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OffseasonSan Diego Chargers HistorySan Diego Chargers HumorGood news, Chargers!
The NFL is trying to make scheduling fairerNew,9commentsThe University of
Buffalo believes they have a fairer algorithm PDTShare this storyShare this on
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for:Good news, Chargers! The NFL is trying to make scheduling
fairerTwitterFacebookRedditPocketFlipboardEmailThis week should mark the release
of the 2019 NFL schedule, which is always welcome during these cold, dark,
dreary days of non-football time. Immediately after the release of said
schedule, there is a rush of comments and posts regarding the perceived fairness
or lack thereof of each team’s schedule.The Chargers have often been on the
unfortunate side of scheduling issues, though there are certain reasons that
this can not be easily remedied. Being a west-coast team in a predominantly
east-coast nation is just part of the price of admission. The travel discrepancy
is what ultimately made the AFL a viable league back in the 1960s, and some
significant crossroads have been crossed since the 1970 merger to blend the two.
The Chargers, Raiders, 49ers, and the Seahawks are all going to have extensive
travel bills in this country, but that doesn’t mean that measures can’t be taken
to limit the travel toll on each team.Here’s what CBS Sports reported about the
2018 season:Well, shoot. They’d better have their Chargers-brand charge cards
ready to collect those miles. None of this is news, however—it’s just one of the
clearer examples of how the schedule can potentially be retooled in the name of
parity. Other glaring examples include facing multiple teams coming off of their
bye week, Sunday/Thursday short weeks, and divisional cadence (facing the same
opponent twice in three weeks).And, recently, researchers from the University of
Buffalo wanted to prove that the schedule could be made at least a bit more
fair. The NFL agreed with the researches to the tune of a three-year research
grant in November 2018 to provide year-round method development and schedule
testing. While the NFL has confirmed this agreement, it hasn’t given any
information as to how or if it will be utilized at all. This could just be a
facade to make it look like they are addressing fairness, but there is an equal
chance that they are indeed looking to make a better
Youth LaDainian Tomlinson Jerseys , fairer, and stronger product for all to enjoy.The whole project was sparked by Dr. Mark Karwan’s hometown Buffalo
Bills complaining about how often they faced teams who were coming off either a
bye or a Thursday night game. This naturally gave their opponents a rest
advantage, and the Bills have suffered through enough just trying to keep pace
in the AFC East. As it turned out, between 2002 and 2014, the Bills had twice as
many of those games as some other teams. Dr. Karwan’s research isn’t the first
of its kind, just the first (and only, as far as I can find!) subsidized by the
NFL. In 2015, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference received Karwan’s
comprehensive study that sought to prove the inherent disadvantages to the
current scheduling system, and offer ways to remedy the discrepancies.Their
research first sought to prove that there is, indeed, a wide range of variables
that can work against schedule parity. They then worked to show that certain
variables affect certain teams disproportionately.Figure 1 (bye week rundown)MIT
Sloan Sports Analytics ConferenceFrom 2003-2012, the Chargers faced bye-week
favored teams 5th most in the league. The Falcons really got the short of that
stick, while the Cardinals hardly noticed.That doesn’t mean much if the rest
didn’t affect the play on the field, so the MIT team crunched the numbers on win
percentage against such opponents. Figure 2 (win% against rested teams)MIT Sloan
Sports Analytics ConferenceWell, it’s not a world-ending difference, but it is a
difference. Facing more rested opponents more often puts teams like the Chargers
at a statistical disadvantage. It might not manifest itself in a single season,
but it is a bias that can be controlled.In the end, these are just two of the
lowest-hanging fruit as far as scheduling examples go. The bye week impact and
jet lag are two issues that the Chargers have had to face that have put them at
a greater disadvantage than the majority of the NFL.None of these issues are
stronger than the on-field product or the players that make the roster. They
are, however, issues that can be better mitigated with a bit of research,
forethought, and
LaDainian Tomlinson Jerseys Stitched , as Dr. Karwan indicates, at least 12 hours of supercomputer computation time.Well, my math doesn’t get me to quite
that number, but I’ve never been the best at carrying the zero. If you’re keen
to bone up, you can literally play Number Munchers for free at the Internet
Archives. What were we talking about, again?-Jason “DOS for Dumb Me” Michaels
COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) — Philip Rivers is an Oakland Raiders fan this week,
sort of.Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers can win the AFC West and secure
home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs by beating Denver and having the
Raiders defeat Kansas City on Sunday.The Chargers can also take the division
title, a first-round bye and home field with a tie against the Broncos and a
Chiefs loss.“I’m rooting for us on Sunday and whatever happens happens,” Rivers
said Wednesday. “I don’t know that my cheering is going to matter.”Those
scenarios are rendered moot if the Chargers (11-4) don’t hold up their end, so
the team’s focus is directed internally and not on an assist from their nemesis
in silver and black.A loss by Los Angeles or a Kansas City win would see the
Chargers finish as the No. 5 seed in the AFC, likely playing at the AFC North
winner in the wild-card round next weekend.“Yeah, I’d love to see the Raiders
play their best game of the year and win, but we can’t control that,” Chargers
coach Anthony Lynn said. “We got this Denver team that since I’ve been here
we’re 1-2 against so we’re looking to get even there. We have some improvement
to do this week to get there.”The Chargers need help, in part, because of their
23-22 loss to the Broncos at home on Nov. 18. That defeat was partially
self-inflicted, with the defense allowing pass plays of 38 and 30 yards to set
up Brandon McManus’ 34-yard field goal as time expired.The offense had an
opportunity to run out the clock in Denver territory, but Rivers was forced to
scramble for a loss of 4 yards and threw away a third-down pass instead of
keeping the clock running.Rivers said managing those late-game situations become
even more important going into the playoffs.“The consequences go up,” Rivers
said. “A possession in the fourth quarter with eight minutes left is a little
different than the second quarter, right? Just all those things are a little
more critical in the fourth quarter of a one-score game and what’s going to be
the fourth quarter of a postseason game here real soon.”The Broncos (6-9) also
sacked Rivers three times in that game, and improving their pass protection is a
priority for the Chargers after allowing four sacks in their 22-10 loss to
Baltimore on Saturday.The Ravens had success rushing with four defenders in that
game
Youth Kyle Emanuel Jerseys , and the Broncos’ edge rush combination of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb is even more formidable, Lynn said. Chubb has 12 sacks and has a
chance to pass the rookie record of 14½ set in 1999 by Jevon Kearse. Miller has
14½ sacks, his fifth consecutive season with double-digit sacks.“One of the best
defensive players in the game,” Lynn said of Miller. “And Chubb’s not bad
either. That combination right there, I do believe that’s the strength of their
defense is that pass rush, and so we’re going to have to find a way to contain
those two, for sure.”Lynn felt the offensive line was unfairly criticized for
its performance against Baltimore, saying the tight ends and running backs also
contribute to protections.There are other factors, he added, from the receivers
running routes and creating separation to Rivers getting rid of the ball in
certain situations.Addressing pass protection and other issues will help keep
the Chargers focused on what happens against Denver, Rivers said.“We know we get
a game the following weekend,” Rivers said. “Where, who knows, or how it all
shakes out. But let’s focus on us and get back playing the way we’ve played most
of this year. Offensively, we’ve got plenty of things to work on this week both
in practice and hopefully let that transfer to playing better on Sunday.”And if
the Raiders come through, all the better for the Chargers.“It is weird to be
rooting for the Raiders,” Lynn said. “But that’s the nature of this business,
you know.”NOTES: RB Austin Ekeler practiced Wednesday. Lynn expects Ekeler to
play after missing the past two games because of a neck injury and
concussion.
