"The week-to-week nature of the NFL lends itself quite naturally to missing the forest for the trees. You see a team one week, notice something about it, watch that same team a week or so later and notice the same thing again. And then you just figure that thing to be true -- that it's part of what defines that team."
"But what we're doing here -- with the 18-week regular season concluded and four months' worth of data to sort through -- is step back, look at the bigger picture and figure out which of the things we think we know about each playoff team might not, in fact, be true. For some of these teams, our conclusions might be encouraging. For some, they might be cause for concern. But hopefully this offers at least a little bit of a different way to look at all 14 playoff teams as they get ready to prove us all right or wrong (or a little of both)."
Season-long, consolidated analysis across 18 regular-season weeks and additional research can overturn persistent week-to-week impressions about playoff teams. Short-term observations often produce narratives that do not align with full-season metrics. Comparing qualitative observations with quantitative measures such as offensive rush EPA and scoring reveals which commonly held beliefs are inaccurate. Some teams benefit from corrected perceptions, while others face legitimate concerns once broader data are considered. The exercise evaluates all 14 playoff teams by conference and seeding, identifies specific myths, and encourages using comprehensive data rather than isolated game-to-game snapshots.
Read at ESPN.com
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