NFL GOLF

What if NFL football was treated like pro golf?  The league’s regular season is viewed as the final round of a major golf tournament.  Each team is a professional golfer.  You say that it’s a bit of a stretch?  Perhaps, but I’m going to give it a try for the upcoming season as a bit of weekly entertainment for THR’s readers and members.

The Regular Season is the Final Round of a Major Tournament - For this comparison, the sixteen regular season games will be equivalent to the final eighteen holes of a major golf tournament.  Each week, I’ll post the results of each team’s results in comparison to “par.”  Par is determined by the results of each team’s game (it’s strength of schedule) and the team’s starting grade (Aaron Freeman’s team grades).  Consider this as the team’s ranking like a professional golfer’s ranking on their tour.

If a team wins a game that the statistics and rankings say they should lose and they win it, the team plays under par.  However, if a “superior” team loses to a lesser-ranked team, the loser is said to play over par.  This is the team’s handicap.  I’ll calculate the number of “strokes” over or under par from won-loss records, offensive and defensive statistics, strength of schedule after each week’s games, and team grades.  The team with the best round of sixteen “holes” will be declared the tournament winner.

An Entire Team is a Professional Golfers and Each Player is a Golf Club - The Steelers can be considered the Tiger Woods of the NFL.  The Cardinals, perhaps Phil Mickelson, and last year’s Detroit Lions, a player who just earned his tour card and didn’t qualify for this major tournament.

Another view of a team in comparison with a top-ranked professional golfer would be how each team member is like each golf club in the team’s bag.  A wide receiver that catches the long pass may be likened to the driver.  A fairway wood may be a tight end or a running back that can break it for long yardage.  A putter is the big running back used for short yardage.  And there are a variety of irons for specific functions.  O.K., it’s not exact, but it’s close enough for this rendition.

The Playing Field is the Championship Golf Course  - This is a simple analogy: the home team’s field and characteristics are quite well known to them.  And the fans can give the home team an edge.  This edge statistically translates into the Home Field Advantage.  And some visiting teams have regular difficulty playing on some fields.   This can be likened to a southern team playing in Green Bay or New England in the winter.  It’s like a par 5 hole dog-leg left hole to a pro who doesn’t have a long drive and plays a low fade.  I will take this into account in the calculations. 

Pre-Season is Work is the Driving Range and Practice Putting Green - So we’re about to embark on a new season with the teams doing their pre-season work.  They are on the “driving range and putting green” getting their game in shape.  Their coach will try to improve on their strengths and reduce the impact of the weaknesses in their game.  They’ll practice “shots” or plays until they can get results. 

Free Agency and the Draft – Changing the Clubs in Your Bag - The season will tell us if this comparison during the season to see if the golf analogy holds up.  Then when the free agent and draft occurs, it’ll be like the pro golfer selecting a new fairway wood or a new putter to improve his game.  Often times, selecting a new putter or driver improves the results, but it’s never guaranteed, much like the draft.

Follow along and watch how your “pro” does in this year’s championship tournament.