We talk alot about FO stats around here. Here’s a primer.
INTANGIBLES
As I often say, intangibles are called intangibles because they are intangible. We don’t do stats that measure leadership or team chemistry. That doesn’t mean these things don’t exist, just that we can’t measure them. Leadership and chemistry can develop over time and will affect other teammates, and it is hard for us to guess how. “Heart,” on the other hand, is just another element of a player’s performance, no different from strength, speed, or ability to learn the playbook. Contrary to popular belief, there is a stat that measures heart. There are a lot of them, in fact. They are called “stats.” Most of the guys who have “heart” also have pretty good stats. Fred Biletnikoff used to smoke a pack of cigarettes, throw up for 20 minutes, and then go out and shred every defense he faced. He had great numbers. Anquan Boldin literally took the field three weeks after a broken face. His numbers are pretty good too. But if badly-rated Player X has so much heart, why didn’t he use it to maybe get a few more first downs last year?
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