Nick Saban shares where analytics are flawed

Analytics have become popularized in football, with broadcasts frequently mentioning what the “analytics” say a team should do in a situation. Nick Saban thinks those calculations are flawed.

Saban joined “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday for his weekly appearance. The Alabama Crimson Tide head coach was asked by McAfee what he and Bill Belichick talk about when they’re together. Saban said football philosophy is something the old friends and former coworkers talk about, and he brought up analytics as an example.

Saban cited fourth downs as an example of something they talk about.

“A lot of people are going for it on fourth down now. And they talk about ‘analytics’ saying you got this percentage chance to make it on this down-and-distance on fourth down, so it’s worth going for it. But what the analytics really don’t tell you is what happens when you don’t make it. Those consequences are pretty significant sometimes too, especially if you don’t take field position into account,” Saban said.