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 #.
I know you are being sarcastic, but magical is a great word for that season. no nfl team has ever won as many games in a years as that team. There is no other way to describe it except as an 'anomaly'.
The giants beat them in the superbowl...if you want to talk about 'cheating', let talk the giants that year. Just go to youtube and find 'giants faking injuries'. That is honest-to-goodness cheating, unsportsmanlike conduct, and it wasn't a one-time thing that season. But, like I said, it got them to the playoffs, and the rest is history.