CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ever since the Browns and John Dorsey parted ways shortly after the end of the 2019 season, analytics has been the buzzword surrounding the team, especially with Paul DePodesta’s presence in the organization.

But analytics is such a broad term that it’s not easy to define what it is and how they could be using it.

DePodesta gave insight into what analytics means to him following Kevin Stefanski’s introductory press conference back on Jan. 14.

“When I think of analytics I just think of having a sort of framework to make decisions under uncertainty," he said. "Everything we do in these jobs is really built around uncertainty and what players we’re going to take in the draft, what we’re going to call on third-and-8. I mean, it’s all uncertainty, right? So what frameworks can you create that at least stacks the odds in your favor, gives you a better chance of being successful.”

So what are those frameworks?

We may never know the true answer, but there are several analytical tools that that could fit DePodesta’s description. Here are some examples and how they can potentially help the Browns.

SPARQ

What it means: SPARQ, which stands for speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness, is a metric that determines the athletic ability of a player based on physical testing. Here is what I wrote about it back in 2016, explaining more on what it means, how it works and what is defined as a good score or not.

How it can inform decisions: The NFL draft is an unpredictable science, projecting what college football players will do at the next level. Talent and traits matter most. But in a game where the difference between success and failure is so thin, sometimes having the best athletes matters. And it’s not just about 40-yard-dash time.

SPARQ can probably be used as a tiebreaker when operating under the presumption that when it comes to two players, the more athletic has a better chance of success.

A list of the top 25 receivers in terms of SPARQ score in the 2019 NFL Draft class. (3SigmaAthlete.com)

For an example, let’s look at the top rookie receivers from 2019 in terms of yards. The five best were all listed in the top 25 of SPARQ rating among receivers in the 2019 draft class according to 3SigmaAthlete.com, which charts the SPARQ scores for draft-eligible prospects dating back to 2015. None were taken in the first round.

4th down chart

What it means: It’s a situational chart that tells whether or not teams should go for it on 4th down or not. One such chart was the 4th Down Bot, created by the New York Times in 2013.

The New York Times' 4th down chart shows when teams should go for it or kick compared to what NFL coaches did from 2002-13. (New York Times)

How it can inform decisions: Other than John Harbaugh and Doug Pederson, NFL teams are notoriously conservative when it comes to fourth downs. The bot essentially recommends that teams always go for it on fourth down when you need either one or two yards.

It’s dependent on distance and spot on the field more than the opponent and time left in the game. And relying on the chart can allow a team to be more aggressive, giving it more chances to put points on the board.

Blitz rate

What it means: Blitz rate is simply how often a defense blitzes the quarterback per dropback. Here are the top blitz rate teams from 2019 according to Pro Football Reference.

A ranking of how often teams blitzed in 2019. (ProFootballReference.com)

The Browns were fifth in blitz rate last season at 38.3 percent. But their QBKD percentage, which is the percent of the time they knocked the opposing quarterback to the ground, was just 7.4 percent. Another notable stat in here is missed tackles, which you can see in the far right column. The Browns missed a league-high 140 tackles last season.

How it can inform decisions: If a team knows how often the blitz is coming, then they can prepare by calling plays accordingly. That means long-developing plays like deep play-action are less likely to work against those teams, and screen passes and quick throws might have more success.

Run power success

What it means: The run power success measures how often a running play on third or fourth down with two or fewer yards to gain results in either a first down or a touchdown. This is a list of the best defensive teams in terms of run power success rate according to FootballOutsiders.com.

Chart of which defenses were the best at limiting success on short-yardage runs. (FootballOutsiders.com)

The ranking in the first column is for what’s called adjusted line yards, which takes all running back carries and gives responsibility to the offensive line which is explained more here. But the stat to pay attention to is the power success, which is sorted in the fifth and sixth columns. It’s sorted in order of the defenses that have allowed the fewest successful runs.

Minnesota (49 percent) and San Francisco (50 percent) were the two best teams at limiting those successful plays. By contract, the Browns were 30th, allowing teams to have success 76 percent of the time.

How it can inform decisions: This is a stat that works for both sides of the football. As a defense, it can help when you prepare for a team by knowing whether or not they are typically good at converting on those crucial short-yardage plays. For the offense, that success rate tells you whether or not you can run on those plays or if it’s smarter to pass on third- or fourth-and-short.

Directional passer rating

What it means: It tells how good a passer is attacking the different areas of the field. In this map below, which is Baker Mayfield’s from the 2019 season per SharpFootballStats.com, it sorts out the rating in short throws in each direction, and deep throws in each direction.

Baker Mayfield's passer rating by distance and direction in 2019. (SharpFootballStats.com)

How it can inform decisions: When gameplanning for an opposing quarterback, charts like this can help defensive coordinators determine where a passer is most successful at throwing the field. They can then try to force him into throws into weaker areas, boosting a defense’s chance for success.

It can also be broken down into each down, whether or not the offense huddled before the play and where they were on the field. That’s helpful situationally to make those quick decisions with defenses trying to find advantages where possible.

Offenses can use it as well to figure out where their quarterbacks have their most success throwing the ball. And in doing so, that’s how they can craft a gameplan as time goes on to maximize the successful areas.

Directional rushing production

What it means: Much like the directional passing chart, this tells how successful a running play is depending on down, runner and where the ball is carried. For example, here is a look at the Browns’ directional rushing production from SharpFootballStats.com.

The Browns' directional rushing production chart from 2019. (SharpFootballStats.com)

As you can see, the Browns did most of their running behind the guards more than anywhere else. They did well running behind a lineman, but poorly when running to the edges. A lot of that might have had to do with very poor tight end blocking.

One other thing that sticks out at the top of the chart is not only did Nick Chubb get far fewer carries on third and fourth down than on first and second, as expected. But his production dropped off significantly when he did get those carries.

A reason for that could be predictable play calling, which was a problem last season with Freddie Kitchens. The other is probably the offensive line. Going back to run-power success on the offensive side, the Browns had the third-worst percentage at just 52 percent.

Compare that chart with what the Minnesota Vikings did last season under offensive coordinator and new Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Minnesota's directional rushing production chart. (SharpFootballStats.com)

Minnesota had more success running to the edges and behind the tackles than it did running into the interior, especially when it comes to big plays. And the Vikings also had more variety in its running game, running to the edges far more than the Browns did.

Dalvin Cook wasn’t much more productive on third down than Chubb. But the Vikings did get some production there from Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah on limited carries.

How it can inform decisions: A chart like this can tell defenses who the opponent likes to get the ball to on certain downs, how they run on those downs and where they get their most yards. Since they can’t control who gets the ball, their best adjustment is to try and make them run where they don’t want to.

Offensively, it works in the opposite way. It tells you where you want to go, and then the offensive coordinator can call the runs to where the backs are most successful. And it can also help break some tendencies if a team expects one back to get the ball on first down, but they give it to another.

Situational run-pass ratios

What it means: This explains how often a team wants to run or pass depending on the situation and spot on the field. Here’s a chart showing how often teams run or threw on 1st-and-10 last season, and their success rate according to SharpFootballStats.com.

How often NFL teams ran or threw on first down in 2019, and how successful they were. (SharpFootballStats.com)

Here, the Browns were actually were one of the more balanced teams in the NFL at throwing vs. running on first down at 60 percent pass to 40 percent run. Another number to notice here is success rate. On first down, success rate is defined as plays that gained at least 40 percent of the yards needed to convert.

They were just shy of the league average on passing plays at 42 percent, but equaled it in the run game with 45 percent. Success rate on second down is 60 percent of yards to gain, and converting on third and fourth downs.

How it can inform decisions: Measuring this helps a defense to know when to expect a team to throw or run on any given situation. The more lopsided the ratio, the easier it is to prepare for those particular situations.

On the other side of the ball, offenses can see going into a game what works best against each defense. If one is more successful than the other, that can certainly influence what the offense calls at any given time.

More Browns coverage

Nick Chubb is carrying the legacy of a small Georgia community known as Chubbtown

Kevin Stefanski has ‘no problem waiting’ for 49ers’ Joe Woods as his DC; Bill Callahan to double as a senior advisor

Kevin Stefanski will meet with Odell Beckham Jr. Thursday to get acquainted & lay out how his players should ‘conduct themselves’

Odell Beckham Jr. undergoes successful core muscle surgery; full recovery expected

Freddie Kitchens expected to join Giants; Browns interview Scangarello; let most remaining assistants go

NFL Draft 2020: Top guards who could help the Browns retool their offensive line -- Film Review

Jarvis Landry not expected to need hip surgery; will play in the Pro Bowl Sunday