Football Outsiders Frequently Asked Questions

 Football Outsiders Most Frequently Asked Question

Q: What is the matter?

Football Outsiders provides you with a variety of in-depth statistics you won't see anywhere else. We aim to offer objective analysis of football, which matches the progress in baseball writing and analysis over 20 years. We now have new ways to analyze the skill players, offensive or defensive lines, and team efficiency. These statistics are current for the years 1986-2018. They are updated every week during 2019.

Not only do we have tons of stats but we also write detailed articles explaining them. We also answer specific questions and challenge traditional wisdom about the game. Our articles may not be based on statistics but they provide a more informed view of professional and college football. Our columnists are split between articles published on Football Outsiders and those appearing as part of our partnership. Some of our writers, as well as former writers, also appear on SI.com, SB Nation and CBS Sports.

A: This is our regular season schedule. The college football columns are shown in blue. Material that appears somewhere other than FootballOutsiders.com is in italics. All ESPN material can be found on ESPN+

MONDAY Audibles at Line One Foot Inbounds

TUESDAY Quick Reads DVOA Ratings Any Given Sunday Clutch Encounters

WEDNESDAY Scramble For the Ball FEI Ratings

THURSDAY Film Room Seventh Day Adventure ESPN: Upset Watch ESPN: Rotating NFL Feature

FRIDAY Words of Muth: The Week in Quotes

Q: I'm a new visitor to your site. Would you mind sharing some of the basic research findings that you've made with football outsiders? It would greatly help me understand what you do.

A: We will provide a list of these researches in our essay Football Outsiders Basics.

Q: How does DVOA work? (or DYAR, Adjusted Line Yards, etc.)

A: Most advanced statistics are explained on a page called Methods To Our Madness. Some shortcuts:

DVOA

DYAR

Special Teams

Adjusted Line Yards

Check out the Football Outsiders Glossary for additional stats.

Q: How are stats updated each week on the website?

A: The statistics pages will generally be updated on Tuesday night. This can sometimes be delayed as Aaron Schatz performs this manually after the DVOA commentary. Not all pages of the offensive or defensive line are updated every week. Jim Armstrong updates each drive statistic on his own schedule.

Q: Player X has a higher DVOA than player Y, and player Y has a higher DYAR. What do these really mean and which one is more important for evaluating a player's potential?

A: DVOA is a rate statistic, DYAR is a cumulative stat. This is the easiest way to remember. DVOA measures a player's performance per play, while DYAR is a cumulative stat. DYAR adds up all the contributions for a season (or game or drive, etc.). Compare DVOA with standard NFL stats. DYAR compares to total stats (yards/carry, completion percentage), while DVOA is similar.

High DVOA means that a player has a positive impact on the play. This is in line with league-average expectations. A player's DYAR is a measure of how much he contributes to the team's success. This could be through very good or poor plays, or vice versa. For example, giving 250 carries per annum to a league average running back is better than giving the same carries a practice squad member. If players have a high DVOA and a low DYAR it usually means they are not "involved" as much as their peers (e.g.., No. 3 receivers, goal-line tight ends, Carson Palmer). Players with high DYAR, but low DVOA generally mean they are involved in a lot, but not as much on the specific plays.

Which is more important? They really cannot be played against one another like that. Both provide information about a player's contributions and, along with other stats like RB Success Rate, can give you a good idea of a player’s performance. All of these stats depend on your teammates. How good is the line blocking? How skilled are the quarterback's receivers ), so we cannot simply compare DVOA/DYAR and tell who is "better." These stats are useful for comparing, but not as a substitute for observation.

Q: Does DVOA really make sense?

A: Yes. A: Yes. DVOA aims to balance two things.

The correlation of the opponent adjusted statistics from year to year, which represents the intrinsic qualities of a team regardless luck or chance.

The correlation of the non-opponent-adjusted statistics to wins.

DVOA (at least the team version) does these things more effectively than any other statistic. Here are some correlation coefficients. football picks some of the most basic information