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 an example of Individual Players All-Time NFL click here.
To view the Playoff Teams for the 2009 NFL Season click here.
To view the Playoff Teams for the 2008 NFL Season click here.
To view the Playoff Teams for the 2007 NFL Season click here.
To view the 2008-2009 BCS Championship Game and NCAA 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.