Manning vs. Brady
Last week in my Operations Management class, we learned several different methods for forecasting. Included were moving averages, exponential smoothing, and linear trend forecasts. After completing the first round of homework problems, students were required to come up with an original application using data they collected themselves or found on the Internet. Sarah Schuttler (whose father Robert is also a professor at Marian, and perhaps the world’s biggest Indianapolis Colts fan) decided to use a linear trend method to analyze statistics for both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. The intent was to forecast total yardage and touchdown performance and also examine the relationship between yards gained and number of touchdowns thrown as a measure of effectiveness. As you can see, both quarterbacks have “hall of fame” stats as one would expect. Peyton Manning is clearly the winner in total production through a projected 15 year career (click to enlarge): However when we turn our attention to ...