That's a valid point. I know in Mathematics quality seems to trump quantity but having _no_ articles certainly didn't do him any favors. But the lack of LORs..

That's a valid point. I know in Mathematics quality seems to trump quantity but having _no_ articles certainly didn't do him any favors. But the lack of LORs... that would be a scarlet letter, no? I've never heard of a PHD advisor doing that; seems quite intentional and not at all like the way he presents it in his little essay I linked in my last post.