Except for the actual numbers, reading this out loud sounds like Haiku
I HAVE run the numbers...it's not good for the Patriots, NFL, or fans who want to believe there's a legitimate competition happening...
I've said there are two issues with Patriots games...the timing and type of penalty called...I've focused on Offensive Holding because it's the most Discretionary penalty there is, and often called by the lead Referee...
Turns out the Patriots often receive a predominance of their Offensive Holding penalites on Special Teams, when they want them...THIS LEGITIMATELY HAPPENED TONIGHT. First Half, only one penalty, a Special Teams Holding Penalty.
Then I said, hey, as a Bills fan, I've noticed they seem to backweight the Patriots penalties...here's the data:
1) Out of 32 NFL teams, ONE went the entire season (19 games) without an Offensive Holding penatly in the First Q. You guessed it...Patriots. Let 'em get a lead. Every team had one in the first 6 weeks, except the Rams...all the way to week 14...hmmmmmmm
2) The Patriots then had SIX Holding penalties in the 2Q all season...one was on a FG vs the Bills, 56 yards that missed by a mile (a HOLDING PENALTY on a FG? Oh, it missed let's drop one)...then in the Colts game they called TWO holding penalties on a play when they'd already called Tripping...sooooo, decline the two Holding penalites...they literally called THREE holding penalties on the Patriots ALL SEASON in the first half...
3) What's worse? You might figure the Patriots lagged the NFL averate of holding penalties per game...but not at all. 23 vs 22.8, right on the average. What happened??!?!? As SOON as the Patriots were up two scores in the 2H, the flags started flying...EXCEPT for two against Pittsburgh, late in the season, when the Steelers needed to make the playoffs.
So, all season, the Patriots were never flagged for Holding unless they were up by TWO SCORES.
That is total BS...and not some inconvenient coincidence.
League is a fraud, plain and simple, and Kraft is at the top of it.
(BTW, all this data is completely accurate and available, they just hope you won't sift through it).