Completely legal substitution aka the "John Harbaugh is a whiny little brat" thread.

[djbayko]

And the beauty of it is that the Pats' formation was indeed legal.  Let's hope that Suggs continues to misconstrue what he sees, especially when the Ravens play the Pats.
 
Parenthetically, Ben Volin's off season of suck continues...he should have noted that "of course, Suggs got it wrong there," but that doesn't fit with the narrative of those rule bending Patriots.

We don't know what formation he was talking about in practice. Suggs might have been correct. That said, I bet Harbaugh couldn't wait to come out and brag about this to the press. It makes him look smart and noble while reminding everyone how evil the Patriots are.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

I think it's funny he's using illegal formations to prep his D for something he thinks the refs will miss instead of devising legal but deceptive formations he might actually see.

 

[TheoShmeo]

We don't know what formation he was talking about in practice. Suggs might have been correct. That said, I bet Harbaugh couldn't wait to come out and brag about this to the press. It makes him look smart and noble while reminding everyone how evil the Patriots are.

Gotcha. 
 
I like any narrative that makes Harbaugh look like a whiny little twit.  Good thing he walks into that on a regular basis.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Do you think they've taught the team how to spot a flanker option, too?  Or are they just focused on the rule change impacts and not why they lost the game?

 

[dcmissle]

So as a relative insider, I have seen enough to conclude that in Harbaugh and Showalter, Baltimore is without peer In having two assholes at the helm of pro teams on game day. I certainly do not mean incompetent -- far from it; I mean prickly, insecure sons of bitches you want nothing to do with.

The kick in the ass is that BB was instrumental in the Ravens hiring this son of a bitch. He placed a call to Ozzie and gushed over him.

The loss was so easy to get over from Haubaugh's standpoint as conference game losses go. Yeah, it sucks to give up 14 point leads. But he had no fucking corners.

Good Christ, let it go.

 

[Rough Carrigan]

So as a relative insider, I have seen enough to conclude that in Harbaugh and Showalter, Baltimore is without peer In having two assholes at the helm of pro teams on game day. I certainly do not mean incompetent -- far from it; I mean prickly, insecure sons of bitches you want nothing to do with.

The kick in the ass is that BB was instrumental in the Ravens hiring this son of a bitch. He placed a call to Ozzie and gushed over him.

The loss was so easy to get over from Haubaugh's standpoint as conference game losses go. Yeah, it sucks to give up 14 point leads. But he had no fucking corners.

Good Christ, let it go.

The thing is, you have teams like the Steelers and Ravens who like to puff themselves up about how tough they are.  They love to refer to other teams as "finesse" teams as though other teams aren't tackling just as hard as they are.  And they probably believe that, other things being equal that they'll always be able to beat "finesse" teams.  So, it drives them nuts when they're explicitly tricked, not just tricked in some obscure sort of way that no one will recognize but right out in the open tricked and made to look like dopes.  And when that trick that everyone can see contributes to their being beaten in the playoffs it further drives them nuts because it says that their whole perspective might be wrong.

 

[dcmissle]

As someone who has a front row seat to the showdown every year, I'm in complete agreement about the Ravens-Steelers' conceit regarding style of play.  And it extends to their fans, obviously. 

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

The thing is, you have teams like the Steelers and Ravens who like to puff themselves up about how tough they are.  They love to refer to other teams as "finesse" teams as though other teams aren't tackling just as hard as they are.  And they probably believe that, other things being equal that they'll always be able to beat "finesse" teams.  So, it drives them nuts when they're explicitly tricked, not just tricked in some obscure sort of way that no one will recognize but right out in the open tricked and made to look like dopes.  And when that trick that everyone can see contributes to their being beaten in the playoffs it further drives them nuts because it says that their whole perspective might be wrong.

 
That's doubly rich considering the Ravens' postseason strategy over the years has generally been to have Jump Ball Joe throw a moonshot to on of his WRs and try to get PI calls.

 

[bunchabums]

 
That's doubly rich considering the Ravens' postseason strategy over the years has generally been to have Jump Ball Joe throw a moonshot to on of his WRs and try to get PI calls.

This tactic is a half-step above flopping. My particular favorite is the old stop-short on a go-route and let the DB run into your back on a purposely under-thrown ball. Maddening.

 

[TheoShmeo]

That the Patriots ended the Ravens playoff game on what was essentially a Flacco jump ball/moon shot that Harmon picked off is, for me, one of the sweetest aspects of this past playoff run.
 
Given the overall awesomeness of that Super Bowl, the Butler pick and the ensuing DeflateGate BS, the magnitude of the Ravens win gets a little overlooked.  And when people do turn to that game, the focus tends to be on the substitution thing.  The twin 14 point comebacks, the Edelman-Amendola play, the gorgeous pass to LaFell and the Harmon pick all could stand a little more attention.  Not that I expect that to occur, as memories will fade, but mercy, that was one of the great Patriots football games from a drama and playmaking perspective of the entire run.  That it largely ended on a Flacco moonshot pick is the cherry on top of a glorious sundae.   

 

[NortheasternPJ]

This tactic is a half-step above flopping. My particular favorite is the old stop-short on a go-route and let the DB run into your back on a purposely under-thrown ball. Maddening.

 
My particular favorite is BB yelling on the sideline of the AFC Divisional Game "WATCH THE UNDERTHROWN BALL"

 

[RG33]

That the Patriots ended the Ravens playoff game on what was essentially a Flacco jump ball/moon shot that Harmon picked off is, for me, one of the sweetest aspects of this past playoff run.
 
Given the overall awesomeness of that Super Bowl, the Butler pick and the ensuing DeflateGate BS, the magnitude of the Ravens win gets a little overlooked.  And when people do turn to that game, the focus tends to be on the substitution thing.  The twin 14 point comebacks, the Edelman-Amendola play, the gorgeous pass to LaFell and the Harmon pick all could stand a little more attention.  Not that I expect that to occur, as memories will fade, but mercy, that was one of the great Patriots football games from a drama and playmaking perspective of the entire run.  That it largely ended on a Flacco moonshot pick is the cherry on top of a glorious sundae.

It really was an incredible game from a drama standpoint, probably the best one since the Raiders game in 2001 for me. My wife had to leave because I was jumping up and down, throwing things, screaming and swearing, it was just unreal. We could not lose to that team, that coach. It would have crushed me so much more than losing the SB would have.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

It really was an incredible game from a drama standpoint, probably the best one since the Raiders game in 2001 for me. My wife had to leave because I was jumping up and down, throwing things, screaming and swearing, it was just unreal. We could not lose to that team, that coach. It would have crushed me so much more than losing the SB would have.

lets hope we never end up in the same room watching a game for the sake of everything/one in that room. I'm exactly the same way. Destroyed my cell phone and a remote after the manningham catch.

I'm working on my anger issues.

 

[RG33]

Ironic that on the evening of the "Patriots are cheaters!" appeal, the NFL Network is showing the "Top 10 Trick Plays" video. More than half were fumble-rooskis and O-Line eligible plays --- you know, trick plays. Like what the Patriots did. Legal, tricky, plays. And yet, only the plays that the Patriots run then get immediately outlawed in the postseason.

YEAH, NFL!

 

[soxhop411]

Here is the rule change

 

[soxhop411]

Doug Kyed ‏@DougKyedNESN  1h1 hour ago
Steratore praises Belichick's play call on the ineligible player scheme vs. BAL. Says the play was within the rules.
 
so why did you change it?

 

[DJnVa]

Well, most rule change outlaw something that was within the rules.

 

[doc]

Can we design a play where everyone has either eligible or ineligible numbers

 

[ilol@u]

The new rules show that all ineligible players must line up in the "core" of the formation which is tackle to tackle.
What's to stop the Patriots in declaring their RB as ineligible who is behind the QB but still between the tackle box (for potential backward passes which are legal) and have the 5th eligible player somewhere else in the formation?

 

[Super Nomario]

The new rules show that all ineligible players must line up in the "core" of the formation which is tackle to tackle.
What's to stop the Patriots in declaring their RB as ineligible who is behind the QB but still between the tackle box (for potential backward passes which are legal) and have the 5th eligible player somewhere else in the formation?

If you're not up on the line of scrimmage, you're eligible. And what would be the point of that, anyway?

 

[edmunddantes]

And every time this comes up, it's worth noting that Harbaugh is whining about a play that high school teams know how to defend.

Blows my mind. Professional athletes and coaches having to be handled with kids' gloves when it comes to ineligible and eligible.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

Just imagine how humiliated Harbaugh was to be totally snookered. His brother probably hasn't stopped mercilessly busting his balls since that game. Harbaugh's punishment will always be that he was completely owned by Bill, and there's nothing that will ever wipe that away.

 

[dcdrew10]

John Harbaugh likes him some Donald Trump immigration ideas:
 

 
“I’m going Trump here,” Harbaugh said. “Build a wall, it’s not that hard. You don’t have a border, you don’t have a country. You’re not a country without a border, right? At the same time, you got 12 to 15 million hard-working people here. Give them a shot. Give them a chance, right, to become a citizen so they’re paying taxes. All of us know that it’s not complicated. But this side doesn’t want to solve it and neither does this side. Solve the problem!”

 

[DJnVa]

He would be against that wall however if we didn't explain it all to Mexico before doing it.

 

[riboflav]

John Harbaugh likes him some Donald Trump immigration ideas:
 

 
Erich Honecker approves.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Just imagine how humiliated Harbaugh was to be totally snookered. His brother probably hasn't stopped mercilessly busting his balls since that game. Harbaugh's punishment will always be that he was completely owned by Bill, and there's nothing that will ever wipe that away.

 
This is what I keep reminding myself:  no matter how much he obfuscates, explains away, or otherwise tries to deflect criticism the truth of the matter is that everyone who follows the NFL knows that in the most important of situations he got completely outcoached and his team was totally unprepared.   And even if he wins 3 more Super Bowls of his own, that will still be the case a decade from now

 

[joe dokes]

He would be against that wall however if we didn't explain it all to Mexico before doing it.

 
 
 
EDIT:  Removed.
My sense is that I either went too far, or, at a minimum, the ice is very thin.  Mea culpa.

 

[Myt1]

Dude.

 

[Leather]

Didn't see that one coming.

 

[drbretto]

Well now I'm just curious.

 

[Hendu for Kutch]

Well now I'm just curious.

 
Yep.  I'm imagining some truly repugnant shit, crossing several lines.  Some sort of bouillabaisse of racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and anti-dwarfism.  Dokes, you monster.

 

[joe dokes]

A Godwin's Law violation.

 

[Hendu for Kutch]

A Godwin's Law violation.

 
Damnit, I had anti-semitic in my list and removed it.

 

[SumnerH]

A Godwin's Law violation.

No, it's a Godwin's Law affirmation.

 

[jacklamabe65]

Ah, yes, JH does like a bit like Rudolf Hess. 

 

[Myt1]

A Godwin's Law violation.

It's not like you're a habitual line stepper or anything. Maybe just a wee bit outside.

 

[pappymojo]

Good to know that Harbaugh doesn't think the Mexico border issue isn't complicated. Football substitution rules, on the other hand...

 

 

[nothumb]

Good to know that Harbaugh doesn't think the Mexico border issue isn't complicated. Football substitution rules, on the other hand...

 
The core of his objection is that 15 million people were declared ineligible but used a "tricky formation" to beat the D. It's traumatic reenactment for him.