I feel like a need a heavy dose of caveats to drop in here before I get into this Study Hall. And something of a reminder on where I come from, analytically.
I am not an analytics guru. I admire people who are, who can spend time with a million spreadsheets and derive or extract the needed information. I’ve gotten better at it, and I know what works, but I’m still at my core a “watch the game and figure out your takes” guy.
Stats do matter. Advanced stats provide a deeper understanding of what and how things happened.