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Originally Posted by Rain Man
so it sounds like Belichick won by manipulating the rules about uniform numbers? if I am reading this right, he used uniform numbers and late check-ins to make the defenders misunderstood who the eligible receivers were.
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Errr...no. Vereen reported ineligible one play. Another play it was another guy. Each time the refs announce who was ineligible, and specifically said not to cover that guy.
Then the refs gave Baltimore about ten seconds to do whatever they wanted. Sub or whatever. Harbaugh flips out, and instead of calling time out to adjust, gets himself a 15 yard penalty for some reason.
The "deception" part was that Vereen, when he was ineligible, ACTED like an eligible receiver. He lined up split out, and ran backwards at the snap and acted like he might be getting a screen pass. But, of course, that is entirely legal. So long as he's not an illegal man DOWNfield, it's fine.
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Vereen runs backwards, because as a declared ineligible receiver, he cannot catch the ball unless it's a backward pass. The Ravens knew this before the play, but were so conditioned to seeing Vereen on screens or passes in the flat. (Vereen also keeps his hands up to sell it.) That's why linebacker C.J. Mosley gives him distance but still plays over him in zone. While this is happening, Hoomanawanui streaks in an ideal matchup and gets rewarded. You can see another example—which ends in another gain for Hoomanawanui—in the video here. The Patriots ran three of these plays, and they all ended in receptions.
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http://deadspin.com/the-patriots-ann...h-e-1678818453
And the NFL has already declared EVERYTHING the Patriots did was legal.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014...e-ravens-legal