We've got to use every piece of data and piece of information, and hopefully that will help us be accurate with our player evaluation. For us, that's our life blood.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I can evaluate a player in a very short period of time because I'm very close to that game, very educated in that game and played the game for a long, long time. I wasn't just a guy with talent. I learned a lot about the game.
There's a lot of learning that goes on based on the mistakes that we may make in practice, and our guys do a great job of trying to digest that information and be ready to go when we use it during the course of the game.
I want to see if the player communicates with his teammates and how he responds to coaching. Another thing to remember is players' bodies can develop better than their skills.
None of us are claiming that the statistical analysts understand the game of football as well as the football coaches do, or that our analysis should take precedence over the informed opinions of experts. I'm not saying that at all.
We just kind of relied on written scouting reports through the eighties and even the early nineties. I've really been amazed by some of the data that's out there, especially with regards to tendencies of hitters, and certainly tendencies of pitchers as well. I would have loved to have gotten that data when I played.
Obviously, stats are important tools, but I think there's something behind those things; somewhere along the way, you've got to try to look inside someone.
You know, I think I'm the worst player to talk to about statistics.
I don't pay attention to stats or anything like that. I just pay attention to how I play and the intensity that I play with.
The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.
When you can't see someone all day long, the only thing you have to evaluate is the work. A lot of the petty evaluation stats just melt away.