NFL’s Moneyball
Will the Cleveland Brown’s strategy pay off?
The Cleveland Browns are one of the worst performing franchises in the NFL. At the end of the last season, the team had a record of 3–13, and yet again showed horrible signs: a troubled star Quarterback,
a revolving door of coaches and several top players walking out of the door to join other teams in free agency. So what did they do?
Something different, that’s what.
If you haven’t seen Michael Lewis’ re-worked Moneyball movie with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, you might have been living on the moon (for the past five years…)
Lewis’ tells the story of how the Oakland A’s baseball team used analytics to turn the tables in baseball on the wealthier Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees amongst others.
Faced with a question that most General Managers, or Performance Directors ask themselves daily, “how can I win, when I have less resources then the others?” — the innovative Billy Beane brought in a little known Paul DePodesta to implement a strategy of performance analysis that could even the playing field.
The A’s didn’t win the World Series, but they got close.
Soon, the baseball world took note — DePodesta progressed to the Dodgers, the Padres and lastly, the New York Mets as General Manager. Other teams, who had more financial resources than the A’s were now using their own version of the analytical strategy to identify players that did not fit the traditional mould of ‘nice swing, good physique and confident swagger’, but instead, and most importantly, got results.
Slowly, the sports (and business) worlds have sat up and taken notice. You cannot look around at a serious sports organisation without seeing a performance analyst in situ. In cricket, every IPL team has streams of statistics about each player and performance; in soccer (or football) Opta are making a huge impact by recording and interpreting all of the information they can observe on the pitch. It is a matter of time, before every movement is analysed in every televised match.
Analysts are looking for patterns, insights and the critical piece of information that will give their side an advantage over their competitors.
This is all great, but two fundamental problems still exist:
1. No matter the quality or amount of data collected, it means nothing unless it can be interpreted and communicated effectively to the people that matter — the athletes (or the staff!)
2. If everyone is collecting the same data, where is the advantage?
So back to the Browns, they’ve since appointed Sachi Brown as the VP of football operations. His first move, was to appoint Paul DePodesta as the Chief Strategy Officer.
Rather than use their first round pick — to take one of the best players from College Football, they have traded the second pick (and a lower round pick) to the Philadelphia Eagles for pick number eight and four more of the Eagles’ picks.
If the Browns were acting in a traditional ‘football way,’ they would have taken the best player available. Or taken another gamble on a future QB. But DePodesta, Brown and coach Hue Jackson have gone all-in on a strategy to sell high and buy low. They believe they can identify players who might not be household names, but can address needs their football team has.
This is a risky move. Perhaps not because of logic.
But because of pressure. Fan’s want to see high-profile players arrive. The media (made up of ex-GM’s, ex-scouts, ex-players and ex-coaches) have a lot to lose. Their media careers have been built upon the traditional methods, and if DePodesta and owner Jimmy Haslam just happen to be right, or have uncovered a method that works — there will be several jobs on the line, and a period of rapid innovation.
So, let’s see. A key, and perhaps the key player in the Brown’s drama is coach Hue Jackson. A highly regarded, promising coach might be the crucial architect, charged to educate his players, communicate the insights that analysis provides and develop an innovative culture amongst a downtrodden organisation. I, for one, believe they have a chance — and if I wasn’t an Eagles supporter (!!!) I’d be much happier about the trade.
Nevertheless, it is a lesson for all organisations out there, sports or otherwise — that if you are going to go against the grain — you’d better go “all in” and get everyone on board.
It seems that for once, the Browns do.
If you’ve enjoyed this articles, please hit the green “recommend” button below, so that others might stumble upon it. For more articles like this, please get in touch at Trigger Movement or follow us below.
