African-American NFL coaches and general managers have had a tough off-season.. Head coaches Todd Bowles, Hue Jackson, Vance Joseph, Marvin Lewis, and Steve Wilks were all fired in the past calendar year, and only one black coach, Brian Flores, was tapped to fill any of the eight total openings. The NFL Network’s Jim Trotter pointed…
Dave Gettleman is not the most popular man in the greater New York area these days. After the Giants started his general manager tenure 1-7, ultimately finishing his first year 5-11, Gettleman began cleaning house, trading defensive end Olivier Vernon and superstar wideout Odell Beckham, Jr., in separate deals to the Cleveland Browns. The Beckham…
Since 2008, former NFL scout Dan Shonka of ourlads.com has been capturing “ball velocity” of quarterbacks throwing at the NFL combine, and posting it online. Some in the media have taken notice of the results and drawn conclusions from the historical data. “There has never been a QB who threw less than 54 mph with…
For the Patriots, as with everyone else, the draft is a critical time to address your needs. Not only their success but also Bill Belichick’s emphasis on versatility makes his drafting strategy one of interest. So, Dave Archibald wonders, what the heck is with the fifth round? On Friday, the New England Patriots traded a 2020 fifth-round…
Something about the numbers in Super Bowl LIII doesn’t add up. The Patriots had 407 yards of total offense. Tom Brady averaged nearly 7.5 yards per attempt on his 35 passes—basically his career (and 2018) average—and was only sacked once. The Patriots carried the ball 32 times for 154 yards, an impressive 4.8 average (and…
In the aftermath of Monday night’s contest between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, several people have pointed out the outstanding numbers Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota compiled in a losing effort: Anyway you slice it, those numbers are crazy. While sports-analytics nerd (his words, not mine) Adam Steele pointed out that Adjusted Net Yards /…
The thing about losing legends is that you can’t even pretend there’s any way to replace them. In the sports world, the only constant is change, with players and coaches hopping from team to team throughout their careers. Media companies, especially with the financial challenges affecting them in recent years, have seen similar turnover. But…
The Los Angeles Rams showed the most dramatic offensive turnaround in the history of the NFL in 2017, more than doubling their point total (224 to 478) as they jumped from the 32nd-ranked offense to number one. They show no signs of slowing down in 2018, rising to 4-0 with a 38-31 victory over the…
No quarterback had more deep passing attempts than Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck did from 2012-2014, and between deep drops, a suspect offensive line, and a propensity to hang on to the football, Luck took a lot of hits. He spent much of the next three years dealing with injuries, with shoulder surgery keeping him…
On a recent Locked On Patriots mailbag, LOP Host and ITP Lead Writer Mark Schofield answered a question about New England’s pick of Georgia running back Sony Michel in the first round. Pats fans have been divided by the pick, with some fans excited about what Michel can bring to the offense and others (such…
A little over two years ago, I wrote a piece called “Five Lessons on Hiring Head Coaches,” looking at trends and results from head coaching hires since 2000. With 13 of the league’s 32 teams making changes at the top since then, it seemed like a good time to see if the hiring practices and…
We are pleased to announce the Inside the Pylon 2018 Post-Draft Supplement is available! The 2018 Draft Guide contained detailed reports on 185 incoming rookies, following a rigorous process that mirrors that of NFL teams, but we didn’t cover everybody drafted. The post-draft supplement contains reports on 101 additional rookies in the same rigor and detail that you’ve come…
Want more info on the Eagles Draft? Buy our team-specific guide! What do we do for an encore? The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl in February, with an improbable victory over the defending champion New England Patriots. The team had to weather not only the Patriots, but injuries to star quarterback Carson Wentz,…
Want more info on the Patriots Draft? Buy our team-specific draft guide! The New England Patriots allowed 41 points in a disappointing Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles – so they used their top two picks on offense. Starting quarterback Tom Brady turns 41 in August and they traded away his heir apparent, Jimmy…
Want more info on the Titans Draft? Buy our team-specific guide! The Tennessee Titans made the playoffs in 2017 and even won a game there, but their offseason actions suggested management was not content. The team fired head coach Mike Mularkey after two consecutive 9-7 seasons, a move that surprised many. But despite that winning…
At Inside The Pylon, we get a little obsessed with the NFL Draft. Our team of 50 scouts wrote nearly 1,000 reports about more than 550 draft prospects, and we turned that into our ITP Draft Guide, which we feel is the premier product on the market. But we recognize that not everyone is as obsessed as…