More on teams creating analytics departments within their organizations

[ChrisPozz]

Number crunching a growing craze in the NFL

To the chagrin of many, many 49ers fans, the 49ers were one of the first teams to delve into this area a little bit. Their reliance on it or experimentation with it has changed quite a bit throughout the years, however.

 

[ChrisPozz]

Number crunching a growing craze in the NFL

To the chagrin of many, many 49ers fans, the 49ers were one of the first teams to delve into this area a little bit. Their reliance on it or experimentation with it has changed quite a bit throughout the years, however.

I said that before finishing the article. Here's a section of it where it talks about the 49ers. This isn't close to even a small percentage of what's come out with the 49ers and this topic, but...




It's no wonder that 18 NFL teams — including already-established analytics-influenced operations such as the 49ers and Falcons — were represented at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston in March.

The tech-aggressive 49ers are hellbent on applying new methods. This year, the 49ers struck a deal with SAP Software Solutions to develop a revolutionary draft app, SAP Scouting, that allows information within a central database to be processed in real time.

If a scout visiting a pro day at, say, a Southeastern Conference school enters a 40-yard time of a running back while another scout is observing another running back at, say, a Big Ten school and has a 40 time to report, the information can be shared immediately. Furthermore, the 40 times can be stacked up against every other running back — or every other player — in the nation.

The same concept applies to any type of quantitative data for an infinite number of prospects, and data can be used throughout a player's career.

Marathe broke into the NFL while working as a financial analyst for Bain and Company, which late 49ers architect Bill Walsh contracted for a project to evaluate the value of draft slots — something like an exchange rate — before the 2001 draft. Later that year, Walsh hired Marathe, who began as a salary-cap researcher.

Now Marathe is the chief negotiator and administrator of the team's cap.

A glance at the 49ers' salary structure provides clues about why the team seems well-equipped to remain a consistent contender after advancing to the NFC title game and the Super Bowl, respectively, over the last two seasons. The 49ers' cap is largely balanced and manageable, without exorbitant cap numbers for key players.

Although all-pro inside linebacker Patrick Willis had a $17.76 million cap number last year, his contract was structured to lower the figure to $3.65 million in 2013. With the trade of backup quarterback Alex Smith ($9.75 million) to the Chiefs, the highest cap number on the books is tight end Vernon Davis' $8.74million.

It's unrealistic to think they can retain every productive veteran who becomes a free agent, but Marathe vouches for analytics as a tool that can be used for timing some contracts to stretch cap dollars and get maximum returns.

"We don't want to be the Florida Marlins of 1997 or 2003, when you win and then break up the team," Marathe says.

 

[threelittleturds]

Big changes coming on NFL game days - NFC West Blog - ESPN

Current NFL rules prevent teams from using computers during games to assist with calling plays or anything else related to the game on the field. That will change in 2014 under a new partnership between the NFL and Microsoft.

Seems like the teams that already have analytics departments are going to be ahead of the curve going into the 2014 season. Glad that the 49ers are one of them.

 

[MHSL82]

Big changes coming on NFL game days - NFC West Blog - ESPN



Seems like the teams that already have analytics departments are going to be ahead of the curve going into the 2014 season. Glad that the 49ers are one of them.

Oops, I didn't see this thread when creating this one: http://www.sportshoopla.com/forums/san-francisco-49ers/100103-big-changes-coming-2014-a.html