A STATISTICAL ANOMALY

What a great way to start my blog with a statistical anomaly.

As I was starting my first post on this blog the Miami Dolphins were playing host to the New England Patriots in an American Football Conference Eastern Division or AFC East match-up. BETUS.COM states that, "N[ational] F[ootball] L[eague] betting generates more wagering dollars than any other sport in North America.." So it is only appropriate for my sports statistics blog to start with a feature on the National Football League.

(The odds-makers were giving the slightest of edges to the hometeam Dolphins as a 1.5 point favorite and setting the Total Points for the game at 48.5)

As a stats freak, I was just drooling over the statistic that came from this game. ESPN stated that we saw the 1st team in National Football League history to:
- score a touchdown by rushing
- score a touchdown by passing
- score a touchdown by interception return
- score a touchdown by kickoff return
- score a touchdown by a return of a blocked field goal

It all happened in the SAME game.

AND believe it or not, all of those things happened in the 2nd half alone.


The team was the New England Patriots. Congratulations.


Not to mention that the Patriots were down 7-6 at halftime. Who knew we would see 42 points after halftime, and 50% of the touchdowns in the 2nd half be produced by special teams (3 out of 6).

Another crazy stat for this game. Randy Moss, the standout wide receiver for the Patriots didn't even catch a pass all game long. According to ESPN, this is only the 5th time in Randy Moss' career he was unable to catch a pass in a game. You ask, what is the percentage that Randy Moss has at least one reception this game? 97.8 (184 out of 188 career games for Moss). Thus, the odds of Moss not have a reception in this game were 2.2%. Well, a 2.2% chance happened on October 4, 2010.

Who says miracles don't happen?

Maybe not so great statistics for those of you who play NFL Fantasy Football and own Randy Moss, but have no worries he should return to form next week. Below is what Moss does the week after not having a reception.

- vs. Tennessee in Week 7 in 2004
(was used mostly as a decoy, and did not has a single reception again)


- vs. Giants in Week 8 in 2004
(went to injured reserve after this game; however, returned in Week 11 to catch 4 passes for 40 yards and a touchdown)


- vs. San Diego in Week 5 in 2005
(next game caught 3 passes for 43 yards and a touchdown)


- vs. Kansas City in Week 10 in 2006
(next game caught 3 passes for 26 yards)

- vs. Miami in Week 4 in 2010
(TBD)


So, as the clock strikes 1am here in the East, I could not of planned to start a blog, and as the numbers state no one could have predicted these stats for the game.

By the way, the New England Patriots did win the game by a score of 41-14 and for a full recap you can visit:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20101004015

I picked took the Patriots +1.5 and Over 48.5. 2-0 to start my blog. Another statistical anomaly, I promise.

(For those that are curious, I do keep track of my predictions on the spreads and also the Totals for most sports that I cover. If you would like to see how I fare or care to give it a try yourself, visit: provenplays.com. My profile is Champs311. Stop by and say Hello.