John Harbaugh is putting a new twist on an old adage: If you can cheat 'em, join 'em.
USA TODAY Sports' For the Win is reporting that the Baltimore Ravens coach has been directing his team to line up in some unique offensive formations during their minicamp.
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He is taking a page from the New England Patriots' strategy, used during the AFC Divisional Round to confound the Ravens to allow the Patriots to advance in the playoffs.
"We're working on formations -- legal formations, illegal formations, unexpected formations," Harbaugh said this week, via For the Win. "The first time we ran it, you heard (linebacker Terrell) Suggs out there saying, 'That's not legal, that's not legal.' We will not assume that the referees are going to understand or always get it right when a formation goes out on the field, so we're working on everything."
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Harbaugh accused the Patriots of cheating when the Patriots beat the Ravens 35-31 in the playoffs last year.
"We wanted an opportunity to be able to identify who the eligible players were," Harbaugh said after the loss, according to CBS Sports. "Because what they were doing was they would announce the eligible player and Tom (Brady) would take it to the line right away and snap the ball before (we) even figured out who was lined up where. And that was the deception part of it. It was clearly deception."
"Harbaugh didn't believe the refs were giving his defense an adequate chance to substitute on plays like the one below," CBS Sports continued.
If nothing else, the Ravens' revelation will make NFL referee work harder to understand their rules themselves.
Do you think NFL officials will monitor the Baltimore Ravens for illegal formations this season? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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