Another Patriot Scandal??

[mraynrand]

Irritable Bowl Syndrome?

FIFY

[woodbuck27]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...o-deflategate/

Low standard of proof applies to #DeflateGate

Posted by Mike Florio on January 27, 2015, 7:57 PM EST

[King Friday]

Under-inflated balls are easier for QBs, WRs and RBs to handle than firmer balls in inclement weather. If NE is using a football with a lower psi than their opponent you don't think the Pats would have an advantage? Even if the misdeed seems insignificant to us it was worth it to NE to break the rules. They must've felt it was worth getting caught to get a competitive advantage or else why bother?

It isn't just about throwing or even catching a ball. The greater importance of an under-inflated ball is ball security. A player is far less likely to fumble a ball that is under-inflated because they can get a far better grip on it.

Since the rules were changed (driven partially by Tom Brady's fight for the rule change) to allow road teams to bring their own footballs back in 2006, New England's penchant for fumbling has almost vanished when compared to league averages. A mere coincidence? Rather unlikely.

http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com...-proof-in-2007

[Patler]

It isn't just about throwing or even catching a ball. The greater importance of an under-inflated ball is ball security. A player is far less likely to fumble a ball that is under-inflated because they can get a far better grip on it.

Since the rules were changed (driven partially by Tom Brady's fight for the rule change) to allow road teams to bring their own footballs back in 2006, New England's penchant for fumbling has almost vanished when compared to league averages. A mere coincidence? Rather unlikely.

http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com...-proof-in-2007

Now, THAT is an interesting article.

[woodbuck27]

It isn't just about throwing or even catching a ball. The greater importance of an under-inflated ball is ball security. A player is far less likely to fumble a ball that is under-inflated because they can get a far better grip on it.

Since the rules were changed (driven partially by Tom Brady's fight for the rule change) to allow road teams to bring their own footballs back in 2006, New England's penchant for fumbling has almost vanished when compared to league averages. A mere coincidence? Rather unlikely.

http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com...-proof-in-2007

It looks to me like a preponderance of information is overwhelmingly in favor of finding against the New England Patriots.

[pbmax]

Now, THAT is an interesting article.

Its come under a bit of fire in the analytical community.

http://regressing.deadspin.com/why-t...mos-1681805710

I haven't gone through it all, but the first version of the article looked at lost fumbles which is problematic because fumble recovery is largely a matter of luck. He corrects this in an update to include all fumbles.

Second, he excludes Dome teams in some data. It has been argued that the Patriots are less outliers if you just exclude dome games, rather than teams.

Several of the probability numbers are miscalculated. Instead of using X, they use 1/X, and try to plot it against a normal distribution curve. Except no one know if 1/X has a normal distribution.

That said, Advanced Football Analytics (formerly Advanced NFL Stats) thinks despite Sharp's poor analysis, there is still enough of an outlier there to be worthy of investigation.

[Patler]

Its come under a bit of fire in the analytical community.

http://regressing.deadspin.com/why-t...mos-1681805710

I haven't gone through it all, but the first version of the article looked at lost fumbles which is problematic because fumble recovery is largely a matter of luck. He corrects this in an update to include all fumbles.

Second, he excludes Dome teams in some data. It has been argued that the Patriots are less outliers if you just exclude dome games, rather than teams.

Several of the probability numbers are miscalculated. Instead of using X, they use 1/X, and try to plot it against a normal distribution curve. Except no one know if 1/X has a normal distribution.

That said, Advanced Football Analytics (formerly Advanced NFL Stats) thinks despite Sharp's poor analysis, there is still enough of an outlier there to be worthy of investigation.

The article I read was apparently an updated one. It included all fumbles, not just fumbles lost. His play count seemed solid. You really don't have to look beyond those data points and the resultant "plays/fumble" calculation to see that something seems wrong, especially when the abrupt change after the rule modification is considered. How he subsequently massages and manipulates the numbers is mostly to generate pretty graphs. The raw numbers tell the story.

[pbmax]

The article I read was apparently an updated one. It included all fumbles, not just fumbles lost. His play count seemed solid. You really don't have to look beyond those data points and the resultant "plays/fumble" calculation to see that something seems wrong, especially when the abrupt change after the rule modification is considered. How he subsequently massages and manipulates the numbers is mostly to generate pretty graphs. The raw numbers tell the story.

Possibly not a complete story. Looking at his 5 year time periods, two teams dominate: the Patriots and the Colts.

Because, Manning and Brady are generally among the quickest in football at getting rid of the ball when dropping back to throw. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Manning led the league in time-to-throw in 2014, at a lightning-quick 2.24 seconds. Brady finished 3rd in 2014, and also ranked 3rd, 1st, and 4th between 2011 and 2013 (PFF stats only go as far back as 2011). Even better, Brady also posted the league's lowest sack-per-dropback rate in 2014.

It's not a great strategy to penalize Brady and the Patriots for a lack of fumbles when there was a lower chance of fumbling to begin with, based on the team's play-calling and personnel that yield quick throws and incompletions, as well as fewer sacks.

Is it the ball or the chance of a QB fumbling when they have the fastest hair triggers in the game?

Wilson and Rodgers wouldn't fare so well because both hold onto the ball much, much longer, looking to extend plays.

As the Deadspin article mentions, it might be better to look at RBs and WRs.

[pbmax]

Even when that analysis above restricts itself to WR and RB, the Patriots are very good at keeping the football. If being on the low end of the legal inflation range helps just a little bit, does Rodgers over-inflating the ball increase fumbles and drops?

[mraynrand]

Even when that analysis above restricts itself to WR and RB, the Patriots are very good at keeping the football. If being on the low end of the legal inflation range helps just a little bit, does Rodgers over-inflating the ball increase fumbles and drops?

maybe the Bostick ball was hyper-inflated!

[pbmax]

Finished the critique and the data at points seems to include Special Teams fumbles. Which kinda obliterates the idea of studying under inflated balls for the offense.

[Freak Out]

maybe the Bostick ball was hyper-inflated!

It appeared to be....it took a huge bounce off his fat head.

[Joemailman]

Nobody can say these footballs are under-inflated.

[gbgary]

instant classic! ^^^

[pbmax]

Joe Montana says Tom Brady ordered the Code Red.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...o-be-deflated/

[woodbuck27]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...iots-football/

NFL didn’t log the PSI of each Patriots football

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 29, 2015, 5:30 PM EST

" ... the NFL hasn’t kept detailed records of whether those footballs were slightly under-inflated (which could be the result of a change in temperature) or significantly under-inflated (which would indicate that someone purposely let air out of the footballs).

.... anyone who wants the NFL to get to the bottom of this should want the NFL to be as careful as it possibly can to preserve every piece of evidence it possibly can. And a detailed log of the inflation levels of each football is a piece of evidence the NFL should have. "

[woodbuck27]

I'm not sure if this was posted on the thread but in any case it's interesting. The Commissioner was just on this afternoon and he did speak about the responsibility he has and takes seriously in terms of ensuring the rules are followed.:


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...unds/22113343/

Deflating footballs may not be as easy as it sounds.

Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports 9:14 a.m. EST January 22, 2015

[mraynrand]

And a detailed log of the inflation levels of each football is a piece of evidence the NFL should have.

I think if the NFL gets to this point, even I will lose interest in the game

[sharpe1027]

Even when that analysis above restricts itself to WR and RB, the Patriots are very good at keeping the football. If being on the low end of the legal inflation range helps just a little bit, does Rodgers over-inflating the ball increase fumbles and drops?

I'd like to know how strong the correlation between the rule change in 2006 and the decrease in fumbles. Is that decrease likely to have occurred without a significant external factor, or highly improbable?

[woodbuck27]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...tball-testing/

Goodell press conference includes surprising answer about football testing

Posted by Mike Florio on January 31, 2015, 1:07 PM EST

" ...Asked at the Friday press conference by Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com regarding whether halftime testing has occurred in the past, Commissioner Roger Goodell provided a surprising response.

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Goodell said. “That would be something, I presume, that Ted Wells would look into and will provide that information.” ..."


Comment woodbuck27:

This man is paid $ 40 M $ / Year to not know the answer to a question he should know the answer to?