Bill Belichick discusses the role of analytics in his decision making
"I just try to evaluate what I see."
The NFL has seen a significant rise in the use of analytics over the past few seasons. Head coaches across the league are using analytics to give them an edge. But the NFL’s most successful team? They don’t rely on analytics. “Analytics is not really my thing. I just try to evaluate what I see,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in a press conference Friday afternoon. “For me, it’s just trying to evaluate where players are physically, mentally, emotionally in terms of playing football in their career and that’s really what I can go on. Certainly there’s some other components but, in the end, those are the main things.”Belichick was also asked how much of a role analytics plays in his decision-making process, specifically in regards to two-point conversions and going for it on fourth down. Belichick responded, “less than zero.”Belichick goes on to clarify that he doesn’t make decisions just from his gut, though.“I’m not saying it’s a gut thing. It’s an individual analysis based on the things that are pertinent to that game and that situation,” Belichick said. “I don’t really care what happened in 1973 and what those teams did or didn’t do, I don’t really think that matters in this game – or ’83 or ’90, you know, pick out whatever year you want. It’s not really my thing. And I like math, too, by the way. I really do. I like math.”It’s hard to argue that Belichick’s lack of analytics in his decision-making is a bad thing. Belichick has won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, and the team has appeared in the AFC Championship Game every year since 2011. Plus, the Patriots have been one of the most dominant teams in NFL history to start the season, with the third-best point differential through three games in league history at plus-89. The Patriots take on the Bills in Buffalo this Sunday. Both teams sit atop the AFC East with 3-0 records to start the season.
