Strength of Schedule: What to Look for During the NFL Schedule Release

Are advanced football stats really "made up"? Lindsay and Sam take on one of the most common criticisms of modern football analytics head-on. Sparked by a Twitter debate over the "Big Time Throw" metric, this episode pulls back the curtain on how stats are actually built — and why understanding the difference between objective observations, subjective assumptions, and analytical processes is the key to trusting any given number. From EPA and pressure-to-sack ratio to SumerSports' new frame-level tracking model, they break down what makes a stat legitimate, what makes it "sticky," and why even traditional stats have always had interpretation baked in. Plus a preview of new route tracking, coverage matchup data, and real-time probabilities coming to SumerSports this fall. What you'll learn: What "sticky" means and why it's the standard every good stat must meet How SumerSports' frame-level model tracks completion & sack probability every 10th of a second Why the same stat looks different across sites and how to navigate it What new route and coverage matchup data will unlock for evaluation and fantasy 0:13 – Intro: The "Made Up Stats" Debate on Twitter 0:37 – Big Time Throws & Why the Criticism Has Merit 1:23 – What Separates Good Analytics From Noise 1:49 – New SumerSports Data Coming This Fall 2:09 – Three Fan Reactions: Overwhelm, Misunderstanding & Mistrust 3:36 – Transparency: How Stats Are Actually Built 4:12 – Analytics Aren't New: Steve Belichick's Scouting Book 5:12 – The Real Innovation Is Storage & Processing 6:12 – Counting Stats & Their Hidden Subjectivity 7:34 – The Aaron Rodgers Jets Example: Why Passing Yards Lie 9:34 – What Is EPA? Why Yards Aren't Yards 10:59 – Objective Facts vs. Subjective Conclusions 15:06 – What Does "Sticky" Mean? 16:08 – Stickiest QB Stats: Pressure-to-Sack Ratio 16:55 – Caleb Williams: From High Sack Rate to Low 17:19 – Sack Rate vs. Pressure-to-Sack Ratio Explained 20:38 – Raw Sacks vs. O-Line Blame 23:09 – The 2.5-Second Threshold: Subjective but Consistent 24:03 – Andy Richardson vs. Jalen Milroy: SackOf in Practice 26:14 – Frame-by-Frame Completion & Sack Probability 27:32 – Play-Level (EPA) vs. Frame-Level Data 30:53 – Why Consistency Is the Goal 32:19 – Human Charting Bias vs. Automated Consistency 33:57 – Nick Saban's "The Process" Applied to Analytics 36:19 – SumerScore: Evolution of the Coach's Plus/Minus 37:19 – Outcome Bias & the Cornerback Interception Problem 40:05 – What Technology Can Do That Humans Can't 41:02 – New Stats: Full Route Tracking Back to 2016 42:13 – Coverage Metrics: Target Rate + Yards Allowed Per Snap 43:37 – Riley Moss: When High Target Rate Is a Good Sign 44:25 – Coverage Matchup Data: Gonzalez on JSN in the Super Bowl 45:21 – Fantasy Implications of Matchup Data 46:30 – Play Action: Where Does the Boost Actually Come From? 47:43 – If You Can Tell the Story Behind a Stat, It's Not Made Up 48:44 – Why Stats Differ Site to Site: The Target Share Example 51:15 – Stick to One Site for Consistent Comparisons 52:45 – Outro & Subscribe #NFL #NFLAnalytics #FootballAnalytics #AdvancedStats #NFLStats #SumerSports #MadeUpStats #EPA #NFLData #DataScience #SportsAnalytics #NFLPodcast #FootballPodcast #NFLMetrics #CalebWilliams #AaronRodgers #FootballIQ #DataDriven #FantasyFootball #SportsTech CONNECT WITH US: - Twitter/X: https://x.com/sumersports - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumersports - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sumersports - Website: https://www.sumersports.com - 2026 Rookie Draft Guide: https://sumersports.com/2025-nfl-draft-guide/ - SūmerPlayer Varsity: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sumerplayer-varsity/id6746766016 --- ABOUT SŪMERSPORTS: SūmerSports combines 500+ years of NFL front office experience with innovative sports AI to democratize elite football intelligence. Our team includes former NFL GMs, coaches, scouts, and engineers from Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

The NFL has a position problem. The player lining up in the slot on defense is no longer the small, pass-coverage-only cornerback of years past — but we're still calling it that. In this episode, Lindsay and Sam dive deep into the evolution of the slot defender position, backed by data and an interview with SumerSports' own senior cornerback scout, Jeff Robinson. They explore how nickel became the new base defense, why teams are increasingly using bigger, more athletic players in the slot, and what the ideal slot defender actually looks like in 2025. Plus, the trio debates what we should even call this position — and why getting the name right matters for scouts, fans, and draft evaluation alike. Featured: Jeff Robinson, Senior Cornerback Scout, SumerSports 0:00 – Welcome & Episode Overview: Rethinking the Slot Defender 2:05 – Brief History: From Run-First to Pass-First NFL Defense 3:25 – Nickel is the New Base: Teams in Nickel Nearly 2/3 of Snaps 3:40 – The Traditional Slot Corner vs. What the Position Demands Now 4:28 – Who's Actually Playing the Slot? Team-by-Team Breakdown (Rams, Eagles, Texans, Lions) 5:31 – Key Questions: Is This a Real Position? What's the Ideal Player Type? 5:58 – The Prototype: Jalen Ramsey in the Brandon Staley Rams Defense 6:51 – What the Data Says: Alignment, Man Coverage & Run Fits 8:32 – Seahawks Case Study: Witherspoon & Nicky Emmanwori Splitting Slot Snaps 10:54 – Should We Define This Like "Edge Rusher"? The Naming Problem 12:03 – Clustering Algorithm Deep Dive: How the Data Classifies the Position 14:05 – The Copycat League: What Wins Out — Pass Coverage or Run Fits? 15:11 – Best WRs Moving to the Slot (Chase, Jefferson, St. Brown) & How Defenses Must Respond 23:35 – What Happens to the Traditional Slot Corner? Is CB3 Obsolete? 24:24 – A Counterintuitive Flip: Shorter Corners Outside, Bigger Corners Inside? 25:18 – D'Angelo Ponds Deep Dive: Too Small for Inside, Fine on Outside? 29:00 – The Basketball 3-Point Analogy: Why Jump Ball Size Matters Less Now 31:30 – Stopsky Proposes "Apex Defender" as the New Name 33:21 – Should We Come Up With a New Name? Sam's Take Before Jeff Joins 37:24 – Jeff Robinson Joins: Why the Position Desperately Needs a New Label 38:32 – The Scouting Problem: 225-lb "Corners" Muddying Draft Boards 40:05 – Do Schemes Converge or Stay Different? Jeff on Team-by-Team Variation 41:42 – The Mental Load: Why Not Everyone Can Play This Position 43:49 – The #1 Evaluation Trait: Processing Speed & Diagnosing Multiple Receivers 46:35 – Kenneth Walker's MVP Run & the Danger of an Undersized Slot Defender 47:15 – Caleb Downs vs. Nick Emmanwori: Why They're Very Different Players 49:08 – Jeff on Historical Prototypes: Charles Woodson, Rod Woodson & Deion Sanders 50:29 – Modern Candidates: Caleb Downs, Brian Branch & Treydan Stukes 52:25 – How Jalen Ramsey Embodies the Modern Slot Defender Arc 52:44 – Final Debate: "Apex," "Star," or Just "Slot Defender"? 54:05 – Sam's Closing Thoughts: Data + Scouting = The Complete Picture 56:12 – Wrap-Up #NFL #NFLDefense #SlotDefender #NFLAnalytics #FootballAnalytics #NickelDefense #NFLDraft #NFLScouting #SumerSports #DefensiveStrategy #NFLBreakdown #ApexDefender #CalebDowns #JalenRamsey #NFLPodcast #FootballPodcast #NFLTactics #DefensiveBackfield #NFLEvaluation #DraftEvaluation CONNECT WITH US: - Twitter/X: https://x.com/sumersports - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumersports - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sumersports - Website: https://www.sumersports.com - 2026 Rookie Draft Guide: https://sumersports.com/2025-nfl-draft-guide/ - SūmerPlayer Varsity: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sumerplayer-varsity/id6746766016 --- ABOUT SŪMERSPORTS: SūmerSports combines 500+ years of NFL front office experience with innovative sports AI to democratize elite football intelligence. Our team includes former NFL GMs, coaches, scouts, and engineers from Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

Lindsay Rhodes and Sam Bruchhaus take deep dive into "Strength of Schedule" and see what actually matters on a teams schedule.

Fresh off the 2026 NFL Draft, Lindsay Rhodes and Sam Bruchhaus give their reactions to the picks.

Lindsay Rhodes and Sam Bruchhaus are joined by Bootleg Football hosts Brett Kollmann and EJ Snyder. The four of them take a look at the Jets and Rams first three picks of the draft and decide who they should take.

We're a week out from the draft and all signs point to Fernando Mendoza being the first pick off the board. Who will be QB2? The consensus seems to be Alabama's Ty Simpson - but where does he end up and when is he drafted? #2026nfldraft #nfldraft

Former NFL General Manager, John Idzik, and longtime NFL scout, Jeff Robinson, join Sam Bruchhaus and Matt Stopsky on the SumerSports Show to take a nuanced look at draft hits and misses. How do these former NFL executives view the players in the gray area? 1:44 - Travon Walker 16:35 - Trevor Lawrence 30:17 - Justin Jefferson & Jaxon Smith-Njigba 39:15 - Kyle Pitts

SumerSports Show hosts Lindsay Rhodes & Sam Bruchhaus break down their 2026 Top 10 NFL mock draft. 0:03:05 - Las Vegas Raiders 0:04:50 - New York Jets 0:12:08 - Arizona Cardinals 0:19:25 - Tennessee Titans 0:33:50 - New York Giants 0:40:45 - Cleveland Browns 0:51:38 - Washington Commanders 0:55:00 - New Orleans Saints 0:59:39 - Kansas City Chiefs 1:05:10 - Cincinnati Bengals

Lindsay Rhodes and Sam Bruchhaus take a look at some of the value players you can later in the 2026 NFL Draft. Skyler Bell, WR UCONN – 3:47 Gracen Halton, DL Oklahoma – 17:50 Keylan Rutledge, G Georgia Tech – 26:07 Jacob Rodriguez, LB Texas Tech – 32:00 D’Angelo Ponds, CB Indiana & Keionte Scott, CB Miami – 40:30

Current SumerScouts and former NFL Scouts, Joel Patten & Jeff Robinson, join Lindsay Rhodes and Sam Bruchhaus to discuss NFL Pro Days and the details behind the workouts. 0:00 – Intro 2:02 – Pro Days for Scouts 6:30 – Asset Allocation at Pro Days 8:20 – Information Gathering 11:30 – Making a Guy Fall 13:30 – Pro Day Surprises 18:05 – Comfortable vs. Uncomfortable for Players 23:00 – QB Personalities 25:40 – Film vs. Pro Day 30:00 – Workout Warriors 32:00 – Information Sharing 33:40 – Formatting the Pro Days 38:00 – Running a Workout for a DB 44:00 – Quenton Nelson’s Pro Day 46:00 – Antoine Winfield’s Pro Day 47:00 – Lamar Jackson’s Pro Day 48:30 – Team Specific Pro Day Requirements 52:00 – Old School Combine 56:00 – Deciding Who Attends Pro Days