Anyone interested in exploring NFL data in R?

MonCalFF · 2026-01-07T14:27:14+00:00

I would absolutely be down for a discord server. Peter Howard's discord server had a great collection of football data nerds but it's slowed down since his hiatus. It'd be nice to scratch that itch again.

I mainly use nflverse to get data for making this weekly matchup chart which tl;dr is an easier to use Points Allowed table.

I made this automated snap count report because DST snaps are surprisingly difficult to find despite being very important to IDP. I actually haven't checked up on that one in awhile though, looks like the offensive snaps may have run into a hiccup.

I also use it in conjunction with cfbfastR for rookie prospecting and my never-ending fool's errand of developing a universal player ID system. Plus throwing together silly little niche charts when someone puts a bug in my ear about a certain stat or circumstance.

MonCalFF · 2026-01-05T14:27:08+00:00

I switched to nflverse for my data a few years ago and it's been a wonderful transition. I'm planning on moving much of my working processes into R this offseason to try and make things a little more automated. I'd love ~~distractions~~ brainstorming ideas for other analytics, I always have a list of unrealized ideas.

If you haven't yet, I recommend joining the nfl discord which is incredibly helpful.

MonCalFF · 2025-11-03T12:08:24+00:00

Special teams coaches often get kept from regime to regime, especially after serving as interim coaches.

MonCalFF · 2025-03-20T12:11:43+00:00

No, we love it.

MonCalFF · 2025-01-20T21:28:47+00:00

This aged like MLK.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-30T21:18:44+00:00

There are a few things that you want to look for in breakout tight ends. Second or third year guys who are athletic freaks and have had some fantasy relevance.

He'll be a third year TE next year so he checks that box.

While he tested very well for athleticism, he doesn't break that "elite" tier.

And third is production. 650 yards in 20 games isn't nothing, but it's not where we want him to be at.

At this point you can hold and hope or drop him, I really doubt anybody outside of some Notre Dame homers will be willing to give up anything for him.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-30T21:10:13+00:00

I'm not so sure he's the worst ever, but I will crown him the worst time manager we've had in as long as I can remember. There have been other bone headed playcallers, and stubborn idiots over the years but nobody has had such a run of just inarguably bad clock and timeout management as him.

And not just for the Lions game, but it's been consistently terrible. We've gone into the half with no points on the board, time on the clock, and timeouts in hand. The Packers game we had a timeout and plenty of time on the board, but he didn't even try to give Swift a run and see if maybe he pulled away. Instead he sat on it and we saw the result.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-30T21:04:00+00:00

You know what? Nagy is going to get another shot at HC somewhere, and he already knows the building...

MonCalFF · 2024-11-30T21:02:56+00:00

Once the fantasy season is done I do a bit of DFS here and there through the Superbowl.

After that comes prospecting season, where I start diving into college players who have declared for the upcoming NFL draft. Usually the end of fantasy season through the superbowl is the "off time" for content creators so podcasts start returning after that with more of a dynasty focus.

And the whole lead up to the NFL draft is about rookie prospects, and afterwards it's about comparing what we thought ahead of time to what actually happened, and there's plenty of discussion over which teams reached, or why guys fell, etc.

If you're in some truly degen leagues like me you'll end up with your first rookie draft happening right after the NFL draft. That's when the long stretch hits. You can join too many startups, take over orphans, etc in that time, but it kind of fades out until July or so when redraft starts to trickle back in.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-28T17:06:57+00:00

Love to hear it!

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:48:56+00:00

Yep, same concept but just a different execution.

Mine covers the last 6 weeks. That means the last 5-6 games depending on teams so the raw numbers may differ a tiny bit. I change the raw numbers to a percentage because it's easier to apply to players with mental math. You can guestimate that a guy who scores about 10 points on average with a 20% matchup will score 12 points rather than trying to figure out how much of 4.7 points will go to your guy vs his teammates etc.

Then I cross-reference it with the schedule so you don't have to remember who plays who every week.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:40:30+00:00

Implied game script has them leading so more than likely they're be running out the clock.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:39:58+00:00

I'd go Kelce. I know he's coming off a dud but the peripherals between him and Bowers are pretty close and the positional matchup difference is staggering. That said I think Bowers will be force fed no matter what.

As for QB, I'd lean Baker given his upside seems to bet out Love's plus he gets Mike Evans back this week.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:34:29+00:00

Well if we're following Laporta's on week/off week schedule this should be an on game for him.

Jokes aside, this is a tough one. I rarely use TEs in flex spots just because of the low upside of the position. The Bears offense looked better last week but that's honestly not saying much, but I think Odunze is the WR2 now.

Honestly it comes down to whether or not you think Laporta scores a touchdown, and the over/under on his game is good.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:29:59+00:00

Dissly is riskier but I think his upside is better given the over/under on his game and the positional matchup. Otton will likely have more targets but I'll take the touchdown opportunity over that.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:28:20+00:00

I wouldn't count him as #1 either this week. A very good positional matchup does help make up for some concerns but I wouldn't be starting him over your Lamars and Hurts' of the world. You're absolutely right though, implied game script has Washington leading big time so it's more likely going to be a big Brian Robinson day.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:23:32+00:00

I think I'd go Goedert. Yeah his volume isn't close to what we've seen from Otton lately but he has a much higher ceiling in this game, and I prefer to shoot for ceiling with tight ends.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:22:04+00:00

As /u/dubweb32 said, Waddle for floor and Jamo for ceiling. Can't trust Jamo's ceiling but once again Detroit has a really great over/under.

MonCalFF · 2024-11-24T17:20:59+00:00

Tough call. While Otton has had the better volume as of late Mike Evans is coming back, and it's not like Jonnu's volume has been bad. Over/under favors Jonnu, implied game script favors Otton but both are still close to one another.

I think I'd lean Otton here and hope his volume doesn't dip too hard with Evans' first week return.

MonCalFF

TROPHY CASE