Well, if stats are baked into the line and you are trying to create your own line, then it seems like some kind of stats are the way to go.
lol
Gold, you don't have to be a quant to create a rating that will be valuable to you even when just making plays from deriving +EV from the market itself.
So you don't have to beat the quants, you just have to have a reliable rating or assessment while Knowing Your Markets...