Every February, Indianapolis becomes the center of the football world as prospects, scouts, coaches and GMs stream into Lucas Oil Stadium for the annual combine.

Of course that also means the media will be there, too eager to make way too big a deal out of one of the truly boring events of the year.

Colts fans, eager for any news about their favorite team, will lap up all the coverage. Of course, it's ridiculously early to have any idea what the Colts will do in the draft, but that won't stop us from endlessly speculating anyway.

Here's everything the Indianapolis Colts fan needs to know about the hype-fest that is the combine.

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Exciting isn't a word often used to describe the 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars, but they did participate in three of the wildest games of the season.

Win Probability and its player-driven cousin Win Probability Added (WPA) are stats advanced by Brian Burke of Advanced NFL Stats. Win Probability calculates the likelihood that a team will win the game before each and every play. WPA adds up the impact that an individual player has on those odds.

For instance, a team with a 40-point lead with 45 seconds to play has a Win Probability of 100 percent. Win Probability is a stat that explains what happened after the fact. Swings in Win Probability illustrate which plays had the most impact on a game.

These plays can be charted to produce a graphical representation of the swings of NFL games. For games with twists and turns, these charts can be dynamic.

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The inexplicable saga of how the Colts treated Dwight Freeney over the past year took another strange turn.

Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star interviewed Freeney, who says he wishes the Colts had made him an offer.

Freeney told Chappell he was willing to come back for a low offer and finish his career with the team, but they never approached him.

He also acknowledged the team could have released him before the 2012 season, which saw him make $14 million and produce just 5.5 sacks.

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It's combine time!

The biggest non-event of the NFL calendar is upon us, and though the Super Bowl wrapped up just a couple of weeks ago, fans are already suffering football-related withdrawal symptoms.

Desperate for any shred of news about their favorite team, the eyes of football fans will be on Indianapolis as the game's biggest prospects will be poked, prodded and probed as teams race to get as much hard data as possible about the players who will define their franchise's futures.

Here's everything the Houston Texans fan needs to know about the insanity that is the combine.

Know What You Don't Know

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Kick returns, runbacks, Hail Marys and fourth downs in overtime.

The early-season thriller between the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions had it all. Its status as one of the wackiest games of 2012 makes it the perfect entry to describe the Advanced Stat of the Week.

Win Probability and its player-driven cousin Win Probability Added (WPA) are stats advanced by Brian Burke of Advanced NFL Stats. Win Probability calculates the likelihood that a team will win the game before each and every play. WPA adds up the impact that an individual player has on those odds.

For instance, a team with a 40-point lead with 45 seconds to play has a Win Probability of 100 percent. Win Probability is a stat that explains what happened after the fact. Swings in Win Probability illustrate which plays had the most impact on a game.

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Against the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs, the Houston Texans had the ball inside the five-yard line with a third-and-short.

They emptied the backfield and settled for a field goal.

Today's article of the day comes from Rivers McCown of Battle Red Blog, who looks at just how common the empty backfield was for the Texans in 2012.

As with most of McCown's excellent work, the stat-driven piece exposes the fact that some hand-wringing over Kubiak's decisions is more about perception than reality.

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No one will soon forget the Houston Texans' controversial but entertaining victory over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

Aside from giving us one of the all-time memorable challenges in NFL history, it also provides a great tutorial in this week's advanced stat: Win Probability.

Win Probability and its player-driven cousin Win Probability Added (WPA) are stats advanced by Brian Burke of Advanced NFL Stats. Win Probability calculates the likelihood that a team will win the game before each and every play. WPA adds up the impact that an individual player has on those odds.

For instance, a team with a 40-point lead with 45 seconds to play has a Win Probability of 100 percent. Win Probability is a stat that explains what happened after the fact. Swings in Win Probability illustrate which plays had the most impact on a game.

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The Indianapolis Colts parted ways with wide receiver Austin Collie over the weekend.

The oft-injured wideout will not be re-signed by the Colts, the team announced via press release.

Owner Jim Irsay released a short statement saying,

Collie spent the bulk of the 2012 season on injured reserve. After missing two games with symptoms related to concussions, he appeared for less than a quarter before injuring his knee against the Jaguars in the third game of the year.

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