If WAR works for hockey, it can work in football

Marc Lamberts:

WAR initially caught my eye when looking at the NHL, before going back to the origins in baseball. The reason why we can look at this specific sport, is for the reason that the game comes closer to football than it comes to baseball. The dynamics of Ice Hockey is much more contineous, full of possession and more different actions.

The model in Ice Hockey is built on six different components to come to a more dynamic WAR that is fitting for this kind of sport:

EV Offense (EV=Even Strength) EV Defense (EV=Even Strength) PP Offense (PP=Power Play) PK Defense (PK=Penalty Kill) Penalties Shooting”

A hockey player’s numbers depend on the quality of his linemates, the opposition he faces and the situations in which he is deployed. Consequently, hockey analytics has developed methods designed to separate individual contribution from these contextual influences, while replacement level can also vary by position and situation. Football has the same problem, arguably in an even more extreme form.

I will continue to say that hockey is closer to football than any other sport in regards to the way players move in relation to the puck and their teammates. If WAR can work in hockey, it can work in football.

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