With so much football playoff news lately, the one story that got my attention was one about the award-winning WhatIfSports.com simulation engine which concluded that the New England Patriots win 55% of the time by an average score of 27-25, based on 10,000 simulations. It’s not a stretch to see how sports simulations, and the data analytics behind them, might also be used to improve government performance.

Every week WhatIfSports.com simulates thousands of NFL games. WhatIfSports offers anyone a “test drive” of their simulators at no cost in a section called SimMatchUp. Users choose to play any two MLB baseball teams against each other going back to the 1885, NFL football teams back to 1941, NHL hockey teams back to 1917, NBA basketball teams back to 1950, and NCAA basketball teams dating back to different years depending on the team. All simulators produce complete box scores and full play-by-play.

With a 16-game season, users have the option of building a running game with Barry Sanders and Walter Payton, an aerial attack with Joe Montana and Randy Moss, or a tenacious defense with the 1985 Chicago Bears. Users set depth charts, game plans, offensive and defensive settings, deal with player fatigue and more. Keep reading →