Play by play data entry and stat compiler

[ehaight]

Wondering if any one has any recommendations regarding either standalone software or spreadsheet(s) for entering data from gamebooks and manipulating the data. I have put together my own set of Excel workbooks that work reasonably well, but the main sheet has well over 100 columns and makes data entry a cumbersome process. I also get most of the reports I want, though getting things like consecutive completions can be a trial. Most of the stuff I've found online seems geared toward college or high school play and have statistical rules that differ from the NFL. Doesn't have to be free, but I also don't want to pay more than a couple hundred bucks for it and cheaper would be even better. Any ideas?

[TodMaher]

Wondering if any one has any recommendations regarding either standalone software or spreadsheet(s) for entering data from gamebooks and manipulating the data. I have put together my own set of Excel workbooks that work reasonably well, but the main sheet has well over 100 columns and makes data entry a cumbersome process. I also get most of the reports I want, though getting things like consecutive completions can be a trial. Most of the stuff I've found online seems geared toward college or high school play and have statistical rules that differ from the NFL. Doesn't have to be free, but I also don't want to pay more than a couple hundred bucks for it and cheaper would be even better. Any ideas?

I would recommend a database program - quicker and easier than Excel to look up data. And you could probably cut down on the number of fields/columns, too.
As far as parsing the gamebook play-by-play data - it is a pain in the neck because of complexity of the game itself.

[ehaight]

I've wandered into Access once in a while to see what I could make of it but I either end up having a startlingly large number of tables or fewer tables with lots and lots of fields. Mostly I just learn that I'm not very good at the conceptualizing that needs to happen before I start creating objects and run back to my comforting spreadsheets.

[Rupert Patrick]

Wasn't there already an effort to do this about ten years back? To create a football version of Retrosheet, more or less? That is sorta kinda what you're talking about, isn't it? Sean Lahman was in charge of it if memory serves. It didn't get very far, but I think a number of games were done before the project died on the grapevine. I was not a member of that group that worked on it, but I remember his saying it took about 6-8 hours to input and double-check all the data to ensure the gamebook was correctly inputted.

I know a guy who is not part of the PFRA but is privately doing such an effort for a particular team.

[ehaight]

Wasn't there already an effort to do this about ten years back? To create a football version of Retrosheet, more or less? That is sorta kinda what you're talking about, isn't it? Sean Lahman was in charge of it if memory serves. It didn't get very far, but I think a number of games were done before the project died on the grapevine. I was not a member of that group that worked on it, but I remember his saying it took about 6-8 hours to input and double-check all the data to ensure the gamebook was correctly inputted.

I know a guy who is not part of the PFRA but is privately doing such an effort for a particular team.

I remember that, too. I looked at it at the time, but didn't have the free time needed to join the effort. My current method takes me about an hour to do one quarter of a game so maybe that's about as efficient as it gets.

[TodMaher]

Unless you're doing pre-1999 games can't you just look up stuff on Pro Football Reference using their Play Finder Tool? I know the Football Outsiders have been re-entering old play-by-plays - I think they've gone book to 1986. But it's all private and not for public consumption. If you search around the internet you can find downloadable play-by-lay data for recent seasons. May not be 100% correct/update since the NFL is always monkeying around with data.

[ehaight]

Going back to the 60's. Also, there's the value of entering the data myself. I get a much better feel for the players and the way the games were played that way. But, to be sure, PFR's data is endlessly valuable and I use it all the time.

[Rupert Patrick]

Going back to the 60's. Also, there's the value of entering the data myself. I get a much better feel for the players and the way the games were played that way. But, to be sure, PFR's data is endlessly valuable and I use it all the time.

I find errors in PFR's data all the time and am constantly sending them corrections in the form of links to newspaper articles where they have gotten things incorrect, and they always correct it. When writing my pieces for the 1951 Rams book, I found several places where PFR was wrong and had to send corrections, including one involving their All-Pro team listings where they had it wrong for a certain Rams player. One place where they make a lot of errors is in their scoring summary; for some reason they often transpose scoring plays, not getting them in the correct order. PFR is a great resource but be sure if you are using it for play by play to first check it against the game book or you might find yourself chasing errors later on.

[ehaight]

PFR is a great resource but be sure if you are using it for play by play to first check it against the game book or you might find yourself chasing errors later on.

Agreed. For a while the punting stats were way off for cumulative games within a season, but that seems to be fixed now. Still, trust but verify. I've found other minor quibbles, particularly with hard to verify things, like games played in the early 60s, but it's still a resource I use almost every day.

[TodMaher]

Going back to the 60's. Also, there's the value of entering the data myself. I get a much better feel for the players and the way the games were played that way. But, to be sure, PFR's data is endlessly valuable and I use it all the time.

I really like you website: http://raiderlogbook.com. I can see what you trying to accomplish.
A college stat software program might work for you - yes, there are differences from the pro rules - but even the software the NFL currently uses has bugs (particularly with the team long gains) that they and Elias have to manually fix.