Research Papers

Dube, Lorenzo; Queralt, Samuel; Fink, Joshua; Goldsberry, Kirk; Bushong, Vanna

Doinkalytics: A New Paradigm in National Football League (NFL) Placekicking Evaluation highlights the inadequacy of traditional kicker performance metrics that rely solely on simple make-miss outcomes. This paper introduces new metrics, including Split-The-Uprights-Difficulty (STUD), which incorporates situational factors like weather and elevation, and a spatial accuracy and consistency measure called Command+. Using these new metrics, Doinkalytics aims to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of placekickers, demonstrated through a case study spanning two NFL seasons to improve the evaluation of NFL kickers as well as individual kicks.