Remember back in the playoffs last year when the Patriots did those three "ineligible player" formations (called "Baltimore" and "Raven") where ineligible players lined up in eligible spots and and eligible players lined up in ineligible spots?
Remember when the players would check in with the referee and he would announce the ineligible players several seconds before the Patriots snapped the ball?
Remember when the referee said not to cover Shane Vereen and the Ravens STILL covered Shane Vereen and left Michael Hoomanawanui free to run down the field alone?
Remember in Pop Warner when they taught you that the two outside guys on the LOS and all of the guys behind the LOS were eligible? Remember how that didn't change in high school, college, or the NFL?
Remember when John Harbaugh called it an illegal sort of thing and "deception" despite being perfectly legal at the time?
Remember the Ravens petitioning to have the rules changed so that the illegal sort of thing actually became illegal?
Remember when the Ravens decided to come up with their own ineligible receiver formation?
Umm... look what those a-hole Ravens did yesterday after petitioning to outlaw this pic.twitter.com/v48WRI2fXI
— patsfb (@patsfb) September 21, 2015
Seems like some sort of deception to me, yet this formation is perfectly legal. There is no eligible receiver lined up as an ineligible player outside the tackle box. In essence the RT is STILL an ineligible player in an ineligible position. All they've done is expand the tackle box out to where he's standing. The TE is actually in the normal left TE position. In fact, if Flacco wanted to go throw the ball out of bounds, he'd have a bigger tackle box to leave to do so.
You could also drop a receiver in the slot there between RG and RT, like the Ravens did, and since he's behind the LOS, he'd also be eligible. You could drop another lineman back there as long as he declared himself eligible, and that would be legal as well.
So if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I think Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels should be very flattered even if the formation didn't help the Ravens to a win. Participation is good too. Right Colts?
Tip of the hat to riverhawk02 for the notification.