The Arizona Cardinals are attempting to rid themselves of the memory of a 3-13 season in 2018. One of the ways they are doing so is with the use of analytics. The team hired a three-person analytics group to assist their scouting and decision making.
On the Cardinals' official website, general manager Steve Keim and owner Michael Bidwill talked about how serious they are with their use of analytics. The addition of the three-person department was done based on forward-thinking, as they attempt to be on the cutting edge of the use of analytics.
“Michael and I talked it through, and for two middle-aged guys, I feel we are both forward-thinkers that aren’t so proud to think you can’t learn something new,” said Keim.
In an ideal world, Keim wants to create an analytics and scouting department that co-exist with each other. That's a bold claim, considering that, historically, the two sides have shared more animosity than love for each other.
“When you start out in the scouting business, you don’t want to hear the word analytics because you know [scouting] is something that is an instinctive thing, something you were born to do as a scout, evaluate talent,” Keim said, on the official website. “Analytics generally scares the old-school mentality because you think it’s put in position to do your job for you, which is not the case. For me, it’s a great tool to either back up the theories you have or to maybe put into question some of your theories and create a checks and balances system.”
The Cardinals aren't the first to introduce analytics to their thought processes. But, they are at the forefront of an evolving group using it for the betterment of the team.
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