New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady ripped the Baltimore Ravens for complaining about their unusual offensive formations after Saturday night's AFC Divisional Playoff game at Gillette Stadium, saying that the Ravens might need to "study the rule book".
In the third quarter, the Patriots took the Ravens off guard by running several plays using only offensive four lineman (instead of five), having one of their skill players flanked wide but declared as an "ineligible" receiver. To top it off, the Patriots rushed to line to quickly run the plays, leaving the Ravens defense with little to no time to adjust.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh became so angry that he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after walking onto the field to complain to the officials about the lack of notice being given with regards to the ineligible receiver. After the game, Harbaugh had this to say about the unexpected formations by the Pats offense (per the AP):
H/T FTW.
In the third quarter, the Patriots took the Ravens off guard by running several plays using only offensive four lineman (instead of five), having one of their skill players flanked wide but declared as an "ineligible" receiver. To top it off, the Patriots rushed to line to quickly run the plays, leaving the Ravens defense with little to no time to adjust.
Pats gettin' fancy pic.twitter.com/cisYT9pjSw
— ryan van bibber (@justRVB) January 11, 2015Ravens head coach John Harbaugh became so angry that he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after walking onto the field to complain to the officials about the lack of notice being given with regards to the ineligible receiver. After the game, Harbaugh had this to say about the unexpected formations by the Pats offense (per the AP):
“Nobody’s ever seen that before…. It’s not something anybody’s ever done before. The league will look at that type of thing and I’m sure that they’ll make some adjustments.”Upon hearing about Harbaugh's comments, Brady only had this to say:
“Maybe those guys gotta study the rule book and figure it out. We obviously knew what we were doing and we made some pretty important plays. It was a real good weapon for us. Maybe we’ll have something in store next week.”The Patriots beat the Ravens 35-31 to advance to the AFC Championship game. Since these formations are legal, their next opponent had better be prepared.
H/T FTW.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
