by WaterBoy on Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:30 pm
I understand that the stats may play very little importance when compared to the final score- but even though the team game is important, you also have to consider other coaches who are trying to select players for both league and national honors. It's not reasonable to suggest that each voter will see every player play, and though I would guess the primary selection criterion would be observed play, the stats are a close second.
As an example- (mostly just because this nail has been hit before) Justin Combs. I have never seen him play. I HAVE looked at his stats, and can infer from them that he's quite good. Clearly I'll never know for sure how good he is until I either see him play, or see the results of him playing against someone I've seen play- without first hand knowledge, all I can rely on are stats.
They're important- that's why we keep them. Unfortunately in many cases they fall under subjective influence.