The most authoritative and innovative guide to professional football (previously known as "Pro Football Prospectus") is back for an all-new season with more cutting-edge statistical analysis, obsessive film study, and trademark humor. Includes comprehensive coverage of all 32 NFL teams, analysis of offseason personnel changes, over 500 KUBIAK fantasy football projections, and breakdowns of every team from the six BCS conferences plus the top independent and mid-major college football teams. With numerous statistical measures that go far beyond standard NFL stats, Football Outsiders Almanac 2012 gives NFL fans the kind of sabermetric-like statistical analysis that revolutionized the fan's understanding of baseball. It's also written with a knowing dry wit that gets under the skin of America's most popular spectator sport.
- Groundbreaking team and player DVOA ratings that correct for situation and opponent to reveal which offenses and defenses are truly superior, and which players really help win games.
- Exclusive data from the Football Outsiders Game Charting Project, unavailable in standard NFL stats, tells you which receivers run the longest patterns on both complete and incomplete passes; which quarterbacks benefit the most from yards after catch; which teams most often blitz or run specific offensive formations; and which defensive backs stop the other team's passing game, measured by pass coverage on every single play rather than just tackles.
- NEW FOR 2012: Detailed information on each team's performance in 2011 by offensive and defensive personnel package.
- Extensive coverage of all 32 teams with week-by-week stats from the 2012 season, five-year performance trends, and analysis of off-season personnel changes.
- Exclusive 2012 predictions that give the odds on each team as a Super Bowl contender ... or a contender for the top pick in the 2013 draft.
- 2012 fantasy football projections for more than 500 skill position players based on the KUBIAK forecasting system.
- Breakdowns on more than 75 different college football teams and full win-loss projections for all 124 Division I-A (FBS) teams.
- New research on the meaning of defensive momentum and the intersection between workload and injury for running backs.
- "A book that any self-respecting NFL fan needs to purchase." -- Bill Simmons, GRANTLAND.com
- "Football Outsiders has now built a system that has some serious traction behind it. I personally find it fascinating." -- John Schneider, General Manager, Seattle Seahawks
- "The most accurate insight into why teams really win and lose." -- Jim Schwartz, head coach of the Detroit Lions
NOTE: Due to an issue with the print process, we were unable to include the Fantasy Appendix in this year's book. For a list of the top 240 fantasy projections for 2012 in order, please forward your receipt e-mail (from Amazon or Createspace) to info-at-footballoutsiders.com.
Lead editor Aaron Schatz is the creator of FootballOutsiders.com and the proprietary NFL statistics within Football Outsiders Almanac, including DVOA, DYAR, Adjusted Line Yards, and the KUBIAK fantasy football projections. He writes regularly for ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine, and has done custom research for a number of NFL teams. The New York Times Magazine has referred to him as "the Bill James of football."
