Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
From today's Axios Sports Newsletter:
Newsflash: The "game of inches" has always been defined by a far less precise measurement: the yard. And up until 2016, the NFL's counting system listed anything between zero yards and two yards as fourth-and-1.
Tracking technology is starting to change that, helping teams "distinguish exact distances and measure the value of a single inch," notes WSJ's Andrew Beaton (subscription).
By the numbers: When teams were just inches away from the first down in 2017 and 2018, they converted 82% of the time. But in "long" fourth-and-1 situations, that rate dropped to 55%.
The bottom line: As tracking data goes mainstream, learning more about the different types of fourth downs will arm teams with more information — and could forever change how coaches call plays.
Newsflash: The "game of inches" has always been defined by a far less precise measurement: the yard. And up until 2016, the NFL's counting system listed anything between zero yards and two yards as fourth-and-1.
Tracking technology is starting to change that, helping teams "distinguish exact distances and measure the value of a single inch," notes WSJ's Andrew Beaton (subscription).
By the numbers: When teams were just inches away from the first down in 2017 and 2018, they converted 82% of the time. But in "long" fourth-and-1 situations, that rate dropped to 55%.
The bottom line: As tracking data goes mainstream, learning more about the different types of fourth downs will arm teams with more information — and could forever change how coaches call plays.
