Great piece, IMO, about CFL Super Stat Man, Steve Daniel.
REGINA — Steve Daniel, who is poised to receive a master’s degree in archeology, can dig up virtually anything.
Daniel, who has been the CFL’s head statistician since 2007, is routinely contacted with inquiries about numerical factoids. Typically, he is quick to respond with the desired information.
For example, the Saskatchewan Roughriders had three two-point conversions within a span of eight minutes 45 seconds during an Oct. 3 home game against the Calgary Stampeders.
The flurry of two-pointers included two receptions by Weston Dressler and another by Anthony Allen. All three passes were thrown by Roughriders quarterback Tino Sunseri, who as it turned out, was a central figure in a record-setting performance.
Rapid-fire research by Daniel revealed that the Roughriders’ three two-pointers were a CFL single-game record. The previous mark of two had been set numerous times since the league added the two-point conversion to its rule book in 1975.
“The record stood for 39 years and the Riders blew it away in less than nine minutes,’’ Daniel marvels. “That one blew me away.’’
Daniel has been busy blowing away the CFL’s old way of doing things. He is at the forefront of the league’s statistical revolution, which in some cases, includes statistical revisions.
The 57-year-old Daniel has been reviewing games from the past and reassessing the numbers, where necessary. That painstaking process includes a perusal of statistical tallies from previous Grey Cup games, with the objective being to ensure that the plays were properly and thoroughly recorded. Once upon a time, tackles were not tabulated, so Daniel has reviewed footage from Grey Cups of long ago to expand the volume of statistics.
Daniel has also been busy inputting data from CFL games from yesteryear. The statistics are compiled on an Excel spreadsheet, which allows him to have obscure details at his fingertips.
A considerable amount of time is also dedicated to an expanded statistical documentation of current games. Daniel monitors each play as a game is in progress, updating special categories such as second-down conversions in addition to working with the on-site stats crews to ensure that real-time information is not only timely, but accurate.
After the games, Daniel will watch a recording of the telecast to double-check, carefully poring over each play to verify the statistical summary.
One byproduct of his tireless toil is the weekly Game Analysis Report, which is routinely sent to the media on Tuesday mornings. However, the teams — and, most notably, the coaches — are the first to see the report before it is more widely disseminated.
“One of my goals is to take us from the dark ages of running, passing and first downs into the realm of analytics,’’ Daniel says.
Hence the breakdown of trends in myriad categories.
After 73 games this season, for example, CFL teams had used a total of 566 players, with an average age of 27.41.
You name it, there is probably a category somewhere in the weekly game analysis, which delves into the most trivial aspects of three-down professional football.
The information is meticulously detailed to the extent that every coach’s challenge is recorded, along with the situation and the result.
The weekly report includes analysis of red-zone performance and big-play proficiency, along with teams’ tendencies on first downs. How frequently and effectively do they run and pass? Such information is coveted by coaches who can use it when game-planning.
“It’s about providing information that helps teams make decisions,’’ says Daniel, who is based in Richmond, B.C.
Fans and reporters, by extension, are able to use the information to further their understanding of a complex sport. The factoids also come in handy when records are threatened or there are questions about precedent.
“I get a lot of questions that begin with, ‘When was the last time that ...?’ ’’ Daniel says. “I can answer many of them in 30 seconds. I couldn’t do that before.’’
Before joining the CFL, Daniel had been extensively involved in sports as a fan and employee.
He was the statistician for the Vancouver Grizzlies during their inaugural NBA season (1995-96). He remained with the team when it moved to Memphis in 2001. As the Grizzlies’ director of operations, he was responsible for overseeing many of the game-night processes, including the statistics.
Daniel remained with the Grizzlies until December of 2004, at which point he returned to Vancouver and completed a degree in archeology at the University of British Columbia.
“I was older than most of my profs,’’ remarks Daniel, who has been part of the B.C. Lions’ stats crew since returning from Memphis.
Daniel is still heavily involved in archeology — a profession that has taken him around the world — and is about to complete his master’s thesis.
Effective time management, along with a passion for everything he pursues, has allowed him to balance archeology and statistics. Both vocations routinely involve an examination of the past.
In the case of football, Daniel has compiled an all-time roster of the CFL, dating back to 1930.
“A Hamilton team of the 1930s had five guys named Wright,’’ he notes, referencing a situation that caused some confusion due to the erratic reportage of seemingly fundamental details such as players’ first names.
“It’s my wife (Carol) getting back at me. Her last name is Wright.’’
Suitably, Daniel is committed to doing things right — with the blessing of the CFL and its vice-president of football operations, Kevin McDonald — to ensure that the statistical documentation is better than ever, and that it keeps progressing.
“At the end,’’ Daniel says, “I want to leave behind a bit of a legacy.’’
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