In the aftermath of New England’s deployment of an ineligible player with an eligible number in the AFC divisional playoffs, the Ravens weren’t happy. Their frustration came less from the use of the technique and more from the failure of the officials to make it clear who was ineligible -- and from the perception/reality that the Patriots tried to engineer even more confusion into the process.
After the season, the NFL adjusted the rules. Ineligible players wearing eligible numbers must now line up in the tackle box, making it easier to spot which players with eligible numbers won’t be running pass routes.
On Sunday, the Ravens used a legal version of the formation, with no players required to report as eligible or ineligible. And Patriots fans who are on the lookout for any evidence of cheating or hypocrisy noticed.
The Ravens lined up offensive lineman Marshal Yanda wide into the slot, wearing ineligible No. 73. Yanda was “covered up” by an eligible receiver on the line of scrimmage to his right. Crockett Gillmore, a tight end with an eligible number, was lined up next to the left tackle. Based on the formation, the left tackle appeared to be the left guard.
It was a legal formation with a really wide split between Yanda and the lineman closest to his left. No ineligible player was required to report as eligible, and no eligible player was required to report as ineligible.
The difference between what the Ravens did to the Raiders and what the Patriots did to the Ravens comes from the use of a player with an eligible number who reported as ineligible and then lined up away from the cluster of linemen. That tactic no longer is available for players wearing eligible numbers; for players wearing ineligible numbers, it’s fine.
This won’t keep Patriots fans from criticizing the Ravens for a strategy that upset the Ravens and, in the opinion of some, instigated #DeflateGate. But the Ravens’ strategy was very different, in multiple ways.
The biggest difference comes from the absence of any confusion due to players with eligible numbers reporting as ineligible and/or players with ineligible numbers reporting as eligible. Regardless of the formation used by the Ravens, the Raiders knew or should have known which men were eligible to go down the field in an effort to get open for a pass.
They didn’t adequately cover Gillmore, and the Ravens threw the ball to Gillmore for a touchdown.
