It has been proven time and again that football is, as Vince Lombardi said, a game of inches. Teams win or lose based on the smallest of distances. A deep pass glances off a receiver’s fingertips. One or two links of a chain force a team to punt instead of keeping the ball.

But football is also a game of speed. And the measurement of that speed can help us understand why that deep pass wasn’t caught. Or why that running back was tackled two chain links short of the first down.

Thanks to computer chips inserted into N.F.L. players’ shoulder pads, we can measure and analyze the speed at which the game is played. The data, provided here by Sportradar, is used by teams to help make personnel decisions, scout opponents and even call plays. It also helps separate players who have “game speed” from those who merely run fast at the N.F.L. Combine.

“Combine speed is overrated,” said Tavon Austin, the Los Angeles Rams’ speedy receiver. “It might give you a good look to see what you can run in a straight line, but football’s not played in a straight line.”