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In the past these posts have tended to be over long on stats, and short on context and nuance so this year we will be doing things a little bit differently. Gone is the emphasis on individual stats, those still matter, but I have (belatedly) come to the realization that it is not that difficult to put up great stats in the context of a bad offense. With that in mind I have begun to place more emphasis on team based measures of efficiency.
To that end readers will be seeing much more reference to SB Nation's own Bill Connelly and his S&P+ ratings (found here) than I have used in the pass. The reason I like the S&P ratings more than FEI system (found here) is that I think the play by play data on which the S&P ratings are built on play by play data.
I have always been a big proponent on per play numbers, be it yards per pass attempt for a quarterback, or yards per play allowed for a defense. Per play numbers are all about efficiency and explosiveness. My belated buy into the world of advanced analytics for football is just the natural progression of my intellectual curiosity. I always want to know more, and these ratings systems tell you more.
I can't wait to really dig into the data with you guys and gals as we take a deep dive into every aspect of this 2014 Bearcats season.