New York Post

Red alert! We don’t know what red-zone stats mean

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UNLESS Fox’s Joe

Buck or Troy Aikman give it a shot, Sunday we’ll have traveled another NFL season in which red-zone stats are presented as significan­t — yet no one knows anything about them.

Do they begin with any possession at or inside the 20? Does first-andgoal from the 2 rate the same significan­ce as fourth-and-8 from the 19?

If anyone knows, they’re not saying. All we need to know is they’re very, very important. Even if you kick a firsthalf-ending or game-winning, game-ending field goal from inside the 20, that’s a red-zone failure? I think it is!

This is how significan­t they are: The 7-9 Buccaneers finished third in red-zone scoring efficiency. The 12-4 Patriots finished 26th.

The No. 1 red-zone defense was the 7-9 Broncos. The No. 3 red-zone defense belonged to the 2-14 Bengals.

But TV and the NFL insist they’re essential statistica­l enlightenm­ents. Then again, the NFL decided to call “off weeks” “bye weeks” and all media, like sheep, instantly complied, dismissing the accurate meaning of a bye.

It’s all a con, continued: Recall the claim of ESPN genius Jay Bilas that even if full scholarshi­p athletes don’t attend classes, they benefit from the socializat­ion lessons learned by being on campus?

Yep, according to Bilas, academic fraud has its social advantages.

Knick Marcus Morris, who Wednesday negatively applied female comparison­s to Memphis’

Jae Crowder, completed his socializat­ion training at the University of Kansas.

Crowder, who instigated Wednesday’s Garden melee by childishly taking a 3 rather than dribbling out the clock with a big lead, must have completed his socializat­ion process as a U.S. geography major. He was enrolled in Howard College (Texas), Southern Georgia Technical College and Marquette University.

And Jim Dolan, also conspicuou­sly short on socializat­ion skills, is just another bully who can’t even take a jab. Does he expect love and sympathy in exchange for annual, expensive ineptitude? How long would Dolan remain working for Dolan?

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