Remember when the annoying media phrase: "He's the difference maker?" became the thing that every broadcaster, beat writer and NFL fan repeated? I think Difference Maker was the NFL breakout meme of the 2005 season.

Last year (2006), I think the meme was: Fantasy League. As in "Fantasy Leagues have now surpassed the actual league in importance." For 2004, I'd say the breakout meme was the phrase "It is what it is..."

Well, I already know what the meme for 2007 is. I've even contributed to it.

It's "Aaron Schatz". The man behind footballoutsiders.com. He also wrote the best football book for NFL fans.

All of a sudden, Aaron Schatz is everywhere! Here he is in a Bill Simmons column. You'll be hearing about him on pre-game shows within the next couple of weeks - I guarantee!

So "Aaron Schatz" is the meme for all NFL coverage this year.

Here's a handy glossary of key Aaron Schatz terms you will start to see:

• DVOA - defensive value over average. For offense, a good number is something above 12-15%. For defense, a good number is below -10%.
• PAR - points above replacement value. The whole statistical basis of Aaron's system is to compare how well a player or team did against what an average player would do. So if Tony Romo has a 16.4 PAR, he's worth 16 points more than an average replacement player.
• FO - is footballoutsiders.com, Aaron's website.

Labels: football

¶ 9/13/2007