Hi everyone – the Covers Crew has set up shop here at our HQ on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. We’re excited to announce that our Matchups & Stats pages live Q&A session has begun!
This is the thread we’ve created to post and respond to select questions from the Matchups and Stats Page Enhancements *Now Live* thread.
We’ll be replying to questions between 1pm – 4pm EST
Please note that you must post your question in the Matchups and Stats Page Enhancements *Now Live* thread.
Thanks to everyone for joining us today!
P.S. If you’d like to be a part of our Beta community to test-drive and evaluate new product experiences, please send an email to support@coversmedia.com using the subject line “Covers Beta Community”.
Winning Starts Here
To remove first post, remove entire topic.
Hi everyone – the Covers Crew has set up shop here at our HQ on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. We’re excited to announce that our Matchups & Stats pages live Q&A session has begun!
This is the thread we’ve created to post and respond to select questions from the Matchups and Stats Page Enhancements *Now Live* thread.
We’ll be replying to questions between 1pm – 4pm EST
Please note that you must post your question in the Matchups and Stats Page Enhancements *Now Live* thread.
Thanks to everyone for joining us today!
P.S. If you’d like to be a part of our Beta community to test-drive and evaluate new product experiences, please send an email to support@coversmedia.com using the subject line “Covers Beta Community”.
We've received several comments regarding the ad experience on Covers.
We know that online ads can be intrusive, but the reality is that online ads are a way for us to cover the costs of producing all the great free content we provide our users.
The good news is, we hear you loud and clear so we're actively working to improve the Covers ads experience for early 2020.
We ask for your patience as we go through the process of making those improvements to provide our users the best overall experience possible.
Winning Starts Here
We're going to kick things off...
We've received several comments regarding the ad experience on Covers.
We know that online ads can be intrusive, but the reality is that online ads are a way for us to cover the costs of producing all the great free content we provide our users.
The good news is, we hear you loud and clear so we're actively working to improve the Covers ads experience for early 2020.
We ask for your patience as we go through the process of making those improvements to provide our users the best overall experience possible.
From user @knizzle86: “Please add the comment/chat functionality back asap. Honestly, it was one of the primary reasons I came to this site to see a healthy discussion on games. The chat feature as it relates to individual games was one of the sole unique features this site has to offer.”
Our response: The chat feature was always connected to the official game thread to that matchup. You can still access the official game thread from the matchup page from the “Covers Forum” brick on the right-hand side on your laptop and towards the bottom of the page on your mobile device.
Winning Starts Here
From user @knizzle86: “Please add the comment/chat functionality back asap. Honestly, it was one of the primary reasons I came to this site to see a healthy discussion on games. The chat feature as it relates to individual games was one of the sole unique features this site has to offer.”
Our response: The chat feature was always connected to the official game thread to that matchup. You can still access the official game thread from the matchup page from the “Covers Forum” brick on the right-hand side on your laptop and towards the bottom of the page on your mobile device.
“Good afternoon, I am seeing some data issues and some other issues with the new changes. I have some questions and suggestions. I am using a laptop.
Question 1: For NCAAB, before the change the trends section would show conference and non-conference trends. I no longer see these trends. Is this something that you anticipate to come back?
Question 2(NCAAB): In the matchup page, in the “L 10” section and in the ATS column. It shows a W or L even though there was NO LINE on the game. It always shows Over(O0.0) also when there was no line. Do you plan on fixing this? I preferred it before when I think it just showed “ - - “ for games that didn’t have a line.”
Our response:
Question 1: Yes, trends are something we are actively looking to restore AND to improve on. The main reason for the change to these pages was so we can offer more data and features. Our old platform could no longer support such improvements. This week’s change will allow us to scale future improvements and grow our products more effectively.
Question 2: Yes we are looking to fix this. The 0 lines are usually related to games that involve division 2 teams. Lines and data for division 2 games are not always available but we recognize that division 2 games are important from a betting angle. Our plan is to be more consistent in how we present division 2 betting lines and data.
Winning Starts Here
From user @Louief:
“Good afternoon, I am seeing some data issues and some other issues with the new changes. I have some questions and suggestions. I am using a laptop.
Question 1: For NCAAB, before the change the trends section would show conference and non-conference trends. I no longer see these trends. Is this something that you anticipate to come back?
Question 2(NCAAB): In the matchup page, in the “L 10” section and in the ATS column. It shows a W or L even though there was NO LINE on the game. It always shows Over(O0.0) also when there was no line. Do you plan on fixing this? I preferred it before when I think it just showed “ - - “ for games that didn’t have a line.”
Our response:
Question 1: Yes, trends are something we are actively looking to restore AND to improve on. The main reason for the change to these pages was so we can offer more data and features. Our old platform could no longer support such improvements. This week’s change will allow us to scale future improvements and grow our products more effectively.
Question 2: Yes we are looking to fix this. The 0 lines are usually related to games that involve division 2 teams. Lines and data for division 2 games are not always available but we recognize that division 2 games are important from a betting angle. Our plan is to be more consistent in how we present division 2 betting lines and data.
From user @JGEG53: Guys the feedback they want is not go back to old way,they did that on the lay out and they did the match up menu changes after the hockey all at once,the IT guys made it this way quickly and with some e-mails that made it seem like we were going to get a voice in the changes but then BOOM,all started and yes they do not look as good as the others,seems to be that we lost info,and as with most changes they do not seem user friendly.But this is not going back,I am sure they are not happy having the 2 formats but those powers did a bad job on making that change and got stuck with both,trust me that will not happen here.
Our response: Collecting our users’ feedback is very important to us as we recognized this was going to be a big change.
Our goal when we launched the enhanced NHL Matchup pages back in October was to roll out these new changes in advance to allow our users to test them and provide feedback. Users then had the opportunity to respond in the forums, through social media, and other channels. We felt NHL was a good sport to beta test these changes.
We then began messaging weeks in advance of Wednesday’s bigger Matchups rollout in order to provide as much notice as possible. This included emails, social media messages and more where users had the opportunity to provide their feedback, which we are actively collecting. This Q&A session is another great way for us to hear you.
We’re committed to making our long-time users happy. We hope that they have the patience to work with us through this enhancement process.
Winning Starts Here
From user @JGEG53: Guys the feedback they want is not go back to old way,they did that on the lay out and they did the match up menu changes after the hockey all at once,the IT guys made it this way quickly and with some e-mails that made it seem like we were going to get a voice in the changes but then BOOM,all started and yes they do not look as good as the others,seems to be that we lost info,and as with most changes they do not seem user friendly.But this is not going back,I am sure they are not happy having the 2 formats but those powers did a bad job on making that change and got stuck with both,trust me that will not happen here.
Our response: Collecting our users’ feedback is very important to us as we recognized this was going to be a big change.
Our goal when we launched the enhanced NHL Matchup pages back in October was to roll out these new changes in advance to allow our users to test them and provide feedback. Users then had the opportunity to respond in the forums, through social media, and other channels. We felt NHL was a good sport to beta test these changes.
We then began messaging weeks in advance of Wednesday’s bigger Matchups rollout in order to provide as much notice as possible. This included emails, social media messages and more where users had the opportunity to provide their feedback, which we are actively collecting. This Q&A session is another great way for us to hear you.
We’re committed to making our long-time users happy. We hope that they have the patience to work with us through this enhancement process.
From user @PabloP: “First, I love your site and all the valuable data you supply. But, using your site mainly from my desktop and only for NFL, I am sad to say that the new update is a major setback. I really loved the "Stats Analysis", especially how the defense was matched with the offence of the opposing team. In the new "Normal View" it is now pretty hard to get the same overview as before. And where has the "vs league rating" gone ??? !!! - that was the most valuable thing in the "Stats Analysis".’
Our response: We agree that we did not get this right with the new release. We will be reverting to Team 1 Off Vs Team 2 Def side by side rather than Team Off 1 + Team Def 2 vs Team 2 Off + Team 2 Def. The current format makes it more difficult to scan the information in a comparative way. This will be completed in the next few days.
The vs. League rating functionality still exists but has been slightly modified. Feedback from users indicated that it was confusing for many. The team Off and Def vs League Average is now in brackets beside each stat average. It is now the actual differential with the league average. We will be bringing back the color coding to highlight advantageous offense vs. defense stats.
Hope this helps!
Winning Starts Here
From user @PabloP: “First, I love your site and all the valuable data you supply. But, using your site mainly from my desktop and only for NFL, I am sad to say that the new update is a major setback. I really loved the "Stats Analysis", especially how the defense was matched with the offence of the opposing team. In the new "Normal View" it is now pretty hard to get the same overview as before. And where has the "vs league rating" gone ??? !!! - that was the most valuable thing in the "Stats Analysis".’
Our response: We agree that we did not get this right with the new release. We will be reverting to Team 1 Off Vs Team 2 Def side by side rather than Team Off 1 + Team Def 2 vs Team 2 Off + Team 2 Def. The current format makes it more difficult to scan the information in a comparative way. This will be completed in the next few days.
The vs. League rating functionality still exists but has been slightly modified. Feedback from users indicated that it was confusing for many. The team Off and Def vs League Average is now in brackets beside each stat average. It is now the actual differential with the league average. We will be bringing back the color coding to highlight advantageous offense vs. defense stats.
For NCAAB using the game Delaware at George Washington for an example. The trends section says this “Blue Hens are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall.”
This isn’t correct if you look at Delaware’s team page, where in the last 10 games that had a line. Delaware is 7-2-1.
Are you guys aware of this issue? Any plans to correct?
By the way, the fixes that were put in yesterday. I can already see a positive difference.
Data issue:
For NCAAB, OSU is listed as 7-1 ATS this year. But the LAST 10 section shows them as 6-2 ATS. Very confused to why the data is inconsistent. Known issue? Plans to fix?"
Our response: ATS and OU records are calculated using the Covers Line. This may differ on other sections where we calculate records using Sponsoring sportsbook lines.
We are aware that this is confusing and are working on ways to make this more obvious to our users.
Winning Starts Here
From user @Louief:
"Trends section issue:
For NCAAB using the game Delaware at George Washington for an example. The trends section says this “Blue Hens are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall.”
This isn’t correct if you look at Delaware’s team page, where in the last 10 games that had a line. Delaware is 7-2-1.
Are you guys aware of this issue? Any plans to correct?
By the way, the fixes that were put in yesterday. I can already see a positive difference.
Data issue:
For NCAAB, OSU is listed as 7-1 ATS this year. But the LAST 10 section shows them as 6-2 ATS. Very confused to why the data is inconsistent. Known issue? Plans to fix?"
Our response: ATS and OU records are calculated using the Covers Line. This may differ on other sections where we calculate records using Sponsoring sportsbook lines.
We are aware that this is confusing and are working on ways to make this more obvious to our users.
From user @hoody: "In the NFL I like the game preview and odds right at the top of the page one thing I would like added in the stats analysis is drives per game or total drives , pt's per drive , yds/dr league avg etc... things that have to do with drives over all I don't mind the change , I think you just need to know wear to click on some things. But I do hate the add that always comes up in the lower left would be nice to just have them on the left or right side."
Our response: Great feedback! We love it. We've added your suggestion to our list of items to consider for 2020 enhancements.
Winning Starts Here
From user @hoody: "In the NFL I like the game preview and odds right at the top of the page one thing I would like added in the stats analysis is drives per game or total drives , pt's per drive , yds/dr league avg etc... things that have to do with drives over all I don't mind the change , I think you just need to know wear to click on some things. But I do hate the add that always comes up in the lower left would be nice to just have them on the left or right side."
Our response: Great feedback! We love it. We've added your suggestion to our list of items to consider for 2020 enhancements.
“Another point that makes NO sense with college basketball:
Team last 10 : You've got columns with home and away FG shooting... then I have to look at whether the team was home or away then go look over at the column to see WHICH column pertains to the team!!!!!
This is ridiculous. Before you had one coulmn for the team and another for the opponent. Does this not makew more sense??”
Our response: Thank you for pointing this out. We agree and this has been fixed.
“also the issue of neutral court. For ex.
You've got Penn playing at Home on Thurs, at ARIZONA on Friday and back home on Sunday. They were ALL neutral court games.”
Our response: We have added a Neutral site indicator to the games on the scoreboard already. We plan to add the “Neutral” indicator to the matchups, boxscores and all schedule/past results lists.
“ANOTHER problem: the font is much harder to read, harder on the eyes.
The print is lighter and farther apart, when before it was darker and closer together!!! This applies the the whole page.
ALL the font is smaller and farther apart. This is NOT better.”
Our response: Agreed, we have darkened the font yesterday based on feedback. We are considering other changes to the font size.
Winning Starts Here
User @Joehawk:
“Another point that makes NO sense with college basketball:
Team last 10 : You've got columns with home and away FG shooting... then I have to look at whether the team was home or away then go look over at the column to see WHICH column pertains to the team!!!!!
This is ridiculous. Before you had one coulmn for the team and another for the opponent. Does this not makew more sense??”
Our response: Thank you for pointing this out. We agree and this has been fixed.
“also the issue of neutral court. For ex.
You've got Penn playing at Home on Thurs, at ARIZONA on Friday and back home on Sunday. They were ALL neutral court games.”
Our response: We have added a Neutral site indicator to the games on the scoreboard already. We plan to add the “Neutral” indicator to the matchups, boxscores and all schedule/past results lists.
“ANOTHER problem: the font is much harder to read, harder on the eyes.
The print is lighter and farther apart, when before it was darker and closer together!!! This applies the the whole page.
ALL the font is smaller and farther apart. This is NOT better.”
Our response: Agreed, we have darkened the font yesterday based on feedback. We are considering other changes to the font size.
From User @PabloP: "...take for instance NFL, DEN at HOU (https://www.covers.com/sport/football/nfl/matchup/183008). Select "Last 3 H/A" in "Stats Analysis" and select the Normal View (...and by the way, naturally you would chose that view, because the "VS View" does not work 80 % of the time, both on mobile and Desktop I can see). The numbers then show that Houston defense have allowed 31.7 points avg over the last 3 home games, but if you add the numbers yourself, it is only 21 points avg “.
Our Response: Thank you for pointing this out. Our QA team has been reviewing our stats for months leading up to the release. Unfortunately, sometimes things slip by us. We will address this immediately.
Winning Starts Here
From User @PabloP: "...take for instance NFL, DEN at HOU (https://www.covers.com/sport/football/nfl/matchup/183008). Select "Last 3 H/A" in "Stats Analysis" and select the Normal View (...and by the way, naturally you would chose that view, because the "VS View" does not work 80 % of the time, both on mobile and Desktop I can see). The numbers then show that Houston defense have allowed 31.7 points avg over the last 3 home games, but if you add the numbers yourself, it is only 21 points avg “.
Our Response: Thank you for pointing this out. Our QA team has been reviewing our stats for months leading up to the release. Unfortunately, sometimes things slip by us. We will address this immediately.
From user @CyberChick: “Where did the NFL team ranking for Off / Def go ( 1-32 ) total, passing, rushing, etc. Before I could see this info but not on the new site?????????????”
Our Response: We agree and have restored this on NFL and NCAAF team pages already. We plan to restore these tables to the other sports in the next few days.
Additionally, we have added a similar VS. style stats & ranks tables to the top (we call it "Quick Cap") of the matchup pages for NFL and NCAAF. These will also be added to the NBA and NCAAB matchup pages in the next few days.
Winning Starts Here
From user @CyberChick: “Where did the NFL team ranking for Off / Def go ( 1-32 ) total, passing, rushing, etc. Before I could see this info but not on the new site?????????????”
Our Response: We agree and have restored this on NFL and NCAAF team pages already. We plan to restore these tables to the other sports in the next few days.
Additionally, we have added a similar VS. style stats & ranks tables to the top (we call it "Quick Cap") of the matchup pages for NFL and NCAAF. These will also be added to the NBA and NCAAB matchup pages in the next few days.
From user @unbelievable21: “Now as for my comment to covers about a possible tweak/fix is when looking at the "A Look Back" tab on the matchups pages, when viewing a teams past history for L10 games & then viewing head to head history, the home team is listed on the left on the former and then on the right on the latter. Maybe make them the same so there is some consistency when viewing each b/c sometimes i get confused when swapping back between the 2 views. Left or right is fine but consistency is key in my opinion. Thanks.”
Our Response: Thanks for pointing this out. Based on this and similar feedback, we have reverted to the old presentation of separating the opponent into a Vs. Column and the result into a separate Score column with result and score for Last 10. Home and Away has been removed.
Winning Starts Here
From user @unbelievable21: “Now as for my comment to covers about a possible tweak/fix is when looking at the "A Look Back" tab on the matchups pages, when viewing a teams past history for L10 games & then viewing head to head history, the home team is listed on the left on the former and then on the right on the latter. Maybe make them the same so there is some consistency when viewing each b/c sometimes i get confused when swapping back between the 2 views. Left or right is fine but consistency is key in my opinion. Thanks.”
Our Response: Thanks for pointing this out. Based on this and similar feedback, we have reverted to the old presentation of separating the opponent into a Vs. Column and the result into a separate Score column with result and score for Last 10. Home and Away has been removed.
From user @BlackCannons: “too be honest..i switched to another familiar site for matchups....shoulda maybe enhanced what you had...gamblers hate change- ive been lookin at the old one so long that I knew what a winner looked like there...hate the new one.. to the point of not using it”.
Our response: Hey we get it. Our ultimate goal is to be able to enhance and add even more useful handicapping data and services. Unfortunately, after 25 years, our old platform could no longer support enhancements. We understand your frustration and hope you can hang with us as we restore the high-quality handicapping experience you are accustomed too. We are listening and working around the clock to achieve that. We care for valued users such as yourself.
Winning Starts Here
From user @BlackCannons: “too be honest..i switched to another familiar site for matchups....shoulda maybe enhanced what you had...gamblers hate change- ive been lookin at the old one so long that I knew what a winner looked like there...hate the new one.. to the point of not using it”.
Our response: Hey we get it. Our ultimate goal is to be able to enhance and add even more useful handicapping data and services. Unfortunately, after 25 years, our old platform could no longer support enhancements. We understand your frustration and hope you can hang with us as we restore the high-quality handicapping experience you are accustomed too. We are listening and working around the clock to achieve that. We care for valued users such as yourself.
From user @knizzle86: “Will you add the chat/comment feature back to this site on individual games or is it gone forever?”
Our response: The chat feature was always connected to the official game thread to that matchup. You can still access the official game thread from the matchup page from the “Covers Forum” brick on the right-hand side on your laptop and towards the bottom of the page on your mobile device.
Based on user feedback, we’re looking into making this more obvious so thanks for your feedback.
Winning Starts Here
From user @knizzle86: “Will you add the chat/comment feature back to this site on individual games or is it gone forever?”
Our response: The chat feature was always connected to the official game thread to that matchup. You can still access the official game thread from the matchup page from the “Covers Forum” brick on the right-hand side on your laptop and towards the bottom of the page on your mobile device.
Based on user feedback, we’re looking into making this more obvious so thanks for your feedback.
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