‘Anomalies don’t just usually ‘anomalize’ out of thin air’
That is why they are called anomalies, and that is why this 1 year is bad. If the pats provided balls for the 8 years since, how come they haven’t had any more ‘and 1’ seasons? Why dont they continue to break records? It was an anomaly.
‘winning teams tend to run the ball a whole lot more’
Yet the winningest team ever threw the ball a lot, in fact set several records that year (that have probably since been broken since the NFL keeps changing the rules to make pass defense almost impossible).
‘only outdoor NFL team in the last 25 years to average 70 plays per fumble’
So as a team it has been like this...not for just the last 8 years since the ball/rule change, but for 2x that long before. Ok, so now low fumbles are not an anomaly of the ball/rule change, but the way the pats have been doing business for 25 years, thru winning and losing seasons, superbowl champs and at least 1-15 season (those are the pats I know and love!!!).
You: Yet the winningest team ever threw the ball a lot, in fact set several records that year (that have probably since been broken since the NFL keeps changing the rules to make pass defense almost impossible).
Please, please. I encourage you not to wrestle my comments out of context. The very context of my above statement was a response to yours -- where in post #41 you asked: "Do fumbles occur more often LATE in games than early?
Your question wasn't how often the Patriots threw the ball in games in 2007. We were only talking about what tends to happen LATE in games -- your very question.
You: So as a team it has been like this...not for just the last 8 years since the ball/rule change, but for 2x that long before. Ok, so now low fumbles are not an anomaly of the ball/rule change, but the way the pats have been doing business for 25 years, thru winning and losing seasons, superbowl champs and at least 1-15 season (those are the pats I know and love!!!).
OK, you are totally misreading the "25 years"!!!
The article references 25 years not as a specific # for the 25-year history of the Patriots...
The article is saying that of ALL of the NFL outdoor teams playing over these last 25 years, they are the ONLY one to average 70 plays per fumble (in any five-year span). The "25 years" references ALL outdoor teams...it's NOT a spotlight aimed only upon the Patriots!
There's six charts within the article...You can see what I'm saying by reviewing both the 4th & 5th charts.
For the years 2006-2010, the Patriots were averaging a fumble every 62 plays (4th chart, 19th line down). How did that compare to their 2007-2011 5-year period -- whereby 2011 stats replaced the 2006 stats for these 5-year measurements? Result? They jumped from a fumble every 62 touches to a fumble every 79 touches -- even tho this is a 5 year AVERAGE and you'd have to have very few fumbles in 2011 vs. a LOT more fumbles in 2006 to increase your less fumble % by almost 26%!
2007 was indeed a SUDDEN "magical" year for the Patriots, fumble-wise!
You can compare the charts also this way:
| 5-YEAR SPAN | Fumbles Per Plays | Fumbles LOST Per Plays |
| 2010-2014 | 73 | 187 |
| 2009-2013 | 70 | 156 |
| 2008-2012 | 76 | 148 |
| 2007-2011 | 79 | 149 |
| 2006-2010 | 62 | 121 |
| 2005-2009 | ? | 107 |
| 2004-2008 | ? | 101 |
| 2003-2007 | ? | 99 |
| 2002-2006 | ? | 91 |
| 2001-2005 | ? | 95 |
| 2000-2004 | ? | 96 |
Now this info is based upon the charts in the article. I didn't go looking on the Internet for info for Fumbles for the Pats 2000-2005...but we've been told that the average for those years (actually for years 2000-2006) was one fumble per 42 touches...and based upon their fumbles LOST patterns it seems like 2002 was a high overall fumbles #.
You: So as a team it has been like this...not for just the last 8 years since the ball/rule change, but for 2x that long before. Ok, so now low fumbles are not an anomaly of the ball/rule change, but the way the pats have been doing business for 25 years, thru winning and losing seasons, superbowl champs and at least 1-15 season (those are the pats I know and love!!!).
I can even add a little more "info" tidbits to this chart to give people a "feel":
| 5-YEAR SPAN | Fumbles Per Plays | Fumbles LOST Per Plays |
| 2010-2014 | 73 | 187 |
| 2009-2013 | 70 | 156 |
| 2008-2012 | 76 | 148 |
| 2007-2011 | 79 | 149 |
| 2006-2010 | 62 | 121 |
| 2005-2009 | ? | 107 |
| 2004-2008 | ? | 101 |
| 2003-2007 | ? | 99 |
| 2002-2006 | ? (we know the average was somewhere around 42) | 91 |
| 2001-2005 | ? (we know the average was somewhere around 42) | 95 |
| 2000-2004 | ? (we know the average was somewhere around 42) | 96 |
Now this info is based upon the charts in the article. I didn't go looking on the Internet for info for Fumbles for the Pats 2000-2005...but we've been told that the average for those years (actually for years 2000-2006) was one fumble per 42 touches...and based upon their fumbles LOST patterns it seems like 2002 was a high overall fumbles #.