Aaron Schatz's blog

Still haven't bought your copy of Football Outsiders Almanac 2018? Do you need more convincing? If so, check out our annual feature on Deadspin, with a one-paragraph excerpt from each of the 32 NFL team chapters in FOA 2018.

It's the return of the QB Hope Index, looking at the odds that each passer from the last three drafts will develop into a long-term NFL starter. It takes into account performance so far, QBASE projection, age, depth charts, and even what college conference the quarterback emerged from.

Seth Walder dips just a little bit into what teams are going to be able to accomplish with the player tracking data. There's going to be a lot of machine learning going on, and a few teams are going to get into this much faster and get a clear advantage on the other teams for a few years.

More season preview podcasts! This time we talk a lot of over/unders with Doug Kezirian of the ESPN Behind the Bets podcast. We dive into FOA 2018 and why the Colts, Cowboys, and Dolphins should exceed expectations while Jacksonville and Carolina should regress. My section starts around 17:20 in.

Hey, it's time for another preseason podcast! I'm on here with Matt Kelley on RotoUnderworld's Sonic Truth podcast. We're talking about the imbalance between the NFC and AFC, judging Jimmy Garoppolo despite small sample size, and why FO expects Indianapolis and Dallas to be better than conventional wisdom.

The Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is pleased to announce the call for abstracts for the 2018 Research Papers Competition. The conference showcases cutting-edge research that in past years has been featured in top media outlets and even changed the way sports are analyzed. We would especially cherish the opportunity to highlight some of best work going on in the world of football analytics. In addition to presenting at the conference, the researchers with the top football paper will also be given the opportunity to share their insights here on Football Outsiders.

Hey, time for another podcast appearance, this time with Michael Kist of Bleeding Green Nation to focus on the World Champion Philadelphia Eagles. We discuss how the Eagles use analytics, the over-correction regarding Carson Wentz's rookie season, and the greatest defense of all time.

Go really in-depth with our surprising Jacksonville forecast on the Jaguars podcast Down by the Bank. We also talk some Blake Bortles: bust, or not? It depends what you expected out of a third overall pick.

Yes, more podcasts! Here I am with Gill Alexander from the Vegas Sports and Information Network. This podcast puts together two interviews we did last week, discussing the AFC on Tuesday and the NFC on Thursday, going through all the forecasts from Football Outsiders Almanac 2018.

Well, here's your first killer injury of the preseason. Washington lost its promising rookie running back to an ACL injury in last night's preseason opener against the Patriots. Back to Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine we go.