Deflategate: New England Patriots fumble way less than rest of NFL
By Mark Carman
Bill Belichick best coach ever in players not fumbling the football.
As #deflategate rolls on and the NFL does its due diligence interviewing every vendor and locker room attendant, some interesting statistics are out regarding the New England Patriots‘ ability to hang on the football.
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Perhaps Bill Belichick is the best coach in the history of the game in getting his players to not fumble, or perhaps, more plausibly, the Patriots have been taking advantage of yet another once secretive strategy.
Per the stats referenced by the Wall Street Journal, the Patriots fumble the ball “once every 73 touches from scrimmage, which is 52 percent better than the league average.”
That is an enormous outlier which rationally cannot be attributed to Belichick really forcing his players to hold onto the football, or New England only drafting players who rarely fumble.
The rest of the NFL is well aware that turnovers are indeed a detriment to winning football games and having players who don’t fumble often has a direct correlation to winning divisions, making the playoffs winning the whole enchilada.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft may want an apology from Roger Goodell if the exhaustive investigation doesn’t uncover and wrong doing, but what would Kraft say to these “actual data and facts?”
A mere coincidence, combined with great coaching and players doesn’t add up. Lie, cheat, steal and do anything to win is the way of the world. “If you aint cheatin you aint trying” i.e. see college athletics. Somewhere, there are some sports morals left.
You aren’t going to find it “The Patriot Way” no matter how defiant and shocked Belichick, Kraft, and Brady remain.
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