?The NFL is going to have to do something about the Patriots? ineligible-eligible substitution game,? former NFL head coach and current NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy told PFT by email on Friday. ?It is nothing but an intent to deceive and they are doing it very well. They?re reporting so fast and going so quickly the defense can?t respond. In fact, the officials can?t keep up.?
Dungy believes the officials missed a pair of penalties with this maneuver during the postseason.
?In the Baltimore game, [Shane] Vereen reported as ineligible several times,? Dungy explained. ?If he stays in the game he must report again and continue to be ineligible. He must come out of the game for one play or there has to be a time out for him to play as an eligible receiver. On the touchdown drive Vereen played one play as ineligible and then played the next play in an eligible position. There should have been a penalty.?
The officials also missed a penalty in the game against the Colts, according to Dungy.
?[Nate] Solder reported as eligible correctly but [receiver Brandon] LaFell lined up on the line of scrimmage as if Solder was a tackle,? Dungy said. ?There should have been a penalty for illegal formation. But it happened too fast for the officials.?
The problem is that the Patriots often are taking a legal maneuver and combining it with a hurry-up offense to confuse both the defense and the officials. At field level, the audio from the referee?s microphone isn?t as clear as it is for folks in the seats or who are watching the game at home. Along with the overall confusion that arises when a team tries to snap the ball quickly, it becomes too much for a defense to fairly process ? which is one of the reasons New England does it.
