Next Generation Stats, or simply Next Gen Stats (NGS), refers to data collected by the National Football League (NFL) and the advanced statistics drawn from that data. Going beyond the standard statistics recorded in NFL games (such as passing yards, rushing touchdowns, or interceptions), NGS data instead focuses on advanced statistics, with raw data collected being used to "automate player participation reports, calculate performance metrics, and derive advanced statistics". [1]
The 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement saw players agree to having their on-field location and health metrics tracked. [2] Next Gen Stats was developed by the NFL in partnership with Zebra Technologies and Wilson Sporting Goods. [1] The former is the NFL's official player tracking partner, with the partnership beginning in 2014. [3] [4] NGS data collection runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure, as well. [1] NGS are recorded using sensors worn by players during each game. [5] An example of raw data collected by NGS includes a wide receiver's real-time speed, acceleration, and route paths are tracked by Next Gen. [5]
Zebra described 2014 as a "best effort" year, with that season seeing the introduction of location beacons embedded in each player's shoulder pads, as well as referees and first down measuring sticks also being equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. [2] Zebra's MotionWorks RFID system was installed in 18 NFL stadiums during the 2014 season to track vector data. [6] At the time, there was a half-second latency and a margin of error of less than six inches; the ball was noted by The Verge as the only "untracked entity on the field". [2] They worked on a custom transmitter with a wider weight distribution. Eventually, every NFL venue had a tracker system installed, composed of: "20–30 ultra-wide band receivers, 2–3 radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags installed into the players' shoulder pads, and RFID tags on officials, pylons, sticks, chains, and in the ball". [1]
In 2015, Microsoft included "Next Gen Replay" as a feature on its NFL mobile app for the Xbox One and Windows 10 devices. [7] [8] NFL.com writers have referred to seasons since 2016 as the "Next Gen era". [9] [10]
NGS developed a new passing metric in 2022, aimed to convey a passer's contributions better than similar metrics such as passer rating. [11] Machine learning tools are used as part of AWS' role in NGS data collection, helping generate new metrics, such as the 2024 introductions of the "Tackle Probability" and "Offensive Shift and Motion Classification" stats. [12] [13]
The NFL's broadcast partners, of which Amazon Prime Video is one, utilize and reference Next Gen Stats in their broadcasts. [14] CBS, for example, has used Next Gen Stats in their "RomoVision" visuals on NFL on CBS broadcasts. [15] NGS data has been cited by sports media outlets such as ESPN, [16] Fox Sports, [17] and Sports Illustrated , among others. [18] Next Gen Stats were also included in the Madden NFL 21 video game. [5]
The following statistics are tracked by NGS: [13] [19]
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a given play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a halfback, a wingback, or a fullback. A running back will sometimes be called a "feature back" if he is the team's key player/more prominent running back.
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2003 season. The Patriots defeated the Panthers by a score of 32–29. The game was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 1, 2004. At the time, this was the most watched Super Bowl ever with 89.8 million viewers.
Passer rating is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL), and the other used in NCAA football. Passer rating is calculated using a player's passing attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. Passer rating in the NFL is on a scale from 0 to 158.3. Passing efficiency in college football is on a scale from −731.6 to 1261.6.
In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and without clear intent, or when a passer runs out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage due to defensive pressure. This often occurs if the opposing team's defensive line, linebackers or defensive backs are able to apply pass pressure to quickly get past blocking players of the offensive team, or if the quarterback is unable to find a back to hand the ball off to or an available eligible receiver to catch the ball, allowing the defense a longer opportunity to tackle the quarterback.
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2004 season. The Patriots defeated the Eagles by the score of 24–21. The game was played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, currently the only Super Bowl hosted in the city.
Troy Majors Fleming is an American former professional football fullback. He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He played college football at Tennessee.
Zebra Technologies Corporation is an American mobile computing company specializing in technology used to sense, analyze, and act in real time. The company manufactures and sells marking, tracking, and computer printing technologies. Its products include mobile computers and tablets, software, thermal barcode label and receipt printers, RFID smart label printers/encoders/fixed & handheld readers/antennas, autonomous mobile robots (AMR’s) & machine vision (MV), and fixed industrial scanning hardware & software.
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American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Advanced Football Analytics was a website dedicated to the analysis of the National Football League (NFL) using mathematical and statistical methods. The site's lead author was noted football researcher and analyst Brian Burke. Burke is a regular contributor to The New York Times' NFL coverage, The Washington Post's Commanders coverage, and supplies research for other notable publications and writers.
Yards after catch (YAC) is a gridiron football statistical measure of the distance gained by a receiver after catching a pass. Specifically, it is the forward yardage gained from the spot of the reception until the receiver is downed, runs out of bounds, scores, or loses the ball. Research by analytics company Pro Football Focus suggests that factors prior to the catch affect YAC, such as the separation a receiver makes from his defender.
Total quarterback rating is a proprietary statistic created by ESPN in 2011 to grade the performance of quarterbacks in American football games. ESPN claims that it created QBR to be a more meaningful alternative to the traditional passer rating statistic by incorporating "all of a quarterback's contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers, and penalties. Since QBR is built from the play level, it accounts for a team's level of success or failure on every play to provide the proper context, then allocates credit to the quarterback and his teammates to produce a clearer measure of quarterback efficiency." However, ESPN has never released the complete formulas and procedures to calculate QBR, resulting in criticism among fans and commentators alike questioning the results.
Pro Football Focus is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United States. PFF produces 0–100 Player Grades and a range of advanced statistics for teams and players by watching, charting, and grading every player on every play in every game both at the NFL and FBS level.
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