NFL games were once about as interactive as a rock concert. Sure, you’d get to follow along with the score, be provided with commentary by sports experts, and get to watch replays of key plays over and over again. You could even be provided with basic statistics about a game, such as how many passing yards a quarterback threw for, how many times a team rushed the ball, how many turnovers a team had, etc. But that was about it.
That experience has changed.
Information is published on digital platforms almost in real time. Football fans can now track in detail statistics of players and football teams, read out summaries of football matches, compare betting odds, get up-to-date information about football games, review in detail a wide variety of advanced indicators. The more informed football fans are nowadays, the different football match viewing experience they get.
Another angle to experiencing a game of football is being able to understand more of the game, the decisions that a coach has made and even the patterns and probabilities that occur in a game of football.
From Basic Box Scores to Advanced Measurements
Box scores (which are basically a list of numbers for a game) have been around for decades to supply football fans with data about the game they just watched. But numbers alone never told the complete story for games in which there were a lot of close calls.
For example, two quarterbacks may finish the game with identical passing numbers, but have been under totally different circumstances. A running back may be averaging less than 5 yards per carry but be earning all of his yards by pounding through solidly stacked defensive lines.
Advanced data helps fill those gaps.
Fans can now review advanced statistics including completion percentage above expectation, air yards, pressure rates, route separation, yards after contact, and more for individual players and teams. These statistics give fans a much better understanding of individual and team performance than the basic statistics of old.
The value in having more statistics is that now fans can ask and receive better answers to their questions about the game of football.
Was the quarterback’s inaccuracy solely his fault, or did his receivers not get enough separation? Was the defense unable to make tackles for a variety of reasons, or did the opposing offense’s drives consist of the NFL equivalent of a math problem in which they continually received favorable matchups?
Modern analytics allow fans to move beyond scoring in a football game and really analyze and understand the process of the game.
Real-Time Data Has Changed Live Viewing
Real-time data has greatly influenced live viewing of football.
Because we receive live updates following almost every play, we no longer have to wait until the next morning to read the next day’s recap of last night’s game. Fans can now track passing totals, win probabilities, and even keep up with their players’ fantasy scores.
This changes how people follow games.
A fan watching a close fourth-quarter game can immediately see how a turnover affected the win probability for each team. Someone following multiple games can receive alerts for players reaching milestones, such as 100 rushing yards for the day, or a team scoring a touchdown in the red zone. Fans can also get the most up-to-date information about their fantasy football players and receive the most accurate scores in real-time.
In addition to live scoring, fantasy player information, and NFL statistics, NFL.com offers fans NFL news, team schedules, players, photographs, fan forums, NFL free games, and streaming video of NFL Playoffs.
Second-screen viewing is the norm, where fans are watching the game on television and tracking statistics, reading social commentary, viewing up-to-the-minute information on their players in fantasy football, and even conducting in-depth tactical analysis on their tablets and smartphones.
Fans Are Becoming More Informed Analysts
Better access to information has also changed the way supporters discuss football.
National broadcast and newspaper coverage still provides considerable insight into specific games, teams and even players on match day. Yet for those who follow the game all week rather than just on match day, those voices are no longer the only ones providing detailed, quality analysis and insight into specific games.
This has made football discussion more specific.
As for specific areas of offense and defense that fans now focus on when they discuss their favorite team, there is now so much information available on games that fans now discuss areas such as the pressure rates on a team’s quarterback, a team’s pass-blocking, a team’s early throws, a defense’s third-down efficiency, a defense’s ability to prevent explosive plays, a team’s red-zone efficiency, and the quality of a team’s opponents.
Again, more information does not mean that all information will be correct or that fans will understand it. However, they can use the information to form more educated opinions about games and the NFL.
In other words, it moves the fans away from blindly believing in something just because someone famous said it and towards actually checking out the actual information in order to form their very own unique opinions.
Data Is Shaping How Fans Make Predictions
One can very easily be wrong in regards to their NFL predictions. As we all know every game is unique with injuries, weather, coaching decisions, etc. Sometimes even the best teams in the NFL can fall to an inferior team with a few key plays going against them.
Still, modern data allows fans to make more structured predictions.
You can compare a team’s recent performance to their season averages. Look at a team’s home and away records. See how a defense rates against offenses of certain types. Find out if a team is bad when they are forced to play from behind in a game. Look at a team’s injury report and then their depth chart to see how many players will be missing and who will step up in their place to see how a team’s players will be used in a game.
When reading up on previews or even free NFL picks, make sure to evaluate a team’s situation on the field. Instead of choosing a team that will likely win based on their stats, choose the game that will be the most competitive. This way, you will be able to provide the best insight possible when discussing the game with fellow fans.
The best analysis will look at multiple factors. A team with the better overall record can be playing a tougher opponent. A team with a strong passing offense may not do as well in bad weather. And the loss of a key player can affect not only that player’s position but the entire game plan for that team.
There is still no guarantee of certainty with regard to data, but there is a greater understanding of uncertainty.
A More Complete Way to Experience Football
Because information about football has become faster, deeper and more accessible for fans of the National Football League through modern platforms, the experience of fans of the NFL has changed significantly.
Fans can follow the entire game in real time. In addition to comparing the statistics of individual players on their fantasy team, they can study out the entire playbook of a team, as well as the team’s and players’ trends. Furthermore, fans are able to engage in a more intelligent discussion with their fellow football fans on just about every play of the game.
There is something more to the game of football than the plays on the field. Even though the game is shown on television, there is more to the game of football than what is shown on the screen.
Analytics, on the other hand, can explain what influences those moments to unfold.
Fans are now able to appreciate so much more of the game than what is broadcast on TV. That which takes place on the field of play as well as in the data, on the video, the trends and the conversations that develop around every single play.
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