Football Outsiders
Encyclopedia
Football Outsiders is a website started in July 2003 which focuses on advanced statistical analysis of the NFL
. The site is run by a staff of regular writers, who produce a series of weekly columns using both the site's in-house statistics and their personal analyses of NFL games.
In 2005 and 2006, the site partnered with FOXSports.com
to cross-publish many of the Outsiders' regular features, including power rankings based on a "weighted" version of the DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) statistic. In 2007, Football Outsiders content appeared on FOXSports.com (in a reduced capacity) along with AOL Sports and ESPN.com
. In 2008 and 2009 the site has partnered exclusively with ESPN
and provides mostly ESPN Insider content.
, with two regular columns, one of which was using an early version of the proprietary DVOA statistic. The original purpose of the site was to disprove a statement by Boston Globe reporter Ron Borges
that the 2002 New England Patriots
failed to make the postseason because they could not establish the run. Over the course of time, the site added more writers, and hosted Gregg Easterbrook
for part of 2003.
Between 2004 and 2005, the site introduced new statistics such as Defense-adjusted Points Above Replacement (DPAR) and Adjusted Line Yards. In 2005, the site began to cross-publish many of its columns on FOXsports.com. In 2005, Football Outsiders also took over publication of Pro Football Prospectus
, a book giving a preview of the upcoming NFL season. In 2009, the annual was renamed Football Outsiders Almanac (ISBN 1448648459).
Currently, the site has incorporated the entire 1992-2010 NFL seasons into their statistics.
Assistant Editors: Rivers McCown, Danny Tuccitto
Senior Writers: Doug Farrar, Mike Tanier
Technical Director: Elias Holman
book each year before the football season began. It included an essay for each team analyzing the previous season, evaluating off-season moves, and projecting future performance.
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The site is run by a staff of regular writers, who produce a series of weekly columns using both the site's in-house statistics and their personal analyses of NFL games.
In 2005 and 2006, the site partnered with FOXSports.com
Foxsports.com
Foxsports.com provides sports news, scores, sports statistics, sports and entertainment video, sports fantasy leagues and fantasy information. Launched in July 2001, it is a unit of Fox Interactive Media, which also includes other News Corporation online businesses, including MySpace, IGN...
to cross-publish many of the Outsiders' regular features, including power rankings based on a "weighted" version of the DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) statistic. In 2007, Football Outsiders content appeared on FOXSports.com (in a reduced capacity) along with AOL Sports and ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
. In 2008 and 2009 the site has partnered exclusively with ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and provides mostly ESPN Insider content.
History
Football Outsiders was launched in August 2003 by Aaron SchatzAaron Schatz
Aaron Schatz is the creator of Football Outsiders and one of the main contributors to Football Outsiders Almanac, published yearly since 2005...
, with two regular columns, one of which was using an early version of the proprietary DVOA statistic. The original purpose of the site was to disprove a statement by Boston Globe reporter Ron Borges
Ron Borges
Ron Borges is currently a sportswriter for the Boston Herald. He previously wrote for The Boston Globe, and was a regular guest on Michael Felger's radio show The Mike Felger Show, which aired on 890 ESPN until July 2008. Borges also was a regular contributor to the until 2008...
that the 2002 New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
failed to make the postseason because they could not establish the run. Over the course of time, the site added more writers, and hosted Gregg Easterbrook
Gregg Easterbrook
Gregg Edmund Easterbrook is an American writer, lecturer, and a senior editor of The New Republic. His articles have appeared in Slate, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Wired, and Beliefnet. In addition, he was a fellow at the...
for part of 2003.
Between 2004 and 2005, the site introduced new statistics such as Defense-adjusted Points Above Replacement (DPAR) and Adjusted Line Yards. In 2005, the site began to cross-publish many of its columns on FOXsports.com. In 2005, Football Outsiders also took over publication of Pro Football Prospectus
Pro Football Prospectus
Pro Football Prospectus is a book series, with a new edition published each year. It reviews the previous NFL season and previews the upcoming season...
, a book giving a preview of the upcoming NFL season. In 2009, the annual was renamed Football Outsiders Almanac (ISBN 1448648459).
Currently, the site has incorporated the entire 1992-2010 NFL seasons into their statistics.
Management
Editor-in-Chief: Aaron SchatzAaron Schatz
Aaron Schatz is the creator of Football Outsiders and one of the main contributors to Football Outsiders Almanac, published yearly since 2005...
Assistant Editors: Rivers McCown, Danny Tuccitto
Senior Writers: Doug Farrar, Mike Tanier
Technical Director: Elias Holman
Pro Football Prospectus
From 2005 through 2008, Football Outsiders published the Pro Football ProspectusPro Football Prospectus
Pro Football Prospectus is a book series, with a new edition published each year. It reviews the previous NFL season and previews the upcoming season...
book each year before the football season began. It included an essay for each team analyzing the previous season, evaluating off-season moves, and projecting future performance.
Football Outsiders Almanac 2009
In 2009, Football Outsiders did not publish a Pro Football Prospectus volume, but instead produced the self-published Football Outsiders Almanac 2009. The reason for this is explained in the book:So why the name change, and why aren’t we in bookstores?
For those who don’t know, our first four books were published through an agreement with Prospectus Entertainment Ventures, the company that owns Baseball ProspectusBaseball ProspectusBaseball Prospectus is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well player and team performance projections on the site...
(as well as the expansion projects Basketball Prospectus and Puck Prospectus). It was PEV that had the publishing contract (first with WorkmanWorkman Publishing CompanyWorkman Publishing Company is a publisher of primarily non-fiction print and audio books along with calendars with annual sales of over US$25 million. Located in New York City, New York, USA, the publisher works under several imprints with offices located throughout the United States. Peter...
, then PlumePlume (publishing)Plume is a publishing company in the United States, founded in 1970 as the trade paperback imprint of New American Library. Today it is a division of Penguin Group, with a backlist of approximately 700 titles....
). This year, for various reasons, Plume decided they no longer wanted to publish books related to other sports besides baseball. Other publishers were interested in doing our book, but by the time Plume made their decision, it was too late to get on the publication schedule for 2009.
Books
- Pro Football Forecast 2004 (ISBN 1574886584)
- Pro Football Prospectus 2005 (ISBN 0761140190)
- Pro Football Prospectus 2006 (ISBN 0761142177)
- Pro Football Prospectus 2007 (ISBN 0452288479)
- Pro Football Prospectus 2008 (ISBN 0452289734)
- Football Outsiders Almanac 2009 (ISBN 1448648459)
- Football Outsiders Almanac 2010 (ISBN 1453671188)
General references
- Bob Glauber, "Glauber's NFL Hot Reads," http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/glauber-s-nfl-hot-reads-1.811959/a-football-outsider-s-perspective-1.1413423Newsday.comNewsdayNewsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
(September 1, 2009)]. - "Football Outsider: Football Statistics from Outside the Box—An Interview with Aaron Schatz," SportsTechNow.com (January 25, 2008).
- Will LeitchWill LeitchWilliam F. Leitch is a writer based in New York City and the founding editor of the Gawker Media sports blog Deadspin...
, "A Conversation with Football Outsiders EIC Aaron SchatzAaron SchatzAaron Schatz is the creator of Football Outsiders and one of the main contributors to Football Outsiders Almanac, published yearly since 2005...
," http://deadspin.com/5345991/a-conversation-with-football-outsiders-eic-aaron-schatzDeadspinDeadspinDeadspin is a sports website owned by Gawker Media and was launched in September 2005. As of February 2010, the site had attracted over 462 million unique visitors and about 573 million page views....
, August 26, 2009]. - "Q.&A. with Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders," in The Fifth Down, New York Times N.F.L. Blog, New York Times, September 21, 2009.