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  • NFL Goodies

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    With the NFL Season right around the corner, I want to share with the forum some really cool stuff I have worked on during the off-season. Most of it is a hybrid of statistical handicapping and technical handicapping, although some of it is situational. This is all new material I developed by experimenting with my Excel Program, and the numbers are pretty amazing...so far.

    NOTE: The results represent what I consider to be the meat of the season; namely, Weeks 7-15 (nine weeks). The results are from the last 4 NFL seasons, 2005-2008, and are all Against the Spread.

    Why Weeks 7-15? I believe this is the heart of the season. Once 6 Weeks have been played, each team has at least 5 games under their belt. I think this is the point at which the data is sufficient, which makes the lines more accurate. Five games gives each team the opportunity to play at five levels:

    Their best. Above average. Average. Below average. Their worst. Once the first 6 weeks are past, then I believe technical handicapping aspects are less vulnerable to bad lines.

    As for the first six weeks, I think a statistical form of handicapping is at it's best and probably the best way to go as you can exploit bad lines early.

    Regarding Weeks 16 and 17, I have made it a habit to treat the last two weeks differently as teams rest players, jockey for playoffs and home field advantage, and play spoiler roles. The lines are often significantly adjusted for these factors, and some teams are looking forward to the off-season. This blunts both technical and statistical handicapping to some degree.

    Before I indulge the new stuff, here's two of my oldies and all time faves. They hardly ever come up, but it's worth mentioning in the event that they do appear this season.

    1.) Go AGAINST any NFL team that scored 30 or more points in each of their last two games while allowing 10 or less in each of those same two games...if they are now playing a team outside of their division.

    The rationale is simple. In the NFL, after a team "peaked" offensively and defensively back to back, they tend to let down when faced with an opponent of lesser significance.

    2.) Go with a team that is .500> if they are at home off 3 SU losses and played at home last week.

    This rarely comes up, but is effective. Following the train of thought goes like this: A winning team has lost 2 games and now they are at home in an environment where you would expect them to bounce back. But they don't. The following week they are at home again and, despite their 3 losses, are at least still .500 or better. This is a good spot for a rout, especially if they are favored.

    That's a couple oldies but goodies to look for this season. If we're lucky, we'll get 1 play from each of them...and two winners if we're doubly lucky...

    gl,
    dave

  • #2
    Thanks Dave, you've got my NFL juices flowing and it's still July! Looking forward to the season.
    Nothing is as far away as one minute ago.

    Comment


    • #3
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      General observations, methods, and thoughts.

      POWER RATINGS. Although far from perfect, my method of figuring out, fairly accurately, who's who in the NFL is simplistic but gets the job done.

      I like to look at a team's RANK in 6 primary categories:

      Points For Rank (PFRK)
      Points Against Rank (PARK)
      Offensive Yards Rank (OYRK)
      Defensive Yards Rank (DYRK)
      Net Points Rank (NPRK)
      Net Yards Rank (NYRK)

      The Power Rating formula for each team is:

      The ABSOLUTE VALUE OF: ((PFRK + PARK + OYRK + DYRK + NPRK + NYRK)/6-100)*.6774-31.9368

      I won't bother going into the how's and why's, but the highest possible PR is 99 (if a team is #1 in all six categories) and the lowest is 78 (if a team is #32 in all six categories).

      The largest possible line on a neutral field is 21, but it's highly unlikely. In reality, pitting the highest PR against the lowest PR in a given season will put the line at around 17-18 on a neutral field.

      Power Rating Rank plays a key role in some of the following systems, so it is important to note that the systems are based on MY power ratings as formulated from the method above. Obviously, ATS Results would vary if using a different Power Rating Formula.

      So, in some of the following systems, you'll need a Power Rating Rank for each team.

      OFFENSIVE YARDS PER POINT. You'll also need a OYPP Rank for each team. OYPP is Offensive Yards Per Point. While Power Ratings determine strengths and weaknesses of teams, as well as pointspreads, OYPP is widely believed to be one the best statistics when considering ATS results. The reasons behind that are many, which I won't go into. In short, many believe that no other statistic encompasses the whole of team efficiency as does Offensive Yards Per Point.

      So I decided to marry these two (PR Rank and OYPP Rank) and run a full range of possibilities through my Excel Program. In addition, I factored in the technical aspect of capping (i.e., cause and effect--as opposed to situational), and the results were eye opening...for now of course.

      MAKING LINES. This is not my forte', but there are a number of ways to guage a line. One, of course, is to simply use Power Ratings. Another way is to make a projected score for each team. One of the easiest ways to do this is as follows:

      Let's say Arizona is playing at Detroit. To get Arizona's projected score, you would divide their OYPP into Detroit's Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game. You would then subtract 1.5 for home field. Do the same with the Lions, only ADD 1.5 to their projected points scored, and now you have a projected final score.

      TIDBITS

      TEAMS OFF A BYE are 32-12 ATS* as favorites.

      DOUBLE DIGIT FAVORITES are 15-30 ATS* if they played last week and covered.


      *Results are from Weeks 7-15 (nine weeks) over the last 4 NFL Seasons, 2005-2008. This will be the case for all remaining systems.


      gl,
      dave

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by NEJAKE View Post
        Thanks Dave, you've got my NFL juices flowing and it's still July! Looking forward to the season.
        You're welcome. It's the least I could do.

        dt

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        • #5
          Thanks dave! I always look forward to your yearly system play.
          "CFB YTD: 5-8-1 -16.2"

          Comment


          • #6
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            Terminology and breakdowns.

            SITUATIONAL HANDICAPPING. Teams do certain things in certain situations. Not individual teams, but all teams as a whole.

            Example: Double Digit Faves off a Cover are 15-30 ATS. No real specific cause and effect, they just don't do good in that "situation" after week six.

            STATISTICAL HANDICAPPING. It's all about the numbers. Forget cause and effect. Forget situations. Forget what they did or did not do last week. It's all about the numbers.

            Example: Team X is has a Top 12 PR Rank and a Top 12 OYYP Rank. This is all numbers. They are solid bets at home if not playing a team within the same criteria. It's all about the numbers. But be careful. You don't want to lay double digits based SOLELY on the stats.

            Take this Top 12/12 Team and mix in a Top 6 Rank Defense (yards allowed) playing against a team in the Bottom 6 in OYPP, and you've got a complete MISMATCH, a Blowout waiting to happen. This, again, is all about the numbers and does not factor in cause and effect or situation.

            TECHNICAL HANDICAPPING. This is cause and effect. The history of technical capping is that, by and large, it throws out the numbers. It often uses contrary ideology, let down and bounce back theory. Used by itself, it can be blind to the obvious.

            EXAMPLE: Go against a team that scored back to back 30-10 wins, or something along those lines.

            Techs can hurt you early when the lines are soft and hurt you late when teams give up, but it's a necessary piece of the puzzle.

            BREAKDOWNS

            Some of the breakdowns I'll look at are:

            Top 6/Bot 6 (both PR and OYPP)
            Top 12/Bot 12 (both PR and OYPP)

            Why 6? Why 12?

            I have broken down the 32 teams into Five categories. The Best, Above average, Average, Below average, The worst.

            So teams that are in the Top 12 (the best, and above average), might show different results than the Bottom 12. Not necessarily better results, just different.

            As you'll see, there is a place where even bad teams do good and good teams do bad.

            Other breakdowns include the obvious and the usual:

            Home, Road, Fave, etc.; Off Win, Off Loss, Off ATS Win, and so forth.

            Added dissections include teams with 350> offense, <300 Offense, and the same with defense, along with 350/300, and 300/350. The rest of the teams that don't fit in go into the "Tweeners" category.

            VALUE DIFFERENTIAL. The most intriguing category that I added this year is the Value Differential. What is that?

            I got to thinking. If the LINE is based on the POWER RATING and OYPP is often indicative of ATS results, then a team would be getting value in the line if their OYPP was better than their PR.

            Think about it. I noticed the Browns from a couple years ago. They were #5 in OYPP (good team bet on). If that weren't good enough, they were "under the radar" with a Power Rating Rank of #22 in the NFL. This means the line you got with the Browns was based on them being ranked #22. That's value.

            Running the numbers, it did not surprise me that BOTTOM 6 teams in POWER RATING (the worst teams in the league) were nevertheless 37-20 ATS...

            ...IF...

            ...they had a positive value differential of 10 or more, V-DD+, which stands for (VALUE: DOUBLE DIGIT +).

            In other words, if a team in bottom six in power ratings has a OYPP Rank which is 10 or more spots higher than their PR Rank, there's value...even with the worst teams in the league. Keep that in mind when I post where and when to go against the best defenses in the league (18-43 ATS). Like Solomon said, there's a time for everything under the sun...

            37-20 ATS

            gl,
            dave

            Comment


            • #7
              Best of luck this year Dave. You always have some solid stuff to contribute

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by mavskidd02 View Post
                Thanks dave! I always look forward to your yearly system play.
                Yeah...crash and burn last year w/Redskins over Ravens...OUCH. Still a awesome system though, but it only comes up once a year, if that.

                How'd you like to get about 6-8 of those a year???

                Stay tuned. Soon I'll be posting the most awesome system I've ever developed in 29 years of capping. It's a hybrid of stats and tech, the stats of which are a hybrid of Power Ratings and Offensive Yards Per Point.

                It's 36-3 ATS the last 4 seasons, and the Faves are typically BLOWOUTS with an Average Cover of nearly 18 points.

                Don't worry, this is not a Marc Lawrence type thing were he adds so many "tighteners" that ANYTHING can be turned in to 100%.

                It's nothing like that. It's raw. Home, Road, Fave, Dog, Divison, Non-Division, Off Win, Off Loss...doesn't matter. It's raw without tighteners, makes sense, and wins.

                Hopefully we won't get a season like 2005 when it only went 3-2 ATS. Well at least the only fave that year held true to form...a complete WHITEWASH Winner...

                dt

                Comment


                • #9
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                  What if?

                  What if a team's PR RANK dropped by 3 or more based on last week's performance? Increased by 3 or more???

                  What about their OYPP Rank? How would they respond if the effects of last week's game was that their OYPP dropped by 3 or more? 2 or more?

                  What if a team's PR Rank AND OYYP Rank dropped?

                  What if one dropped and the other increased? Not likely, but possible. Vice versa? How would they respond?

                  What are the supposed psychological effects, if any, of outplaying your opponent to the extent that your PR increases by 3, yet you lose the game due to lack of efficiency, turnovers, special teams, etc. (OYPP drops)?

                  What if a team's net yardage last week was 100 or more yards BELOW their season average? Above?

                  What if they they got blown out by 18 or more points in that same game? What would happen the following week? What if they had a Positive Value Differential the following week in addition to last week's embarrassment?

                  I've spent the off-season constructing this excel program, inputting data from the last 4 seasons, and then asking...

                  ...WHAT IF?

                  These are not generic what ifs, but creative what ifs. How do teams respond if a given performance affect their season numbers by x-amount?

                  Here's a couple of softballs followed by a trailer of what's to come.

                  Teams with a Top 12 PR Rank (the best teams, above average teams) are 56-27 ATS if their performance last week dropped their net yardage average by 10 or more yards.

                  They are 29-12 ATS Home, 18-6 as a Dog, and 19-5 if they have a double digit negative value differential (V-DD-). That said, the recommended play is the category of ALL, which is 56-27 ATS.

                  What if a team's net yardage average INCREASES by 10 or more yards? Remember, to move the AVERAGE by 10 yards or more in one game takes a significant effort. Apparently the DEFENSE plays a key role in that effort as evident by the following week's results.

                  Teams whose defense is allowing <300 yards per game fall flat the next week, going only 18-43 ATS. As Faves they are a mere 10-33 ATS. Recommended play is the category of: AGAINST AS FAVES.

                  Thus far, that's 272 plays, or 68 per year, or about 7.5 picks PER WEEK on average over the nine weeks spanning from Week 7 to Week 15. Obviously there will be a handful of picks that either coincide or contradict. But that's a LOT of action, and there's more to come.

                  But if you like less plays, you'll love what's coming. The best of the best is 36-3 ATS, including a 15-0 ATS record on Game of the Year Status Picks. These GOY picks average COVERING by nearly 18 points per pick.

                  If you like my DOUBLE 30-10 PEAK system, which I post every year online, you'll love these games. I'll go on record to say it's the best I've developed in 29 years of handicapping. Plus, the system puts out more than 1 pick per year (as is the case with dbl 30-10). It puts out 1 pick per WEEK...on average. It's put out 39 picks in 36 weeks with a 36-3 record. Hopefully the results continue to do well.

                  Here's the Game of the Year Status Plays, which are 15-0 ATS with an average cover of nearly 18 points per game:


                  2008

                  Car -3.....30-7
                  Ne -3.....41-7
                  Hou -5'.....28-21
                  Bal -1.....36-7
                  Chi -7.....27-3
                  Ten -11.....47-10
                  Phi -3.....48-20


                  2007

                  Grb -5'.....34-0
                  Min -4'.....29-22
                  Car -3.....31-14
                  Cle -4'.....8-0


                  2006

                  Pit -9.....20-3
                  Atl -1'.....24-14
                  Ne-12'.....40-7


                  2005

                  Nyg -1.....36-0


                  gl,

                  dave

                  Comment


                  • #10
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                    With a myriad of queries, perhaps the one I was most interested to know about was how teams did after dropping/increasing x-number of spots in OYPP RANK. The numbers were intriguing and solid ATS, but they took back seat when I began mixing in PR Ranks in conjunction with OYPP Ranks. Here's what I found:

                    Teams that dropped 3> spots in both their PR Rank and their OYPP Rank responded 28-12 ATS the following week, while teams that did the opposite responded by going 15-33 ATS in their next game. This brings the running count to 360 plays, a whopping 10 plays per week before cancel outs and duplicates. The W/L units record is thus far 249-111 (+126.9) before cancel outs, or a conservative projection of over 32 units per season on average, so far.

                    gl,
                    dave

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Thanks for all the hard work Dave

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by vols fan View Post
                        Thanks for all the hard work Dave
                        I will second that!! Great stuff Dave!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          thanks buddy
                          MLB 2012***100-98 +$215 OR +2.15 UNITS
                          HUGE PLAYS 2-1

                          NFL 2011-2012** 6-10
                          0-0TOP PLAYS

                          NCAA FBL 2011-2012**** 26-23

                          4-1 TOP PLAYS


                          GOY 33-12 ALL SPORTS

                          AS of 6/3/12

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                          • #14
                            The season can't come soon enough.
                            Am I the longest tenured BC member?

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                            • #15
                              Dave -

                              have you found any significant diffence in either your power rankings or oypp results by breaking them down into home and away? looking at last years teams there were some with a pretty big difference.

                              Bill

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