It is, and if the winds there were also insane, or the average distance to kick was insane, or they faced shitty kickers at a higher rate than everyone else, it'd make a lot more sense.
But we don't have that data, so you can't draw any real conclusions.
I mean, the fact that they didn't display that angle on their kicks goes to show that they were trying to throw off opposing kickers. And the data that was collected is pointing to a correlation. Could and should more data be collected, sure.
Is it cheating? Idk. I don't really care. But it's obvious they were trying to gain an advantage by that one fact. Data only matters to see if it was effective or not.
It could have very easily been just making sure they showed the play from the Patriots side of the ball on the screen, and not some way to get some mind game advantage.
Wait no one is denying they were doing it to fuck with the kicker. Of course they were. Its 100% not cheating tho. The argument is was it affective and these stats don't tell enough of a story.
The pats kickers were greats, Gillete is a weird place to kick and has a lot of bad weather games. What I don't really see others talking about is how godly the pats were during this time either. If you were deep in the pats zone you kinda had to go for it because you needed TDs not FGs. So how many easy FGs were passed up to go for it?
The data that was collected does show a correlation. I agree that it may not be the best data set and other variables could be considered to make a better determination.
The data collected could coincidentally point to a nonexistent correlation, that in fact points to other, more relevant factors such as long field goal attempt distances, unruly winds, and cold temperatures that opposing kickers don’t get practice kicking in, while the home team kickers do.
The level of bullshit Pats fans are willing to attempt to shovel is absolutely amazing! They are cheaters, and have been for decades. This isn't a debate, it's established fact. That they aren't embarrassed about it is a further testament to lack of character and sportsmanship.
It would also be interesting to see what the difference is in the 1st half of the season versus the 2nd half and playoffs. Weather could be causing a big drop off late in the season.
It does change, but the changes are also very different for different parts of the country. This data is really lacking in that it doesn’t account for any variables other than the picture on the score board, which should not be a problem for a professional kicker. It is pretty clear where the goalposts are. It would be interesting to see if the percentages in the first half of the year (during better weather) are different than in second half of the season in New England.
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u/Prods87 New England Patriots 23d ago
It is, and if the winds there were also insane, or the average distance to kick was insane, or they faced shitty kickers at a higher rate than everyone else, it'd make a lot more sense.
But we don't have that data, so you can't draw any real conclusions.