Bill Belichick claimed during a press conference on Friday morning that he does not really use analytics, but he was likely lying.
Belichick spoke with reporters ahead of the Patriots’ Week 4 game against the Buffalo Bills and said “analytics isn’t really my thing,” according to NESN’s Zack Cox.
Bill Belichick: "Analytics isn't really my thing. I try to evaluate what I see. … It works for some people, and that's great."
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) September 27, 2019
There you have the New England head coach straight up saying he relies on his eyes and not really numbers.
That is likely false.
Warren Sharp, who runs advanced stats at SharpFootballStats.com, commented on the quote with a famous quote from “The Usual Suspects” about one of the greatest misdirection moves of all time.
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist -Verbal Kint https://t.co/hfcQJU5Rgr
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 27, 2019
Sharp has openly said he has consulted for several NFL teams, leading us to believe the Patriots are one of them.
The Patriots likely use advanced statistics aka “analytics”. But unlike Oakland A’s president Billy Beane who spilled all his secrets and became the focus of a book, movie and “Moneyball” movement in baseball, Belichick is probably content to throw his opponents off the track and let them keep wondering how New England does it. Winning more Super Bowls than any coach in history gets books written about you anyway, and probably a movie at some point too.
