Monday, January 18, 2010  The Experiment: Rethinking NFL
Coaching  Consider a thought experiment for a moment. Say we've
walked into the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and are
watching the android Data. As part of his studies of the human
psyche, he's examining the world of sports and has taken a
particular interest in American football. Specifically, in an
attempt to improve his leadership abilities, he's trying to
figure out what makes a successful coach. To this end, he's
constructed a holodeck program to simulate a NFL game. In order
to isolate the variable of coaching, he's programmed both teams
with identical players.  The difference between the teams? Team
A is run by a typical NFL coaching staff, with a head coach
(Coach A), position coaches and offensive, defensive and
special-teams coordinators. Team B is run by a 30-year old who
doesn't have any actual football experience, but has spent hours
on end playing every installment of the Madden franchise since
its inception and watching every p