Friday, January 23, 2015

Just one more note on the Pats alleged ball tampering

For now at least, until the league's investigation has been concluded. 

See a lot of people have pointed to the deflated balls issue and said that it would help in the passing game, but not in the run game where the Pats did so well against the Colts. That's not strictly true though. A deflated football, especially one deflated by over 2 psi compared to normal, would be easier to hold for the ball carrier and more difficult to punch out for defenders. This would suggest that a team using deflated balls would see its fumble rate drop.

In the 2013 regular season the Pats were tied for the fifth most fumbles in the league with 10. This year? Tied for 1st with the Giants with just the one fumble. Now, correlation and causation are not the same thing. But it's just another thing to store away in the back of your mind until the results of the NFL's investigation come out.

#Flexball

Probably the funniest thing about this whole deflated balls saga came today with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick giving speeches to the press in front of an advertising hoarding that had the line "#flexball" on it. Oops!

Sunday, January 11, 2015

"Ineligible Gate"

I do intend to resurrect this blog as the draft season approaches, but for now I just want to chip in to "ineligible gate" from the Ravens/Pats playoff game.

As amusing as it is watching Harbaugh have a good complain, and as much as the Ravens are guilty of a) not recognising that a tight end was lined up on the left side, which is basically just the same as flipping the strength of a conventional formation to the left, and b) throwing away their lead, they do seem to have a point on the controversial plays.

I unfortunately did not have time to watch the game (though I have since reviewed the plays in question) but my understanding is that Shane Vereen did not report as being ineligible until he was at or near the line of scrimmage, just seconds before the ball was snapped. 

This is a clear violation of the rules on reporting eligibility, which require players to inform the referee immediately if they are intending to play in a manner that alters their eligibility compared to the number on their jersey. The key word is "Immediately" which is generally understood to mean as soon as the player enters the field of play, and at the very latest as soon as the huddle has been broken. 

If you're running to the line of scrimmage having not informed the ref than two things are apparent a) you already know that you are going to be ineligible on the play and b) you have deliberately passed up an opportunity to inform the officials of this fact. That - per Rule 5, Section 3, Article 1 - is a five yard penalty for an illegal substitution. No ifs, no buts. It's a clear penalty, and it's also clear that the Patriots would have known this before hand and tried to sneak one (successfully in this case) past the refs. A bit like their persistent use of illegal "pick" plays.