Coming out of the NFL’s Championship Weekend, the biggest talking point regarding on-field dynamics seems to be the coaching of Dan Campbell, who oversaw a 17 point halftime lead for the Lions evaporate in a loss to the 49ers. It’s led to a much larger debate revolving around analytics and the ultra-aggressive Campbell, who often eschews conventional wisdom in favor of going for it repeatedly on fourth down. That approach seemed to come back to bite the Lions when they failed on multiple opportunities and San Francisco rolled them over in the second half.
Of course, any polarizing coaching decision is going to ruffle feathers and get the engines revving for all of the experts, analytics, and talking heads. But when you combine a notable personality like Campbell with any use of math in sports and the takes turn into a rocketship ready for takeoff.
Predicatbly, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo was one of those individuals ready to take aim at Campbell and the Lions for their second half collapse. Russo might as well be the museum curator for 20th Century sports, so any use of new theories and ways to play or coach the game might be too new age and scary. But thankfully, at least Russo does his ‘old man yells at math’ schtick in a way more entertaining way than anyone else. After all, who else could invoke Vince Lombardi, Paul Brown, and Otto Graham in a rant aimed at “data freaks.”
Via Mad Dog Sports Radio:
https://twitter.com/MadDogRadio/status/1752100408879616242
“And then all the dopes on Twitter are backing you up, the data freaks who wouldn’t know Lombardi from Paul Brown! Never heard of Otto Graham! Kenny Stabler! Madden! Wouldn’t know them if they fell on them. They do football via math, that’s not how you do football!” Russo raged.
Of course, this is funny because math has its fingerprints all over football. After all, football is all about scoring more points than the opponent. It takes ten yards in four tries to get a first down. The game is sixty minutes long. But don’t tell Russo that. Clearly football is only about guys smashing into each other until somebody decides to go home.
