Expected Points Added (EPA) is a football statistic that seeks to measure the value of individual plays in terms of points. This is done by calculating the Expected Points (EP) of the down, distance, and field position situation at the start of a play and contrasting it with the situation at the end of the…
Summer for football fans can be just as entertaining as watching paint dry. The MLB season and the NBA and NHL playoffs are great in their own right, but we all know football is king. As the calendar turns over to July we can see the football season coming around the corner. The seemingly never-ending…
When it looked like Lamar Jackson had scored yet again, bringing the Ravens a 26-7 lead, I, ironically, felt a sense of relief. “Ok,” I thought, “the Browns are better, but they aren’t quite there yet.” Then came the comeback and Baker Mayfield being inches away from avoiding that last minute interception and giving the…
After a truly mesmerizing display on Monday Night Football, the offensive juggernauts in Los Angeles and Kansas City are on a bye this week. If you haven’t had a chance to look at the highlights, I suggest you get on that immediately. Within these highlights, you’ll see where the NFL, and by proxy fantasy football,…
After taking a sabbatical to cover the Brownsian fall of Hue Jackson, it’s back to fantasy football in Week 10. Last week saw a plethora of fantasy story-lines from Julio Jones’ first touchdown, to the potential emergence of total wildcard Nick Mullens, to the long awaited re-emergence of Duke Johnson. This week I’ll be looking…
Week 8 takes us to the halfway point in the fantasy football season. Thus far the Rams, Steelers, and Chiefs have been the most fertile grounds for fantasy points. While the Bills, Cardinals, and 49ers have proven themselves too volatile to trust. I do not fault these 3 teams, as injuries and rookie errors have…
Week 7 in the fantasy football season finds Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Oakland, and Seattle all on their bye weeks. Bad news for Rodgers and Roethlesberger owners, perhaps good news for Derek Carr and Amari Cooper owners. At least they’ll be spared the aggravation. Raiders jokes aside, it’s not just Rodgers and Roethlesberger; James Conner, Antonio Brown,…
Week 5 was another strange week in the NFL. Graham Gano kicked a game winning 63 yard field goal, Greg Joseph kicked the ugliest game winning field goal in recent memory, and one of the NFL’s best kickers, Mason Crosby, missed 5 kicks against the Lions. The Jets running game rose from the ashes, the…
This past weekend someone asked me why fantasy football is so difficult. I told her, quite frankly, it is so hard because the NFL is almost impossible to predict. Right on cue the Bills beat the Vikings and the Lions beat the Patriots with their first 100 yard rushing performance in 5 years. This, of…
Before I start writing and you start reading, let us try to take a moment to process the featured image above. Specifically: is this the greatest thing ever to happen or a sign the excesses of Western Civilization have finally gotten completely out of control? I wonder . . . Okay, so now that we…
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…
The Zen philosopher Basho once wrote . . . Ha! I’m just kidding. Unlike my last article, I won’t be funneling my analysis through Ancient Philosophy. Hence the Caddyshack reference. No, no, instead I’d like to take some time and share a few storylines in Week One that should have a significant impact on the…
With the new season upon us, what better time than now to talk about the playoffs? There are 31 fan bases across the country full of high hopes that their favorite team will make the playoffs. For New England fans, it’s become basically an annual occurrence, so they probably aren’t too concerned. Enjoy it while…
It’s time to extrapolate the artistry of pass rushing, now that we have a foundation in place which explains the fundamentals of rushing the quarterback. The NFL really values the positions that can win one-on-one matchups in the trenches while applying pressure to the signal caller. This is one reason why pass rushers have been…
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…
Be sure to purchase the Inside the Pylon Draft Guide (including team specific guides) for full reports on all drafted players, available now! A tumultuous Pittsburgh Steelers season that included the Ryan Shazier injury and the “no catch” by Jesse James came to a disappointing end, with the team giving up 45 points at home to…