WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's advice that sounds like heresy on the
gridiron: Go for it on fourth down. Try more onside kicks. Running
backs don't matter so much.
That myth-destroying advice comes from sports statisticians who
study the numbers behind winning football teams like the New
England Patriots. Advanced NFL Stats founder Brian Burke calls the
Patriots the "Moneyball" team of the NFL. He says they're in the
Super Bowl because they have this system and stick to it.
The numbers experts say the NFL as a whole is slow to embrace
the concept.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)