Amazon says its football AI can predict blitzes

Amazon is investing substantial artificial intelligence computing power into its NFL Thursday Night Football broadcasts. According to a September 10 announcement, Tackle Probability is a new machine learning model that analyzes, interprets, and possibly predicts impending defensive blitzes against quarterbacks. Debuting during the Prime Video livestream of the Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills game on September 12, Tackle Probability's results can be used by both real-time commentators, as well as provide "new ways of visualizing the action on the field." As GeekWire explained on Tuesday, this will include on-screen highlighting of the defensive players most likely to attempt tackles. "Until now, tackling statistics were limited to simple counts of solo and assisted tackles," Amazon Web Services (AWS) said in a statement.