Due to API changes made by the NFL, nflscrapR is now broken. nflfastR is the new package for getting NFL play by play data.
The python script read_nflfastR.py will pull in data from nflfastR's data repository, clean in, and output a compressed CSV.
Cleaning process includes:
- Filtering to only regular season data
- Limit play types to dropbacks, runs, or no_play. This removes punts, kicks, kneels, and spikes.
- Change play types to match what the playcall was, even if there was a penalty. QB scrambles counted as passes.
Any of these cleaning steps can be changed as you see fit.
Check out my guide for using nflfastR in Python here.