{"id":649898,"date":"2026-01-03T05:23:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/649898\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T05:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:23:23","slug":"george-lis-analytics-expertise-helps-drives-panthers-fourth-down-efficiency-wsoc-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/649898\/","title":{"rendered":"George Li\u2019s analytics expertise helps drives Panthers\u2019 fourth-down efficiency \u2013 WSOC TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHARLOTTE \u2014 Against Seattle last week, the Carolina Panthers converted on fourth down twice, bringing their total to 25 on the season. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s the most in the NFL since 1978. <\/p>\n

As the NFL continues to push the boundaries of advanced statistics and analytics, the Panthers remain on the cutting edge. Game management coordinator George Li is a big part of that. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad actually moved here from Taiwan to go to grad school at Ohio State, and that was during the Buckeyes\u2019 heyday, and so ever since I could ever remember, 5 years old or even earlier, I remember just watching the game on Saturdays,\u201d Li said. <\/p>\n

From that moment, Li was hooked. He graduated college with a business degree, but that was always a backup plan. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really asked my dad. I was like, \u201cHey, I\u2019m thinking about following something i\u2019m passionate about, and I know I\u2019m not going to make a lot of money doing it. I\u2019m going to work like a dog, but I figure if I fail, hey, I\u2019ll just go into business and have a normal job like everybody else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A meticulous memory Li can recount the winners and losers of every Super Bowl since he was six, which led him to jobs in the statistics departments at ESPN and then the NFL Network, where he would assist on-air talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpending so much time late nights, holidays, and weekends helping people talk about the game that the competitive side of me was like, \u2018Man, I\u2019d rather spend this time helping a team win.\u2019<\/p>\n

So Li did just that. He provided research and analytics to the Raiders and Colts before joining the Panthers. He now helps make the fourth-down decisions in pressure-packed games. It\u2019s Li\u2019s job to feed Head Coach Dave Canales with as much information as he needs. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have to give them everything, but just if I was in their shoes, if I\u2019m the play caller, what information would I want to know, knowing the resources available to me that could help them do their job?\u201d Li says. \u201cI\u2019m pretty even-keeled and calm on game day, and that\u2019s allowed me to deliver confident information to those that have a lot more stressful jobs on game day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under David Tepper, the Panthers have embraced analytics, looking for every edge they can find. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe margins in this league are so close, and everyone works so hard to have a positive outcome at the end of a long workweek,\u201d Li said. \u201cHow can I ensure that we give ourselves the best chance to actualize that outcome?\u201d<\/p>\n

(WATCH BELOW: CB Jaycee Horn reflects as Panthers look to clinch playoff berth)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

CB Jaycee Horn reflects as Panthers look to clinch playoff berth <\/p>\n

\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHARLOTTE \u2014 Against Seattle last week, the Carolina Panthers converted on fourth down twice, bringing their total to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[9819,94492,47074,94489,235,260,2567,11579,1885,10402,8155,63841,2133,1068,41686,7,11101,54005,94490,820,3787,88,6,1132,236,47792,54006,30766,94488,94491,602],"class_list":["post-649898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-carolina-panthers","tag-austin","tag-ayhaw","tag-bucks","tag-canalla","tag-carolina","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-carolinapanthers","tag-chuba","tag-coach","tag-dane","tag-dave","tag-dave_canales","tag-db","tag-derek","tag-eyewitness_news","tag-football","tag-god","tag-jc_horn","tag-lathan","tag-local","tag-matt","tag-news","tag-nfl","tag-nick","tag-panthers","tag-princely","tag-pro_bowl","tag-super_bowl","tag-truba","tag-turk","tag-video"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115829500246812270","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}