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Zebras Cody Parkey Jerseys 2019 , Technology, and Next Gen Stats in the NFL-Part 1 Zebra Technology, Part 1On Sunday, I had a chance to meet with the people behind the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Zebra Technologies. I learned a number of things, not the least of which is that I am ready for this technology to be put into even wider use throughout the league.At its simplest level, Zebra uses small RFID devices to track things. They track a lot of things. The company has a presence in shipping and logistics, in medicine, and now in sports. They keep track of players on the field and the ball in the air. They actually keep track of the referees, too. They obviously produce a wealth of data from all of their tracking, and that data has the potential to change the game even more than it already has.Obviously, there are diehards who like to talk about the human element of the game. There are fans who feel that using RFID chips instead of human judgment somehow takes the passion out of football. I have a couple of responses to this, but the first one is one that the casual fan is simply going to have to take my word on--John Pollard, the VP of Business Development for Zebra, is not going to take the passion out of anything. This is a man who loves his football.What they doBefore explaining Zebra’s contributions to football in any greater detail, I have to admit to a certain sense of amusement over the name. I associate “zebras” with the refs in football, and this last week of football demonstrated--once again--that the refs are not exactly perfect when it comes to making accurate and precise calls. There is a big difference between Gene Steratore’s use of an index card to determine a first down in a Cowboy-Raiders game and what I saw in action on Sunday.The company has twenty-two sensors in place around the stadium, and they have chips inside shoulder pads for every player (with a third chip to track linemen who might drop their shoulders down when lining up) and in the balls. They track the refs, too, which means that Zebra tracks the zebras (sorry, I couldn’t help it). As a result, they can tell how fast Jordan Howard runs when he hits a hole and they can determine the closing speed of a linebacker trying to cut him off.The operation includes three people in a booth--or a catwalk, or wherever the stadium finds to host them--checking each other’s work and tracking not just what happens on the field but also checking in with the NFL head office regarding how plays are classified. At any given time, they know who is on the field and they also know the players’ directions and speeds.It’s important to note that their RFID technology is not the only option available to the game of football. Some systems use optics, like the way tennis determines if a ball hits a line or not, and others use GPS. Pollard explained to me, however White Taylor Gabriel Jerseys , that optics are hard to use in football because of the number of bodies piling up next to each other and that GPS has a lag built in that isn’t suffered by the RFID system that relies on the receivers in the same stadium, instead of relying on satellites that are a bit farther away, to say the least.What they do for teamsPollard demonstrated the difference between his data and what most fans used to have access to using a reference Bears fan should appreciate. He pointed out that it didn’t matter what 40-yard-dash time Dick Butkus might have had, his sideline-to-sideline speed when closing on another player was terrifying in his era. What Zebra’s technology does is quantify that closing speed and then put it into context with the rest of the league.One thing that might surprise the casual fan is how much information they have that is not used. With transmitters sending a signal more than ten times a second, they told me that they can tell me the speed of a pass and even the rotations on the ball in the air--basically, they literally know how well a quarterback is ‘spinning’ it. The rifling of a pass by Mahomes, Trubisky, or Watson could—in theory-be compared. However, not all of this information gets released.For the entire league, there are agreements in place on who gets what information, and some information is collected as a byproduct of the system without anyone ever seeing it. Obviously, some in the game are worried about distributing information on throwing speed or even player speed, afraid it’s going to have negative impacts on the players. At one point, teams only received their own information, so they would get tracking data from half of the game but not from the players lined up on the other side. Now, teams are seeing more information, and they are being more cautious about sharing what they are learning from that information.However, individual teams also have deals with Zebra, and those teams are getting a lot more information. Derek Kenar (their senior operations manager) pointed out that they can track a player coming back from injury and determine if he’s getting back up to speed or not. There are interesting implications, too, for teams that track practices and for pregame warm-ups.For example, if a player likes to warm up by throwing a few balls and running around the field, most people probably don’t think anything of it. However, if a receiver likes to take laps before the first whistle blows, and if he runs as much before the game as he does during the first quarter of football, should coaches be concerned when his speed slows after the half? How much tread is he wearing off his tires, so to speak? When practice gets involved Taylor Gabriel Jerseys 2019 , if one player throws the ball fifty or sixty times before practice even begins, then there’s a chance that player is wearing himself out ahead of schedule.If a player is getting older, how much of a dip in acceleration is concerning? For that matter, if there is no dip in acceleration, and it can be shown numerically, does that prolong a player’s career?Another example of one of the implications deals with what staff does for a team. We’ve heard all season long about how open the Chiefs’ wide receivers are getting. Determining how many defenders are within a yard or two of each open receiver used to be a subject for intense film review, hand-counting, and trial-and-error. Now, it can be found with a few clicks on a computer screen. This doesn’t mean that there is less work for the staffers, but it does mean that instead of gathering that data the work can now be doing something with it.Teams that embrace the analytical approach are obviously out in the forefront of working with Zebra. The Lions, the Rams, the Cowboys, and the Eagles are all clients of their practice system. Zebra does not have a deal in place with the Bears, even though they are headquartered in Lincolnshire, and the Beloved have another contract through the end of the year. Still, it’s probably only a matter of time before more teams partner up with this company.Zebra vs Zebra?Go back to Gene Steratore and his Index Card of Destiny. When the technology exists to figure out exactly how far ball advanced down to the tenth of a second, or when a program can tell officials exactly how many players really were on the field at the time of a snap without relying on human judgment, then the game changes. There are hundreds of things that currently rely on human discretion, and while Pollard and Kenar didn’t bring it up, I found myself thinking about what happens when the genie gets just a little bit more out of the bottle and that number can be cut in half.Speaking only for myself, I’d rather have a millimeter-precise program tell me where the ball was if my choice is either the program or the same people who called the Browns-Raiders game. The NFL is, probably wisely, keeping this technology carefully regulated. Fans of almost any sport have their stories of times that visual replay clearly indicated the call on the field (or on the court, or whatever) was wrong, and over time that forced the professional leagues to adapt and to incorporate the new technology.I am sure that there is recorded data somewhere that would validate a number of controversial referee decisions, and I am equally sure that there is data that would be embarrassing to the officials at a game. For me, I just want the game to be called as fairly and as consistently as possible. That sounds like something that can be made better with this technology White Chase Daniel Jerseys , but I know some will disagree.Like I said at the opening, I am ready for us to have a richer picture of the game, and more accurate information about what really happens on the field. Next up, I want to share some of what Next Gen Stats is already telling us about the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears. We’ve all likely played Mack Morrison’s song “Return of the Mack” countless times since September 1st of 2018. For anyone who was hiding under a mountain, or waking up from a night out on the town, that was the date when Bears general manager Ryan Pace pulled the trigger on securing the NFL’s top edge defender. Expectations skyrocketed for this young Bears team, and people instantly questioned just how much one player, who’s not listed as a QB, is worth. Four weeks into the 2018 regular season, Khalil Mack has been worth every single penny and draft pick spent in the completed series of transactions. Here’s the full stat-line for this Monster of the Midway: Khalil Mack’s Stats-LineStatsTotalsStatsTotalsIn comparison to other defenses around the league, Mack alone has matched, and even exceeded, totals for several teams. His total amount of sacks (5) matched the 4-week totals for both the Oakland Raiders — Jon Gruden is likely doing the walk of shame right now — and the New York Giants. The one interception he has is greater than the total for the Dallas Cowboys, and matched the totals for the New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jacksonville Jaguars. The scariest stat has to be his forced fumbles/strip sacks totals. There are only 9 teams in the entire league who have forced more fumbles as a team than Khalil Mack has by himself. Those teams are: Cleveland Browns (6); Arizona Cardinals (5); Buffalo Bills (7); Cincinnati Bengals (5);Pittsburgh Steelers (6); Houston Texans (6); New York Jets (6); Tennessee Titans (5); and New Orleans Saints (5). Otherwise, his total either matched or exceeded the team totals of the remaining 21 teams. Needless to say, Mack has been a force of nature on this elite defense for the Chicago Bears. Let’s examine some of his best plays for the Bears thus far this season. First, let’s make a note of how Mack attacked the ball in his first official sack with the Bears. This has been a theme throughout his first four games, and a big reason why he’s the first player since Robert Mathis — helmet tip to Tonkaman for that bit — to record a strip sack in four consecutive games. That’s also a possible reason why he hasn’t been flagged for roughing the passer; can’t flag him if the ball is already stripped and on the ground. This was just a savvy play made with pure effort. Once he sniffed out the screen and noticed Roy Robertson-Harris was free, he slipped back and intercepted the ball. His high football IQ has always been on display since coming into the league as the 5th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. Again, he sees ball, he attacks ball. It helps to have such a high motor as he fought off a chip and a block from two separate players. Once he saw Russell Wilson slow-cocking his arm to throw the ball, Mack swatted the ball out. Mack will not be denied here on his third sack of the season. Something else that he does exceptionally well, is he gets skinny when facing multiple blockers. In this case Chase Daniel Jerseys 2019 , he first set the tackle up to over-exaggerate their kick-step, then got skinny as he merged inside, and bull-rushed the left guard. He’s fought and won against triple teams on several occasions. Another high effort play by Mack on sack #4 on the year, and his 3rd strip sack. And, again, he’s not looking for the kill shot. He eyeballed the pigskin and attacked Bradford’s arm. His energy and experience paid off as he ended the Cardinals’ chances of scoring on that drive. Asking any offensive lineman in the league to block Mack one-on-one is simply daring the league’s most dangerous rusher to make a play. And Dirk Koetter’s Bucs paid the price. First with this sack of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Koetter took an even bigger gamble with leaving Khalil Mack free to rush the passer, as he hoped the play-action off the trap would slow him down. Mack wasn’t having any of that nonsense. He swam over the pulling guard and disrupted Jameis Winston’s pass, turning a potential bomb into a wounded duck. And you’ve got to love Mack’s drive to go downfield while looking for shirts to block on Danny Trevathan’s interception return. Oh, and on an unrelated note, that was a nice pancake served to Winston by Roquan Smith. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, who’s coached up a top-ten unit in Chicago even before Mack’s arrival, has been creative in how he’s deployed his multi-role weapon. Specifically, he’s lined Mack up both as a defensive end, and as an outside linebacker. You will see Mack being asked to drop on occasion, while pass coverages and stunts are being blended from play to play. Thanks to all the success that Khalil Mack and company have had up-front, Fangio has been able to utilize his full playbook. Thanks to all the havoc that Mack has caused by himself, other defenders have taken advantage of their respective opportunities to make plays. Out of the 18 sacks amassed by Chicago, Mack owns 5 of them. For the remaining 13 sacks, 9 different players have contributed. If this isn’t a season that one considers worthy of MVP consideration, then the MVP award shouldn’t even exist. Lawrence Taylor was the last defender to win MVP, which dates all the way back in 1986. Mack is on pace to recording 20 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, and 12 additional quarterback hits. It’s time to end that streak. And it’s time to be excited for the Chicago Bears again.