I decided to go back and gather relevant statistics from the NFL web site for the years 2010-2014. I constructed a full database of offensive statistics for all 32 NFL teams so that I could analyze the additional data to determine how teams rank in terms of the following:
- Number of pass attempts
- Number of rush attempts
- Fumbles per rush attempt
- Fumbles per total offensive plays
I have put together 2 charts and 1 table which are listed below:
Number of fumbles per offensive play
Total statistics used for each NFL team for the years 2010-2014
Total fumbles per rushing play
The more I continue to look at these compiled statistics, the more I realize that this entire issue of how well the New England Patriots protect the football in relation to the other NFL teams is utterly ridiculous. There is so much more data available that should have been looked at before attempting to draw any conclusions. Unfortunately, the media has taken hold of the “theory” that New England’s numbers are so far out of the norm that it has to be related to ball inflation. It seem to be something to talk about and people continue to create misleading story lines based on false assumptions and, it seems, most people are just buying off on it.
People, especially media, need to learn to go back and take a fresh look at the core statistics before drawing conclusions based on a creatively written article with selective statistical data. I am particularly saddened by the sports media “professionals” that are not even bothering to look at all of the data before simply going along with a given conclusion.
D. Demko