginning of the following quarter. While I am certainly opposed to their elimination of kickoffs in this game as a precedent for real NFL contests, the pace of the game with four two-minute offenses was exciting and a viable option for the league, should they retain the kickoffs.
The game also provided some interesting windows into game theory and "Minimax"- John Forbes Nash's economic theory that organizations should try to "maximize the minimum gain" - a careful dance between two or more strategies that have an optimum usage rate and often work in conjunction with each other. Think of a team that plays its base defense on a third and 3- they intend to have the ability to be prepared for a run or pass, trying to minimize the strategic advantage granted by running against a nickel or passing against a stacked box. A prime example in football is the "run sets up the pass" axiom- the tendency for effective rushing teams (and of course vice versa) to be able to pass the ball well off of a play fake as the defense has been gashed by the rush in preceding plays, enticing DBs to commit to the run. If a team were only to run the ball, there would be no incentive to cover receivers, leading to ten men boxes on virtually every play. The opposite extreme with passing is of course true as well. This was fervently displayed on Sunday night.
As Chris Colinsworth noted ad nauseam, front fours can dominate a Pro Bowl because these defensive lineman can pin their ears back as the saying goes without threat of a concertedly effective running game- Pro Bowl running attempts are either sparse or lackluster, often both. But on Sunday, the draw game was wildly effective, and between tackle rushing fairly successful. If nothing else, Sunday showed that while passing is the bread and butter staple of today's NFL offense, rushing will always be the toaster that maximizes the benefits of the forward pass.
You can read much more about Minimax's application to the world of football at Brian Burke's analytics site AdvancedNFLStats.com.
Like what you read? Leave us your email or a message on the "Contact" page to recieve updates and give us feedback.
by Johnny Hirschauer
By any measure, this was the best Pro Bowl in recent memory. The hits were fierce, the pass rushes wild, and the game intense and exciting. Skeptical as anyone upon hearing the new format, I am a believer in it. Rice and Sanders drafted well, and it was refreshing to see actual football and not the garbage we saw two years ago. No doubt, the uniforms were garish, the effort rarely lackluster, but it was undoubtedly aggressive and physical football.
One of the most interesting parts of the Pro Bowl and the primary reason I would vouch for its continuance is the fact that it provides a laboratory to view a few rules/strategies in a vacuum. For instance, they implemented a two minute warning at the end of each quarter with an ensuing alternating possession format at the beginning of the following quarter. While I am certainly opposed to their elimination of kickoffs in this game as a precedent for real NFL contests, the pace of the game with four two-minute offenses was exciting and a viable option for the league, should they retain the kickoffs.
The game also provided some interesting windows into game theory and "Minimax"- John Forbes Nash's economic theory that organizations should try to "maximize the minimum gain" - a careful dance between two or more strategies that have an optimum usage rate and often work in conjunction with each other. Think of a team that plays its base defense on a third and 3- they intend to have the ability to be prepared for a run or pass, trying to minimize the strategic advantage granted by running against a nickel or passing against a stacked box. A prime example in football is the "run sets up the pass" axiom- the tendency for effective rushing teams (and of course vice versa) to be able to pass the ball well off of a play fake as the defense has been gashed by the rush in preceding plays, enticing DBs to commit to the run. If a team were only to run the ball, there would be no incentive to cover receivers, leading to ten men boxes on virtually every play. The opposite extreme with passing is of course true as well. This was fervently displayed on Sunday night.
As Chris Colinsworth noted ad nauseam, front fours can dominate a Pro Bowl because these defensive lineman can pin their ears back as the saying goes without threat of a concertedly effective running game- Pro Bowl running attempts are either sparse or lackluster, often both. But on Sunday, the draw game was wildly effective, and between tackle rushing fairly successful. If nothing else, Sunday showed that while passing is the bread and butter staple of today's NFL offense, rushing will always be the toaster that maximizes the benefits of the forward pass.
You can read much more about Minimax's application to the world of football at Brian Burke's analytics site AdvancedNFLStats.com.
Like what you read? Leave us your email or a message on the "Contact" page to recieve updates and give us feedback.
RSS Feed