Hot Takedown is ending the year with three different Rabbit Holes. We start with Geoff, who is in the bargaining stage of grief over the New York Jets’ sudden winning streak. He takes a look back at NFL draft grades for the past four quarterback classes and finds that both the grades and the level […]
This year disrupted the sports world like no other in modern history. First, the COVID-19 pandemic shut sports down almost completely in the spring and early summer; then, it dramatically altered the schedules and formats of most leagues when they did return. The NBA and WNBA played their postseasons in neutral-site bubbles, for instance, while […]
sara.ziegler (Sara Ziegler, sports editor): There’s only one week left in the NFL’s regular season, but so much is still up for grabs. Week 16 clarified a few things: The Chiefs nailed down the AFC’s first-round bye, the Buccaneers ended their postseason drought, and the Jaguars claimed the first pick in next year’s draft. But […]
If NFL analytics is a set of festive Russian nesting dolls, the final pea-sized matryoshka is defense. We’re actually pretty good at understanding offensive skill position players at this point. When a quarterback change is made on a team, our models and the betting markets move in response. No Patrick Mahomes? “That’s bad for Kansas […]
“MVP! MVP! MVP!” A shower of cheers rained down on Luka Dončić as he walked off the court after a Dallas Mavericks victory last fall, four days before Thanksgiving. He high-fived a few fans — towel around his neck — then clapped his hands above his head and entered the tunnel as the MVP chants […]