Fueling The Fire
July 26th, 2021
Bucs DBs: Thanks, Cynthia.
Now look, Joe has absolutely nothing against Cynthia Frelund, the NFL Network’s resident statgirl.
What Joe does have an issue with is her analysis. The first four letters of the last word in the previous sentence pretty much sum up her numbers.
Joe is convinced Frelund doesn’t watch games. Why? She never, ever cites physical matchups in her analysis. It’s all numbers, projections, models. Never something like, “Falcons corner Kendall Sheffield struggles against tall receivers. So when Mike Evans lines up on Sheffield’s side of the field, it could be a serious matchup advantage for Evans and the Bucs.”
No. Nothing like that. Never.
So last summer, the evidence that fueled Joe’s suspicion that Frelund only watches highlights (maybe) and whatever alert she gets on her NFL.com app while she sips white wine at a fashionable Malibu waterfront restaurant came when Frelund ranked Bucs’ cornerbacks unit at No. 32 in the NFL. Worse than the horrid Lions secondary, even.
While the Bucs gave up the third-most passing yards in 2019, they were eighth in the NFL in picks. Rotten secondaries are not in the top-10 in picks.
Anyone who watched the Bucs defense transform after serial loafer Vernon Hargreaves was tossed off the pirate ship knew ranking the Bucs cornerbacks as worst in the NFL was asinine.
Can the worst corners in the NFL shut down DeAndre Hopkins? Hell, no!
The Bucs defensive backs, reading this supposed intellectual property of Frelund’s, were mighty peeved. Well into the season, Joe read on Twitter several Bucs defensive backs reference Frelund’s preseason ranking.
There is no doubt that fired up the Gravediggers and they used that as motivation. In fact, yesterday when Carlton Davis was talking with the local pen and mic club, you could tell Frelund’s take still irked him.
“Yeah, that was something that motivated us,” Davis told Joe. “I don’t know where she got her stats from or what she researched, but I’m pretty sure we proved [that] wrong last year.
“This year we are looking to take another step.”
Davis is looking at a payday as well, now in the final year of his rookie contract. The best corner on a Super Bowl champion often makes bank.
Joe had to ask: Since the Gravediggers referenced Frelund’s ranking throughout last season, did it even come up during Super Bowl week?
“It shouldn’t have,” Davis joked.
July 26th, 2021 at 5:26 am
Another useless stat by Cynthia “Man Nose” Frelund.
July 26th, 2021 at 6:31 am
GREAT article. We’ve all heard “you can’t see the forest for the trees” well, here’s another one, “reasons and excuses are NOT the same thing” over-all the secondary did a good job. They got it done when it counts. BUTT the secondary doesn’t decide what coverage to use. It’s the DC. 2 situations which really hurt was not 2x the Cheetah!!!!! There is no reasons for that only excuses. Before they snapped the ball the 1st time, I’m thinking “what the hell is he doing alone” OK, DC lick your wounds and wake up and 2x him but no he waited till he had 200 in the FIRST FRICKn qtr!!!!!!!!!!! It was not the secondary’s fault(totally) that the sec got carved up like a Christmas turkey by a QB nobody even knew. (those 11 guys from the cesspool Wash.DC), It’s the DC’s job to fix that
July 26th, 2021 at 6:35 am
@AKicknTheBucsNuts : No way you’re Kickn her outta the sack
July 26th, 2021 at 7:16 am
Smok’n !!!
Some lucky man !
Or … 👱♀️
July 26th, 2021 at 7:29 am
Kwon Alexander anybody?
2 year deal. He can use TB12 to heal. He can spell Lavonte and Devin.
He can be used in Wild 3 LB blitzes.
He can star on special teams.
He gives us the deepest LB core in the NFL. If Lavonte or Devin went down, our defense wouldn’t skip a beat.
And we keep him away from New Orleans.
He made a ton of money in San Fran.
Maybe he’d be willing to chase 2 rings the next two years.
July 26th, 2021 at 7:31 am
A bright young lady, who found her niche acting like the smartest person in the room. based upon an algorithm that obviously has holes big enough to drive a truck through. But she makes a good living, and as long as her looks hold out, will probably have good job security. Whatever Cynthia…but does anyone ever do a postmordem on the results of your prognostication, look closely at the errors and work through them with you? And do you consult with the “meat and potato game guys” to find ways to correct the flaws in your algorithm? Seems not.
July 26th, 2021 at 8:22 am
A waterfront restaurant in Malibu? The beach-side is choked with mansions of the rich and famous, cheek to jowl, and they’re not letting anyone even get near the water.
July 26th, 2021 at 8:39 am
Too dam skinny. Bet her ribs stick out below her implants.
July 26th, 2021 at 8:52 am
@Med Pete
LOL! OK. You got me!
July 26th, 2021 at 9:04 am
Butter face.
July 26th, 2021 at 9:33 am
If you want to “nerd out” over stats, you should also recognize that the same stats can tell different stories. This is why they play the games.
mark2001- You hit the nail on the head. And for a postmortem review of these predictions to come about, is to admit that the entire premise is faulty.
July 26th, 2021 at 9:47 am
Mark2001 nailed it. She’s bright and certainly attractive, but I think her gig as an NFL analyst is an acting job, a tryout before she tries to get on TV as a host or analyst.
Her predictions have been awful. She’s a top school MBA, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into being a good analyst within a certain discipline. Looking at her background, she’s a financial analyst which has absolutely nothing to do with prognosticating performance in sports. In fact financial analysis might even give her a bias to examine summary statistics rather than doing a deep dive into the numbers that make up the summary stats.
July 26th, 2021 at 10:10 am
The first half to nearly three quarters of the 2019 season the Bucs secondary was horrid. Journeymen and back-up QB’s were playing pitch and catch.
A secondary that gives up the most passing yards in a season is going to be rated poor by all analysts as they should be. Last year was night and day difference in secondary play to 2019.
July 26th, 2021 at 10:35 am
A few years ago she missed only one game in the entire march madness opening rounds
That is almost impossible
Just saying. Whether she uses equations / stats ….she is not the dunce you all are making her out to be.
July 26th, 2021 at 11:33 am
Bird…I didn’t call her a dunce. I said in fact that she is bright. I just said that she needs to improve her algorithm. She doesn’t seem to account very well for the “human factor”.
July 26th, 2021 at 11:41 am
I mean..it must be tough to account for having two or three guys on a team that are young and finally get the defensive scheme and start playing as a unit. Or having an old guy sustain that one injury that causes father time to win? Not saying it is easy…. but I wouldn’t put too much stock in her modeling.
July 26th, 2021 at 11:41 am
Id put stock in her figure…but not her figuring.
July 26th, 2021 at 11:42 am
Stock or something…keeping it clean, boys.
July 26th, 2021 at 11:53 am
“Stats are for losers.”
Look at Matt Stafford. Lot’s of amazing stats. Experts, like Cynthia, believe the LAR are the 2020 Bucs because of Matt’s stats. They fail to see Matt has little playoff experience and no playoff wins.
There is something to winning that doesn’t always show up in stats.
July 26th, 2021 at 2:30 pm
🎵 Cynthia O Cynthia 🎶…
Your bodies insane… Much like your Brain 💥
Stop talking about Football and Caboose the Train🤔
🎶 Cynthia O Cynthia 🎵
Keep your mouth shut… unless we can putt 🕳
🎵Cynthia O Cynthia 🎶
July 27th, 2021 at 8:46 am
Dean and Davis both finished top 5 in pass breakups in 2019 and also held opposing WRs to 50% or less completions. No other secondary could say that. There were no stats to justify her rankings.