HOW TO USE YOUR SPOTTERCHART
Note: ALWAYS double-check any & all information on your charts. Your credibility is extremely important to us, too. Despite our mission to provide “consistent accuracy, always on time,” the extreme quantity & ever-changing nature of information, mistakes happen. Please always double-check any & all information you may use on-air.
Note: Please ALWAYS alert us of any errors & omissions. Otherwise, if we are not aware of issues, we cannot fix them. Thank you.
COLORS
- Pink background on a CFB player number indicates true freshman.
- Pink background on an NFL player number indicates rookie; green indicates first-year player, as defined by the NFL.
- Green background on team stats rankings indicates Top 25 in division nationwide; pink indicates 100th or higher.
- Gray background on player names indicates a key player is expected to be unavailable.
- Team colors are selected to most likely match what you are likely to see on the field, doing the best we can to provide contrast when both teams use the same primary colors.
PLAYERS
- We rely on team website rosters. They may vary from flip cards & game notes, but we must choose one consistent source.
- We try to include any player you are likely to see on the field, or to discuss, by adding players who have acquired stats even when they are not listed on the team’s depth chart. Note: Your first game of the season will always look relatively bare b/c nobody knows who you are likely to see.
- Please alert us of any player you want added. No problem, provided space allows.
- We avoid duplicating players. A starter may be listed as a second-stringer elsewhere, or a third-stringer, but we try to list him only once. This occurs most frequently on the O-Line, where the same player may play back-up to several positions.
- We review injury reports, though often unreliable. We try to err on the side of caution by including more than less.
- We also watch the news for both player & coaching changes, but we do occasionally miss something.
- Phonetic spellings are on our to-do list, but currently the best we can do is provide extra space for exceptional names.
POSITIONS
By default ...
- For quick reference, we lump RBs, TEs & WRs together, also to save space. You may request them split as they would appear on the field.
- For quick reference, we lump RBs, TEs & WRs together, also to save space. You may request them split as they would appear on the field.
- For quick reference, we also list RBs, TEs & WRs in numeric order. You may request depth chart order for offensive skilled positions.
- Starters are placed closest to the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for all other positions. You may request the starters on top for defense.
And ...
- Non-starting defenders may be listed generally as DLs, LBs, or DBs, not specifically, b/c by including players w/ stats who are not on the depth chart, we must rely on rosters, which often do not specify defenders beyond DL, LB, or DB. It also saves space. Note: Suggest you DO NOT identify non-starting defenders, but rather simply as a DL, LB, or DB.
- Note: Please check carefully that players are in their appropriate position come game time.
DEPTH CHARTS
- We always use the latest & best depth chart available. Our experience includes 10+ years comparing & contrast which are the best. • For CFB, our primary source is official team depth charts typically found in game notes. • For NFL, our primary NFL source is www.OurLads.com; despite not being 100% accurate all the time, we find it most reliable. When there is any confusion, we consult team websites & game notes as available.
- For deliveries requested prior to these sources being available, we do not wait on them. • For CFB, we use the previous weeks’ official team depth chart, adding new players who acquired their first stats, as well as game boxes as necessary. • For NFL, we use the previous week’s from OurLads, or game box when possible. When confusion occur (which are frequent), we consult several sources & alert you.
STATS
- Our business requires that we rely on primary sources. As much as stats seem they should be black & white, they can be extremely inconsistent for myriad reasons – SID & coaches’ preference, changes made after watching game film, press box interpretation. There simply are too many examples to cite.
- For CFB, we rely on official NCAA stats b/c CFB stats can vary widely between NCAA, conference, game boxes, season stats & game notes. We double-check all charts w/ NCAA stats, but sometimes ours do not match exactly what you see. For example, Clemson, Colorado & Michigan report individual defensive stats to the NCAA that are vastly different from their game notes.
- NCAA stats rankings are updated every Sunday AM, while conference stats rankings are typically updated Monday PM. Thus, rankings (not raw numbers) may change slightly before your game.
- For NFL, we use only official NFL stats, which we consider 99% reliable. There are, however, rare instances where NFL teams present information contrary to the NFL (e.g., tackles, years of experience.) We also consult pro-football-reference.com.
- NFL stats rankings also may change depending on time elapsed between chart delivery & game time.
- L = Last game; S = Season; C = Career. Unfortunately, our software cannot yet include career stats for CFB games, but we are trying.
REMINDERS
- Always double-check all information before you use it on air. We take your on-air credibility seriously, but ultimately you are responsible.
- Note we are still missing CFB individual defensive & special teams TDs. Our computer guru now says this will not be fixed this season, but obviously is a priority for next season.
- Note team stats rankings are included for FBS or FCS only, but are only close – not exact. Both the NCAA in its infinite wisdom – & the NFL, for that matter – includes ties for some rankings, but not all, so it’s a crap shoot to get ours to match exactly – but they close for pink, or green.
- Alert us of any errors & omissions so we know what to fix. Thanks to your feedback, we have been able to make many improvements to improve accuracy & delivery success.
- Remember, this link to our TBSC Client DropBox is your access to all charts we produce each week. Please keep this link confidential & the contents “for entertainment purposes only.”
- If you are not using CollegePressBox.com, you are missing out. Use our ID (rosebowl) and PASSWORD (pasadena).
Please do not hesitate to contact me w/ any questions, comments, or concerns.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve.
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