Cowboys Player Ratings - Don't use PFF

[xwalker]

Don't judge Cowboys players by PFF Rankings.

I've heard about PFF using bloggers to grade "film" for something like $50 per player per game.

I decided to check into who PFF hires.

They put out grades during the season before the All-22 is available. This indicates they are grading from the broadcast, not from the All-22.

They hire "contract" analysts.

You don't need football experience. Some employee reviews indicate they were hired as a Analyst despite only being a casual football fan. They hire in the UK, Ireland and Canada as well as the US. How much knowledge do people in the UK have of American Football? I listed an employee review at the bottom.

Here is the job listing:

ANALYST
* This is not a full time position and there are no guarantees it will ever lead to one. You will be required to produce work during the regular season to a deadline, but at your own convenience. While we do pay for high quality work, if you are doing this purely for financial reward, the position is not for you.

ProFootballFocus.com is seeking a number of highly enthusiastic and dedicated football fans to join their analysis team. If you’re a passionate follower of football, looking to expand your knowledge of the game and get a foot in the door of the football industry, then you could have what it takes to become a part of PFF.

In working for PFF you will contribute to the analysis and statistics that make PFF so unique. Every person from CEO to newest member of the team has started off working on the collation of player participation data that can take upwards of 20 hours per game to collect initially and, although this does reduce considerably with experience, it is not for the faint of heart. Producing this data improves your knowledge of the game and put you in a position to represent the PFF brand through written content, etc.

The successful candidate must have:

● Demonstrable knowledge of the NFL product and what PFF does
● A very high level of enthusiasm and passion for football and Pro Football Focus
● Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal)
● Ability to meet deadlines
● Positive attitude, strong work ethic, and excellent attention to detail
● At least 20 hours of free time per week, with a large amount of time available on weekends

In return, Pro Football Focus offers training, an opportunity for you to develop your own profile on a highly regarded media platform, access to data not made available to the public (even via subscription), and payment based on work done in-season depending on accuracy. This is open to anyone in the USA, Canada, the UK or Ireland. You are welcome to send a resume/cover letter, but this is not necessary.

_________________
Employee Review

"Analyst"
Current Contractor - Analyst in Boston, MA

Neutral Outlook

I have been working at Pro Football Focus as a contractor (Less than a year)

Pros
Flexible, Pay for Performance, Good communication with management

Cons
Work can be a bit tedious

 

[xwalker]

PFF has non-subjective stats that are useful. Even some subjective stats like passes right, left, middle should be reasonably accurate; however, anything where somebody is grading based on opinion is basically worthless.

It would be difficult to get consistent results with dozens or possibly hundreds of "analysts" even if they were NFL scouts or coaches. Doing it with people that have minimal football knowledge makes it basically impossible to get accurate results.

 

[3rd_n_inches]

I wonder if they are hiring I could do like 10 players in a few nights for some milk money. I bet they have a lot of domestic violence cases they have to fight in court.

 

[Hoofbite]

I've been saying for years their stats are highly suspicious just because they grade the whole league in a couple of days. Play counts, outcomes, random and subjective measures.

No way in hell they were paying for that data 5 or 6 years ago. They "employ" volunteers and when you think about who would volunteer to grade the perpetually garbage teams their staff composition becomes obvious. They're fans. Nobody would volunteer to grade the Browns if they weren't a Browns fan.

Their stats are filled with subjectivity and bias, no doubt. Not to mention their measures are just questionable. Somehow a "QB Hurry" is tallied as being equal to 1/2 sack when a sack has a definitive outcome and a QB Hurry does not. Never seen a team score a TD on a play their QB was sacked, but plenty of TDs have come when the QB was hurried.

 

[beware_d-ware]

They post "instant grades" after games, which should be taken with a massive grain of salt. If you look a few days later, the players' grades will often swing wildly. I get it, they want to rush out the articles right after the game and get clicks, but those grades are pretty much garbage.

Also, it would be interesting to see what their "analyst" wages are like and how they are determined.