bmorepunk":1i7og985 said:
Elemas":1i7og985 said:
Putting this out here first...I'm a naysayer. Additionally, I'm a data scientist. Numbers are important to me and usually form the basis of any/all analysis from my perspective.
What "numbers" are you talking about in this context?
What is your academic background? Math and stats degrees?
PHD, Computational Statistics. My BS is in Comp Sci but I pursued an MS in Data Analytics. My MS was the pilot program at my university and didn't peak my interest as much as the "core" principles did. Stats have always made more sense to me than the math that comprised most of my CS degree. In my line of work now, Data Scientist for the Air Force Research Laboratory, I still use quite a bit of linear algebra but it's always coupled with statistics.
Numbers I'm referring to are primarily referring to are those that are most common...margin of victory, pass rush/pressure, yards allowed vs. X....etc...nothing intricate.
Someone mentioned the number of games in a regular season. 16 isn't nearly enough. Even if you approached a problem set using historical data (ok, give me 3 seasons...48 games...), any prediction, comparison, etc is based on way too many dynamics to form a basis without the caveat that the results are only approximations.
With something as high profile as the NFL, if there were "good" answers, they would've certainly been ID'd at this point. Think Vegas and when spreads are determined.
Anyways, to sum it up....I'm enjoying the ride and wins a lot more by saying "we're 9-2" rather than saying "we only beat the Niners because Kittle and Zuerlien were out". Just a different mental approach that many people have displayed in their comments on this board. The why's don't matter...just the result.