Clayton’s Schooled: Next-Gen Analytics with John Pollard of Zebra Technologies

Last week the NFL made a major announcement that didn’t get as much attention as it should.

The league announced that all 32 teams will be receiving full analytics reports from Zebra, the Illinois-based company that puts tracking devices on players and the football.

John Pollard, who lives in Seattle, joins us on Schooled with the Professor to talk about the advanced science of scouting. With chips on players’ uniforms and in the football, Zebra can do analytical reports on every position. It can determine if a player is slowing down with fatigue. It can study the breakaway speed of a receiver. It can evaluate so many things about a quarterback.

Pollard offers an in-depth discussion of Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, for example. Though the tracking system, Zebra determined how Wilson buys more time in the backfield to run around and gain more than three seconds a play before he releases the ball. Zebra also illustrates how precise Wilson is throwing the ball, and just how far he throws it down the field. Pollard discussed the improvement of Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson and pointed out the analytics of how he became a play-maker. This science is revolutionary, and John Pollard takes us through what will be a fascinating time for scouting and player and team evaluation.

You can listen to the podcast embedded above, through the 710 ESPN Seattle podcast page, or on your favorite podcast app including iTunes.

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