Baltimore Ravens: Thoughts on New England’s Trick Formations
In the Baltimore Ravens’ season-ending loss, John Harbaugh was incensed about the New England Patriots use of some tricky yet perfectly legal formations. More to the point, he was upset about what he felt was a lack of time for the Baltimore Ravens to make necessary substitutions to cover the strange formation.
Let’s start with the formation itself.
Credit: Shawn Brubaker – The Baltimore Wire
The Patriots line up in what at first glance looks like a basic spread formation with five wide. By rule, the last player lined up on the line of scrimmage on each side (circled in yellow) is an eligible receiver, which is where the trick of this formation lies. In this case, the left tackle is actually an eligible receiver, while the “slot receiver” on the right side of the line of scrimmage is not.
Faced with this formation, the Baltimore Ravens were caught unaware, giving up 41 yards the three plays they faced the formation.
In the case of such formations, the offense is required by rule to allow the defense to make substitutions as deemed necessary by the officials:
"“(a) The Umpire will stand over the ball until the Referee deems that the defense has had a reasonable time to complete its substitutions.“(b) If a play takes place and a defensive foul for too many players on the field results, no penalties will be enforced, except for personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct, and the down will be replayed. At this time, the Referee will notify the head coach that any further use of this tactic will result in a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.”"
Peter King of Sports Illustrated broke down the play in his Monday Morning Quarterback article. After timing the amount of time the Ravens were given to adjust (never less than seven seconds), King maintained the Ravens were given enough time to make their substitutions.
In essence, I agree with King. Though the Ravens were caught off guard the first time the formation was used, they should have been able to break it down and adjust, figuring out what personnel to send out against it by the time it was used again.
Yet, Ravens fans will remember a moment against the Tennessee Titans this year that shows the rule’s enforcement is inconsistent at best.
More from Baltimore Ravens
- Baltimore Ravens: Will this be Breshad Perriman’s last game as a Raven?
- Baltimore Ravens: Why RG3 Will Not Make the Ravens’ 53-Man Roster
- Baltimore Ravens have to make a decision on resting key offensive players
- Baltimore Ravens Cornerback Situation With Jimmy Smith Likely Suspended
- Top 5 Baltimore Ravens to Get on Your Fantasy Football Team
On one play, the Ravens showed a new formation which the Titans were clearly not ready for. The Titans took so long to make their defensive substitutions (approximately 15 seconds) that the Ravens were forced to call a timeout to avoid a delay of game.
John Harbaugh can be forgiven for expecting a similar amount of time to make his own substitutions. In fact, seeing as the rule has bitten the Ravens in the backside twice this year, Ozzie Newsome, who is on the NFL’s competition committee, would be wise to address it.
Setting a time limit for defensive substitutions would be an easy and effective way to enforce the rule more fairly in the future. Perhaps 10 seconds would be a fair and consistent limit for defensive substitutions.
Though the rule was correctly enforced by the letter of the law both times, Harbaugh is right to be upset with the inconsistency. The fix here is easy. Get it done, NFL.