Back to the NFL Newsfeed

Staley Leads NFL in Re-Calibrated Aggressiveness Index

NFL Offseason - The debate over fourth downs is over, and the analytics have won.

Oh, it may not quite seem that way when you watch commentary on TV. There are still old school football people attacking coaches for being too aggressive, for "chasing points" or alternately "leaving points on the board," for not "playing the percentages" (when they are in fact doing just that). You'll still hear stuff like this on sports radio, attacking "the freaking nerds."

It doesn't matter. Head coaches still might not be quite as aggressive as the analytics would suggest, but they are much more aggressive on fourth downs compared to just four seasons ago.