Where Are all the Goals From the Crazy New Soccer Ball?

For all the talk about Adidas’s Jabulani ball bending too much and making life miserable for keepers, look at the goals per game: only 1.67 as of this writing. True, that’s after just 9 games and true, opening-round games present their own weird environment. Still, the lowest overall goals-per-game average in World Cup history was 2.21 in 1990. (The highest, in 1954, was 5.38.)
Some observers note that the new ball is leading keepers to punch away a lot more balls rather than try to catch them. It may also be that the Jabulani is harder for outfield players to handle as well. I am sure you all have a million other thoughts …