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True Worth Studies came to be in 1985. It is the examination of athletic
performance. Statistics, however, are not what True Worth Studies are all about. This
may be confusing to some people, but statistics are meaningless in and of themselves.
Only the relationships of the field results can ever be shown to have any real meaning.
The field results themselves, such as yardage, or attempts, or even points, are nothing.
This concept can be applied to any set of statistics, whether in athletics, in manufacturing,
or in some other field. Unless you can show a provable relationship exists between any
sets of statistics, then the statistics are essentially meaningless numbers. Few players
and coaches understand this. True Worth Studies, however, indeed prove to you that the
bare statistics of any event mean very little, if anything, when the event is examined
for provable relationships.
When I started out in 1985, I started with football. I learned very quickly that you should
never have any pre-conceived notions about anything, especially an athletic event, or the
performance at any position in such an athletic event. I once thought the prototype
quarterback was someone like Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts. Now, while Unitas grades
quite well in True Worth Studies, it should be stated he is not the prototype quarterback.
In football, there is no prototype quarterback. That pre-conceived notion is worthless
when examining the sport of football.
True Worth Studies were applied to basketball also, but nothing came out of basketball as
clearly as came out in football. In football, there are numerous provable relationships
that are confirmed every year. In basketball, not one relationship was proved to exist
among any sets of statistics. Football, however, is a compartmentalized sport, which
means that it is much easier to review. Football has eleven positions on offense, and
eleven positions on defense, all with specific jobs and roles. Basketball, on the other
hand, has five positions, but they all essentially do the same things on the court, and
they all play both offense and defense in the game. Basketball is not compartmentalized.
True Worth Studies intends to look at baseball, which is compartmentalized to a degree and
may be able to be examined in the same way that football is examined. But, the work
on baseball is purely preliminary, without the full testing of football.
Scroll down for a discussion on the evaluation of football.
For an example of preliminary work on baseball click here.
Free Introductory Download is Available for the Baseball Program Beta.
No other sports will be reviewed, since no other sports seem to have the same
qualities. Hockey is a lot like basketball, or even soccer. Only team sports
will be reviewed by True Worth Studies, so golf or bowling or any individual
sport will not be covered in the same way.
Keep in mind, the principle of True Worth Studies states that there must be a provable
relationship. Individual sports rarely present enough items to even examine on a
superficial level. Therefore, even if there is an individual sport which might present
enough items for examination, True Worth Studies will most likely stay with team sports.
The essence of True Worth Studies is team sports and the existence of provable relationships
on the field of play.
WHY STATISTICS ARE MEANINGLESS
IN AND OF THEMSELVES
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In the sport of football, this concept is easy to explain. Statistics are
meaningless in and of themselves. They are highly dependent upon opportunity, situation,
and circumstances, team philosophy, and strategy.
In other words, a coach may help determine if a team is a passing team or a running team
because of his philosophy. How a team plays in any game is also influenced by the score,
whether a team is ahead or behind, how much a team is ahead or behind, and how much time
there is left in the game. All of these things dictate strategy, and statistics are simply
a product of that strategy.
In and of themselves, the statistics tell you very little, if anything. Sometimes, statistics
hide a fact that is completely the opposite from the statistical picture presented in the box
score. In other words, some statistics are actually lies, appearing as a mirage of numbers.
Football, in reality, is all about matchups, how players play against each other, how teams
match up an offense against a defense, and how the teams actually perform on the field during
those matchups.
Yards gained and points scored are simply more statistics. The final score is all that
counts, but points themselves are relative in football. The offense that gains the most
yards is not necessarily the best offense, because yards are a product of opportunity. If
your defense consistently places your offense in good field position, you have less of an
opportunity to gain a lot of yards. The points scored may also be a product of the defense,
or even the special teams.
Therefore, you must view football as offense, defense, and special teams, and view all three
separately. No single number can be used to describe a team, because that single number can
never define those matchups.
The final test is legitimacy, but it is also the most complicated. The strength of one's
schedule has nothing to do with the record of wins and losses. The strength of schedule
is about matching up your rushing offense against a rush defense, or your passing offense
against a pass defense, and the other way around. That is what determines your strength
of schedule. If you face teams weak on rush defense, your team should run the ball better.
If you face teams strong on rush defense, your team may have trouble running the ball.
For a past example of NFL Strength of Schedule click here.
To view the Playoff Teams for the 2007 NFL Season click here.
Nobody should care about who gains the most yards, because it is relative to the opponent
that you play against on that particular day.
Finally, True Worth Studies can help you answer some questions, whereas it becomes a tool
for any coach. It can help you understand what you cannot readily see with your own eyes,
and it can help you prepare a better game plan to help your team win. It is not really about
saying who the best player is, because that is subjective. The True Worth Studies analyze
performance, not ability. Performance on game day is all any coach really cares about in
football.
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