Abstract
In football, the term “icing the kicker” refers to the moment a coach calls a timeout immediately before a field goal attempt in the hope that it will negatively affect the kicker’s ability to make the field goal. This often occurs during a game deciding play, making it a crucial moment in football games. In this article, we aim to answer the question as to whether icing the kicker impacts a kicker’s ability to make the field goal. We demonstrate the need for a causal inference approach to this problem, due to the non-random nature of the decision to ice kickers. Ultimately, our results indicate a lack of evidence demonstrating any meaningful effect from icing the kicker. Furthermore, we use a simple simulation to show how coaches may prefer to use their timeouts earlier in the game with more impactful results.
Published Version
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