Ryan Wagman of McKeen's Hockey breaks down potential top draft pick Casey Mittelstadt, who went to Eden Prairie High School. How high could he be selected? What type of player might he become? Also, will Nolan Patrick be the No. 1 pick in the N

A fascinating NHL draft analytics study (ep.22)

May 4th, 2017

Matthew Coller chats with hockey analytics expert Timo Seppa, who recently presented a study at the Ottawa Hockey Analytics Conference on the NHL Draft. Seppa, who has consulted for multiple NHL and NCAA teams, discovered that certain words in

How does Pat Elflein fit on the Vikings' offensive line? (ep.21)

May 4th, 2017

Inside the Pylon analyst Brandon Thorn joins Matthew Coller to talk about third-round pick Pat Elflein, who is expected to start on the Minnesota Vikings' offensive line as a rookie. Thorn breaks down what Elflein does best, how much he can imp

Did the Vikings get good value for Dalvin Cook? (ep.20)

May 4th, 2017

Matthew Coller talks with Pro Football Focus's Eric Eager to follow up on their pre-draft podcast. Statistically speaking, was moving up to take Dalvin Cook the right decision? What do the numbers say about Cook's potential in the NFL? Which dr

Quarterback analyst Cian Fahey breaks down Sam Bradford's game (ep.19)

May 2nd, 2017

Matthew Coller talks with Cian Fahey, author of the Pre-Snap Reads Quarterback Catalog. Matthew and Cian talk about Sam Bradford's impressive accuracy, his shortcomings and how the Vikings can get the most out of their quarterback. Also Matthew

What do the analytics say about draft history and the Vikings' second-round pick? (ep.18)

Apr 19th, 2017

Matthew Coller talks with Pro Football Focus author Eric Eager about his historical analysis of the draft. Eager looked into the chances the Vikings get a good player in the second round and which position has the best chance to be a hit. Also,

What would it take for the Twins to overachieve this year? (ep.17)

Apr 7th, 2017

Matthew Coller talks with Baseball Prospectus writer Matthew Kory about the Twins 3-0 start and what would have to go right in order for Minnesota to be competitive this year? Could organizational philosophy lead to better results this year? Ho

What analytics say about the Wild's slide and the Blackhawks (ep.16)

Mar 20th, 2017

Matthew Coller talks with analytics writer Shane O'Donnell about the Wild's recent slump means to their chances in the postseason. How would the Wild match up with the Chicago Blackhawks if the two faceoff again in the playoffs? Can they handle

The connection between sports psychology, coaching and player analysis (ep.15)

Dec 7th, 2016

Matthew Coller sits down with Dr. Justin Anderson of Premier Sport Psychology to discuss how sports psychology is a new frontier of sports information. How do brain functions affect how players react to success and failure? What mistakes are co

Patterson's resurgence and Vikings draft philosophy (ep.14)

Nov 23rd, 2016

Matthew Coller and Pro Football Focus writer Eric Eager dig into the reinvigorated career of Cordarrelle Patterson. How valuable is he to the Vikings offense? Also, should the Vikings have been drafting more offense linemen in recent years? How

What do stats say about the Wild's strong start? (ep.13)

Nov 11th, 2016

Matthew Coller and ESPN Insider Shane O'Donnell discuss whether the strong start to Minnesota's season is legit and look at some of the hot or cold results to the beginning of the NHL season and whether they will be sustained. Can Edmonton keep

Twins must catch up in stats revolution (ep.12)

Nov 10th, 2016

Matthew Coller and 1500ESPN Twins reporter Derek Wetmore discuss how new Twins management has a long way to go to catch up with the top teams in analytics. What areas of the game can they use to gain an advantage over teams that have been using

Are the Vikings still a top NFC team? (ep.11)

Nov 4th, 2016

Matthew Coller and Pro Football Focus Analyst Mike Renner take a look at the numbers and compare the NFC's best teams. Can the Vikings' offense bounce back or will their defense have to carry them? How good are the Falcons? Which mediocre team

The Vikings offensive line can be fixed (ep.10)

Oct 25th, 2016

Matthew Coller and Bleacher Report and 1500ESPN contributor Arif Hasan break down the Vikings' debacle in pass protection against the Philadelphia Eagles. Arif has a theory: The Vikings line will get better from here. What makes him think that?

Sam Bradford: The NFL's best QB (ep.9)

Oct 18th, 2016

Matthew Coller and Bleacher Report and Pre-Snap Reads writer Cian Fahey discuss why Sam Bradford has been the best quarterback in the NFL so far. Is his success sustainable? What should the Vikings do about Teddy Bridgewater long term? How good

Digging into NHL Projections (ep. 8)

Oct 15th, 2016

Matthew Coller and Micah McCurdy of HockeyViz.com talk about NHL projections, how they work and what they mean. They also dive into how we evaluate teams' advance statistics, especially when it comes to goaltending and defense.

Sizing up the Central Division (ep. 7)

Oct 12th, 2016

Matthew Coller and analytics guru Rob Vollman talk about how the Minnesota Wild look against the rest of the Central Division. How does PK Subban change the Predators? Can Winnipeg go worst-to-first?

Minnesota Vikings' budding offense (ep. 6)

Oct 10th, 2016

Matthew Coller and Pro Football Focus contributor Eric Eager get together to talk about the Minnesota Vikings' offense. Can it grow even if Stefon Diggs is slowed down by injury? How should Norv Turner use the weapons he's given? Is the offense

How should the Twins go about their rebuild? (ep. 5)

Oct 7th, 2016

Matthew Coller and Baseball Prospectus writer Matt Kory break down how the Minnesota Twins should rebuild. Where does it start? How can the Twins find under-the-radar players in a world where most teams are using analytics?

Sam Bradford, the Vikings and the Super Bowl? (ep. 4)

Oct 3rd, 2016

Matthew Coller talks with ESPN Insider KC Joyner, who wrote a piece about Sam Bradford claiming he could lead the Vikings to a Super Bowl. What do the Vikings have to do to be the best team in the NFC? What types of passes should they focus on?

Can promising Vikings team survive struggling O-line (ep. 3)

Sep 30th, 2016

Matthew Coller talks with 1500ESPN contributor Arif Hasan to go over his breakdowns of the Vikings' offensive line. They also talk about 538's article suggesting that the Vikings may be in for some rough days if their offense doesn't improve.

What the numbers say about Sam Bradford and losing Adrian Peterson (ep. 2)

Sep 19th, 2016

Matthew Coller talks with Pro Football Focus contributor Eric Eager, who broke down the Vikings' win over the Green Bay Packers. How good was Sam Bradford? Even better than you think, Eager says. Also, what is the affect of losing Adrian Peters

A deep, nerdy stats dive on the Vikings' Sam Bradford trade (ep. 1)

Sep 4th, 2016

Arif Hasan joins Matthew Coller on this episode of the Analytics Department podcast.Which QB stats should we use to evaluate Sam Bradford and Shaun Hill.How will we judge if GM Rick Spielman's trade works out or not?How much better is Bradford

A coach's magic touch (ep.16)

Feb 7th, 2016

Matthew Coller and Judd Zulgad introduce you to their new podcast, "Matt and Judd's Hockey Adventure," which will have its own Podacast and iTunes feed soon. Matt and Judd talk about the numbers behind Mikael Granlund's rise and how Bruce Boudr

Bruce Boudreau and the playoffs (ep.16)

Feb 1st, 2016

Matthew Coller chats with analytics baseball writer (and die hard Washington Capitals fan) Matt Kory to discuss Bruce Boudreau's past in the postseason. As Minnesota Wild fans start to turn their focus toward the playoffs, should they be worrie

Rate