Cleveland Browns: Analytics is different from moneyball
By Joel W. Cade
The Cleveland Browns have embraced analytics. However, some think that means they have embraced Moneyball. Find out why the Browns are not doing Moneyball.
The common misconception surrounding the Cleveland Browns states that they are taking a Moneyball approach in the NFL. Of course, surrounding this misconception is the question: can the Browns make Moneyball work in the NFL?
The Moneyball question started when the Browns hired Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer. DePodesta is, of course, famous for his use of analytics in Major League Baseball. It was only natural for people to begin assuming the Browns and the newly hired DePodesta would take a Moneyball approach to rebuilding the team.
Ironically, in 2002, Oakland A’s fans were hearing almost the exact same questions that Browns fans are hearing today.
“I don’t read books like that. I didn’t read Bill James’ book, and you said he was complimenting me,” Hall of Famer Joe Morgan said when asked about the book, Moneyball. “Why would I wanna read a book about a computer, that gives computer numbers?”
The implication, of course, is that computers and statistics are not an effective means of evaluating the performance of baseball players. We’ve seen how this has played out in Major League Baseball over the past decade.
Browns fans hear the exact same argument now. According to Pro Football Talk, Brian Billick, whose former team recently hired a director of football analytics, told ESPN’s Mike & Mike:
“One of the most common questions I get is, can you do Moneyball, for lack of a better term, in the NFL? And the answer is, No, you can’t, you can’t quantify the game of football the way you do baseball. It’s not a statistical game. The parameters of the game, the number of bodies and what they’re doing in conjunction with one another.”
These questions fail to recognize a very important fact – that Moneyball is different from an analytical approach to organizational structure, strategy and team building. Moneyball is one aspect of analytics. It was created in a specific place and time to solve a very specific problem. If Moneyball is not analytics, then what exactly is Moneyball?
Next: What is Moneyball?