CaptainHook Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh objected to what he called a "substitution trick" by the New England Patriots in the third quarter of Saturday's AFC divisional playoff game, saying it was "clearly deception" that he hopes the league examines. The Patriots dug into their bag of tricks on their second drive of the third quarter, lining up just four offensive linemen and declaring a normally eligible receiver as ineligible to keep Baltimore off balance. Ravens players were confused about which Patriots to match up with in coverage, and Harbaugh drew an unportsmanlike conduct penalty for running onto the field and screaming in objection. Harbaugh said after the game that the officials "didn't understand what was going on." "We wanted an opportunity to be able to ID who the eligible players were," Harbaugh said. "What [the Patriots] were doing was they announce the ineligible player and then Tom [brady] would take them to the line right away and snap the ball before we had a chance to figure out who was lined up where. That was the deception part of it. It was clearly deception. "So the officials told me after that they would give us the opportunity to do that, which they probably should've done during that series but they didn't really understand what was happening. That's why I had to take the penalty, to get their attention so they would understand what was going on because they didn't understand what was going on. ... That's why guys were open, because we didn't ID where the eligible receivers were at." Brady disagreed with Harbaugh's description of it as an act of deception. "I don't know what's deceiving about that," he said. When informed of Harbaugh's objection, Brady fired back. "Maybe those guys gotta study the rulebook and figure it out," he said. "We obviously knew what we were doing and we made some pretty important plays. It was a real good weapon for us." Patriots coach Bill Belichick explained the strategy, which he utilized on three plays and featured four offensive linemen on the field and had either running back Shane Vereen or tight end Michael Hoomanawanui lined up as ineligible. "It's a play that we thought would work," Belichick said. "We ran it three times, a couple different looks. We had six eligible receivers on the field, but only five were eligible. The one who was ineligible reported that he was ineligible. No different than on the punt team or a situation like that." Harbaugh said it was a tactic that "nobody has ever seen before." When asked whether he thought it was cheap or dirty, he said he would not comment. "The league will look at that type of thing, and I'm sure that they'll make some adjustments and things like that," Harbaugh said. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pulled out the trickery when his team was down by 14 points and the offense had gone three-and-out on the opening drive of the third quarter. The drive resulted in a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski and frazzled the Ravens' defense. "There was a lot to the plays," Hoomanawanui said. "I have to report as ineligible. I can't go down the field. I can only block. So as hard as it is for them to figure out, there's a lot that goes into it on our side, too. "You could see how frustrated they were on who to cover and this and that, so it turned out to be great plays for us." Patriots right guard Ryan Wendell, who shifted to center after rookie center Bryan Stork left the game with a knee injury, couldn't recall any game he played in where anyone only used four offensive linemen. "I think it just says that it's the playoffs and we are willing to do whatever it takes to win," Wendell said. "There's no good in holding anything back right now." from espy.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 in my opinion . . . it's freaking genius! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Def. Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 in my opinion . . . it's freaking genius! Â Â Agreed, sounds like Harbaugh crying over spilt milk to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WashingtonD Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Owned - Saban did this earlier in college season I believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I didn't know there was a fine line between cheating and out smarting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Owned - Saban did this earlier in college season I believe  Not allowed in college football. There an eligible receiver must wear an eligible numbe rand an ineligible receiver must wear an ineligible number. If someone does both he must have 2 number and change jerseys whenever his status changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA Baracus Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) What is the protocol for announcing eligible or ineligible status? That one play it seemed like Vereen just quickly said something to the ref on his way to lineup in the formation and then they snapped the ball real quick. Â Seems like the ref ought to signal the status change somehow. Edited January 11, 2015 by BA Baracus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sksmith Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 ^winning and losing, that is the line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 the ref is supposed to announce the changed status over the mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) Does'nt the ref usually announce who has reported as eligible...say if its a tackle? Â BJ beat me to it. Edited January 11, 2015 by HowboutthemCowboys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA Baracus Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 the ref is supposed to announce the changed status over the mike. Â Â Well that definitely didn't happen yesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Not allowed in college football. There an eligible receiver must wear an eligible numbe rand an ineligible receiver must wear an ineligible number. If someone does both he must have 2 number and change jerseys whenever his status changes. Â Â As usual, correct. I saw it happen in a game this season. 6 ft 7 in 390lb kid who normally wears #60, wore #80 this specific bowl game, lined up as a TE, ran a route and caught a TD. Forgot his name but he was huge and so were his family members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015   Well that definitely didn't happen yesterday   Yeah, like #65 is eligible. He may have and we just missed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA Baracus Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 the ref is supposed to announce the changed status over the mike. Â Â Are they also required to announce when a normally eligible player (like Vereen) reports as ineligible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Are they also required to announce when a normally eligible player (like Vereen) reports as ineligible? Â Yes, a couple other times in other games when that happened the ref announced it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 I've heard them announce a guy when he has an ineligible number and they announce him as eligible. I've never heard them announce a guy with an eligible number and announce him as ineligible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I've heard them announce a guy when he has an ineligible number and they announce him as eligible. I've never heard them announce a guy with an eligible number and announce him as ineligible. Â me neither Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BA Baracus Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Me neither Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 It is more rare for someone to declare himself ineligible than for someone to declare himself eligible. Atlanta had to do that earlier this year when they ran out of OL due to injuries and a TE had to fill in and he openly declared himself ineligible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I've heard them announce a guy when he has an ineligible number and they announce him as eligible. I've never heard them announce a guy with an eligible number and announce him as ineligible. me neither Me neither the official motioned towards Vereen and said he was intelligible but ur wasn't over the mic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flemingd Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Well that definitely didn't happen yesterday  And that's the part Harbaugh objected to. I get it. Just give them a chance to idenfity who/where the ineligible guy is.  It's a pretty brilliant move, really. You have two different guys with absolutely different skill sets that may be available on any given play. It's what sub packages are there to address, and you totally remove the defense's opportunity to respond with a different sub package. The rules require the D be given time to substitute if the O does, but not if they just announce different personnel. Nothing will happen now, but I could see this changing in the offseason with a rules adjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 Did the ref announce him as ineligible for each play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 I believe the formation made him ineligible. Vereen lined up in the slot, on the LOS. The receiver outside him was also on the LOS. By rule, that makes Vereen ineligible, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Did the ref announce him as ineligible for each play? Just the first play in a row he is that way. If he returns to an eligible position, he has to sit out a play before doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I believe the formation made him ineligible. Vereen lined up in the slot, on the LOS. The receiver outside him was also on the LOS. By rule, that makes Vereen ineligible, right? yes, the 5 inside men on the LOS must be ineligible. The 1 man on the outside on each side on the LOS must be eligible otherwise it is illegal formation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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