The Patriots have worked to improve their defensive line by making them bigger. It's working.
Maybe Ernie Adams pointed out something he saw in the numbers. Maybe Bill Belichick just made a schematic adjustment. Whatever the reason, Ninkovich is the black sheep with stubby arms.
Okay, that's a little mean, but relatively speaking it's totally true. Of the defensive linemen on the Patriots roster with data available (so no Joe Vellano, Casey Walker, or A.J. Pataiali'i), Ninkovich is the proud owner of the shortest arm length, especially when looking at edge defenders (list in inches).