Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

NFL players: height and weight over time

noahveltman.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 135 posts

Re: NFL players: height and weight over time

#11

Post by maxerickson »

dpeck wrote: post #5
scott_s wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my thought, too. I'm guessing the group on the far right are the linemen, the group on the far left are the receivers, and the middle group are those that cover the receivers. What I find most interesting is that there's a clear gulf between the (probable) linemen on the far right and the others. That middle ground is probably not best suited for any role - if you're chasing the receivers, you're going to be…

Middle group is likely to be primarily made up of linebackers, running backs, with a few of the larger tight ends there as well. These players, while having some responsibility in the passing game are primarily involved in either running the ball, or defending against the run. And having a bit more mass there is very beneficial, but they still need to be able to have the speed to be able to work horizontal across the…

incision's link, in a top level comment, has a plot that distinguishes positions. (Modern) Tight ends are heavier than linebackers, then quarterbacks, then running backs.

Re: NFL players: height and weight over time

#12

Post by chiph »

scott_s wrote: post #3
nubs wrote: post #2

Very interesting how you can definitely see 3 distinct groups emerge in recent years. I'm guessing linesmen are the majority of the group that really shifts over to the right.

That was my thought, too. I'm guessing the group on the far right are the linemen, the group on the far left are the receivers, and the middle group are those that cover the receivers. What I find most interesting is that there's a clear gulf between the (probable) linemen on the far right and the others. That middle ground is probably not best suited for any role - if you're chasing the receivers, you're going to be…

William "The Fridge" Perry was probably the inspiration for the absolutely huge linesmen of today. That separation started a little bit after his seasons with The Bears.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Perry_(American_footbal...

Re: NFL players: height and weight over time

#14

Post by zacinbusiness »

S_A_P wrote: post #10

I wonder if this has compounded the TBI and concussion issue over the years. I think sports medicine in general has gotten much better and the average player is probably bigger and stronger and thus able to hit harder than 20+ years ago...

In other words, steroids have become more effective.

Re: NFL players: height and weight over time

#15

Post by mbauman »

incision wrote: post #6

Craig M. Booth has done some very nice visualizations on this subject [1]. I found this chart comparing height/weight of 2013 rosters by position [2] particularly interesting and this set [3] covers a question that anyone who has read Outliers has probably wondered about. 1: http://www.craigmbooth.com/category/nfl/ 2: http://www.craigmbooth.com/height-and-weight-of-every-active... 3: http://www.sportsballweekly.com/t…

Ugh, on [3], watch out for the non-zero axes. NHL and NBA start their axes at 0, while the others do not. Very tricky, and very deceiving. I think NFL would look very similar to NBA if plotted the same way (they're both within ~10-15% of the expected value).

Re: NFL players: height and weight over time

#17

Post by sheri »

scott_s wrote: post #3
nubs wrote: post #2

Very interesting how you can definitely see 3 distinct groups emerge in recent years. I'm guessing linesmen are the majority of the group that really shifts over to the right.

That was my thought, too. I'm guessing the group on the far right are the linemen, the group on the far left are the receivers, and the middle group are those that cover the receivers. What I find most interesting is that there's a clear gulf between the (probable) linemen on the far right and the others. That middle ground is probably not best suited for any role - if you're chasing the receivers, you're going to be…

The middle group as mentioned is a mix of linebackers, tight-ends and also running backs. > That middle ground is probably not best suited for any role Modern NFL is very specialized. You have linebackers of various sizes who are used in situational conditions (passing vs running downs), and also vary in size/height based on the defensive scheme. e.g. A linebacker in a Cover-2 based defense is probably lighter/faster vs a larger linebacker used in a 3-4 defense.

Re: NFL players: height and weight over time

#18

Post by colmvp »

S_A_P wrote: post #10

I wonder if this has compounded the TBI and concussion issue over the years. I think sports medicine in general has gotten much better and the average player is probably bigger and stronger and thus able to hit harder than 20+ years ago...

I noticed this with the NHL. Players are way more fit resulting in a faster game with more brutal body-checking. That compounded with improved protective equipment has allowed players to have a lot less regard for others safety.

Re: NFL players: height and weight over time

#19

Post by MisterBastahrd »

chiph wrote: post #12
scott_s wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my thought, too. I'm guessing the group on the far right are the linemen, the group on the far left are the receivers, and the middle group are those that cover the receivers. What I find most interesting is that there's a clear gulf between the (probable) linemen on the far right and the others. That middle ground is probably not best suited for any role - if you're chasing the receivers, you're going to be…

William "The Fridge" Perry was probably the inspiration for the absolutely huge linesmen of today. That separation started a little bit after his seasons with The Bears. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Perry_(American_footbal...

Probably not as much as you think, because he really wasn't that good of a football player and made his name as a situational fullback. The Cowboys offensive lines of the early 90s are probably the blueprint for the current NFL offensive lines. Those guys were freaking enormous compared to the average line, and it's the main reason why Emmitt Smith is a household name.
Post reply on HN