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Article blowing up the fulble lie resplendent with Charts:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2463486-did-deflated-footballs-really-give-the-patriots-a-fumble-advantage

Bottom the Patriots fumbles are low but not even the lowest over the past 3 years as per Footballoutsiders stats.

Ok, so you did follow up with another post...so I take back that "crickets" comment.

In looking at the article you linked to, the guy says further down in the article:

The average offense fumbles 16.55 times per season, or just over once per game. Small numbers are statistically finicky in a number of ways. They are heavily distortion-prone, for example.

First of all he's right on the average re: fumbles per season; plus he's right that small numbers are statistically finicky in a # of ways...including being distortion prone.

Yet what does he do to kick off & primarily base his articles on?

ONLY three seasons ... probably just less than fifty fumbles to evaluate!!! (2012-2014)

IoW, he refutes himself!

He sums up: Don't rely on a small #...and then he telescopes the fumbles controversy from a study of 16 yrs to just three!!! He commits the same distortion error he rightly complains about!!!

Patrick Sharps analysis...and my follow up...looked at Pat stats from either 2000-2014...I went back to 1999.

In the middle of the article you link, the guy has this subtitle: Note Two: The Patriots are good.

What's that suppose to mean? (That the Pats weren't "good" pre 2007, when they went to the SuperBowl three times in about five years to kick off the new century???)

You know...sometimes...authors just don't think about what they write...in overall context I mean...

Early in the article, he cites how Brady fumbles for 2012-2014 were .3 per 100 plays better than the NFL average...close to the Falcons, Broncos, Bengals, Saints...of course...he doesn't explain how the Pats' fumble ratio is so much better than the Falcons, Broncos, Bengals, & Saints...especially since both the Falcons & Saints play indoors where no weather impacts half of their games.

Beyond that, let's take that .3 per 100 plays & run with it for a few minutes.

In the team rushing stats I was looking at for an earlier post, the Pats were rushing the ball about 440 times to usually upper 400s and a few times early 500 times per season 2007-2014.

They are well-balanced team...so without taking the time to look @ actual stats...let's double that...let's say they run anywhere between 900 - 1,000 non punt offensive plays were season.

Let's take the higher number: 1,000...So the difference .3 per 100 plays = a grand total of 3 less fumbles that Brady made in 2012-2014 than the average NFL QB.

So you're telling us that THE PRIMARY argument this guy gives accounts for a grand total of just 3 fumbles vs. the rest of the NFL teams per season...and THIS is the "blowing up" argument???

Blown up? Sure...as in this author's windbag...!!!

Yes, Brady did cut in half his fumbles starting 2007 (vs. 2001-2006).

While itself sounding suspicious, I don't try to analyze QB fumbles because some are bad snaps, and QBs hold the ball distinctly than other plays.